Timeshare

The picture above is the view from Anfi timeshare, Gran Canaria.  You can see the architecture of rounded stones in plaster which looks quite nice, but on other buildings I saw on the island can end up covered with strong green mesh as the stones start falling out!

 

I was in Gran Canaria recently using my timeshare points. I ended up getting duped in to two timeshare presentations. My experience of timeshare presentations runs well in to double figures.

My long connection with timeshare began when I saw a flyer in a pub in Cornwall. I am sure they were offering something free, but I can’t remember what it was. It must be about 28 years ago now. We rocked up to Clowance Country Estate, pulled up in front of the old manor and let our mongrel dogs loose on the croquet lawn. We had at least one baby in tow and I was pregnant with the second or third one.

At the beginning staff were less than rapt to see us, but soon cheered up when they realised we both worked and could actually afford it. We bought one week at Easter. The first year we couldn’t use it because I was teaching and Easter week fell outside of school holidays. We changed it and bought a two bedroom for New Year week.

Buying and living in the UK has been a great investment as we used it solidly as the children were growing up. We all loved it. Initially, it was the height of luxury, with a jacuzzi bath, fantastically fitted out and lovely little touches – uber fluffy towels and free dressing gown etc. As the years have gone by the décor has remained the same. The jacuzzi bath has gone. I was left and got divorced. The children grew up. We used it alternate years for a while until FH moved to Cornwall and decided he didn’t want it any more. Now it’s all mine and the responsibility. I still love going to Cornwall in the winter and walking on blustery half empty beaches. In my dreams I am keeping it for the grandchildren I haven’t yet got!

The American timeshare points were purchased much later. I fell in love with Sedona. I fell in love with the idea of time share points. I thought I was in a relationship where we would be going on more holidays. In reality there wasn’t the money to do so and I have been struggling to find other people who even wanted to use them, let alone contribute to the cost. It’s only now, that I finally have the resources of time and money to make good use of them.

Once you have a timeshare, they try and sell you more. We had a week’s free accommodation in Tenerife on the back of listening to a timeshare presentation for canal boats, which, if she had listened more and spouted less, the young woman may well have sold us as FH wanted a barge. I remember when we got to Tenerife we had another presentation. What I remember most about this was the amazing bathrooms that had fantastic mosaics in them. I attended a timeshare presentation in Madeira involving weeks in a hotel.

And the list goes on and on. Every time you go and stay at a time share resort you hear the latest. I am almost beginning to enjoy them; a) to see what you get for your money these days, b)the manner in which they attempt (obviously moderately successfully in my case) to key in to your class, aspirations etc. In Gran Canaria we saw Anfi (above), which is an enormous complex built by a Norwegian for ‘working class’ families. We were taken up to see the penthouse suite which had the tackiest chipped MFI type furniture and a bath tub for one on the balcony, not as one might imagine, a hot tub for six. It also had a washing machine!  I quite liked the architecture of the place, but that was all. I preferred our modest, but chilled time share (Cala Blanca) where we stayed which had great balconies and a fantastic, long and deep swimming pool that I swam in solo every morning.

Even at our resort I was approached to get rid of the ‘American’ timeshare points and become a ‘European’ member as the Americans sign you in ‘in perpetuity’ and Diamond Resorts are such monsters etc.

Now at Clowance they want desperately to get me out of the fixed week so they can ‘fraction’ it. While I remain in a fixed week, they can’t do this. They would take back my American Timeshare points (they use them to negotiate chunks of time at other resorts) and sell me 16 weeks to use at my leisure. It always costs more. It is never as good as the deal you got initially.

I don’t know how I feel. A friend made me laugh by suggesting I left my ‘in perpetuity’ points to someone I don’t like in my will. Right now I think my kids have plenty to inherit. Let them sort it out!