VistanaTM Signature Experiences

RUN!!!!!! They rush you into signing and then the website is constantly changing its almost like they WANT you to be confused. THERE ARE FEES ON EVERYTHING!!!!!!!! INCLUDING end of year fees almost 1000.00 even if you dont use it that year!! And you have to book or exchange almost a year in advance or you loose your points!!! That includes Mariott Bonvoy. Rooms are never available and the hotels are sub-par. RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been trying to reach someone in Owner Services for the past 3 days! I have been on hold for 4 hours each day and never got to speak to a representative. When I was prompted to “select 1’ to hold my place in line and receive a call back from a representative, I never got one, on any of the past 3 days. I bought the timeshare at Harborside pre-construction…over 20 years. I NEVER had these issues when Starwood was the owner. Not just the worst customer service, but NO customer service. So disappointed.

We have had negative experiences for the last 8 or so years with the Vistana concierge services, who are supposed to be there to help and serve. We no longer ask any questions of a concierge, or even make eye contact because we do not want them to even be able to recognize us when we pass through their area. We do like to be pressured while on vacation. They always call our villa, soon after arrival, requesting us to come get their gift. We do not want to be bribed with a gift, or big discounts on restaurants and activities. Nothing they can give us is worth the aggravation. In the past, when we have made the mistake to meet our concierge, we were done for. There is very strong pressure from the concierge to go to a sales presentation (we call it THE PITCH) every time we vacation at the Vistana resorts. (We have gone to way more of these sales pitches than we want to, and are almost sorry we ever bought into Vistana due to these ongoing sales tactics. They are long presentations, but even if they somehow became short, we do not like to be hounded). I do not know how much money a concierge gets by getting a guest into a presentation, or if that's how they make most of their wages. The concierges whine and beg, and they become quite concerned when we refused. So degrading for them, and embarrassing for us. This is supposed to be a relaxing VACATION! The only time we had a reasonable human being for a concierge was at the Avon Sheraton Mountain Resort in CO. She was friendly, and did not make any attempts to lure us into a vistana presentation. That was a great relief for once. There must be some other creative way Vistana can share their important information and updates. Vistana- Please come up with something online, and give a good incentive with no human salesperson!

Since the merger, the customer service and communication has been terrible. The Westin Resorts (prior to the merger) themselves were great. Less than 2 years after our purchase (Before we went on our first normal usage of the program), Westin merged with Marriott/Bonvoy. In the mail, we received a notice that there would be a new annual fee (more than 25% higher than our HOA) associated with the merger. On the notice it specified who specifically this fee would be for. When I logged in, the same notice was posted, except to it was NOT for. I attempted to call customer Service, at that time, to see if this charge applied to me. At that time, when I attempted to log into Marriott/Bonvoy- the system seemed to recognize me, so I was able to Browse Marriot Options. However, the place to pay that fee was not working.-- It was like this for about a week. Recently, this has switched- and I was not able to get routed from Vistana's website to Marriot Bonvoy site (it no longer recognized me)- I called customer Service, but was unable to get through. --Now more recently, I am not even able to get into Vistana's website- the feature to reset my password isn't working. As a new Owner it is frustrating that: 1. We are given a significant new annual charge 2. The communication received via mail contradicts (says the complete opposite) of the communication online 3. Customer Service is unavailable and unresponsive 4. The website (especially related to the merger) seems to have several issues; and these issues only appear to be getting worse.

Worst business practices. I bought in 2007 and have paid maintenance fees consistently every year. Somehow I forgot to pay in 2020 and by 2021, when I was about to pay again, they said my ownership has been canceled (WITHOUT ANY NOTICE). No letter, email, or phone call saying they are going to cancel my ownership (NOTHING). I am out 20K and all they have to say is they are going to sell my share to someone else. They don't care about people. They care about how they will screw the next person. DO NOT BUY.