Anyone else own at Orange Lake?

[hwdelien]

I have to say that I am VERY disappointed in them. After much pressure, I finally bought up from a deeded week to their new points version after being threatened that soon we probably wouldn't be able to book anything there through weeks besides our own week, which we have never used. We closed in October. No news November. In December tried to call my sales person, they no longer work there. Late December, I try to book some vacations and am given another number and find that they are no longer "Global Access" but now Holiday Inn Vacation Club. But, they have no record of me in their system. Called back to Orange Lake, talked to someone, they will take care of it. January, they have record of me, but I can't go onto RCI's points web site to check availability. They're "working on it", no ETA. So I decided to find out how many points Disney tickets would be, something they mentioned repeatedly during sales presentation. Call up, you can't use points for Disney Tickets any more. Here we are in February, the only vacation I have booked is from a banked week through RCI before this mess. I have 286,000 points, if I fax them the certificate from the closing that shows I was given 100,000 bonus points, which they have no record of. I have no membership cards, I got an RCI "Weeks" book, but no "Points" book to see what resorts are available. No way to go online to look.:brick:

Do I have unreasonable expectations?

 

[Main Street USA]

I have to say that I am VERY disappointed in them. After much pressure, I finally bought up from a deeded week to their new points version after being threatened that soon we probably wouldn't be able to book anything there through weeks besides our own week, which we have never used. We closed in October. No news November. In December tried to call my sales person, they no longer work there. Late December, I try to book some vacations and am given another number and find that they are no longer "Global Access" but now Holiday Inn Vacation Club. But, they have no record of me in their system. Called back to Orange Lake, talked to someone, they will take care of it. January, they have record of me, but I can't go onto RCI's points web site to check availability. They're "working on it", no ETA. So I decided to find out how many points Disney tickets would be, something they mentioned repeatedly during sales presentation. Call up, you can't use points for Disney Tickets any more. Here we are in February, the only vacation I have booked is from a banked week through RCI before this mess. I have 286,000 points, if I fax them the certificate from the closing that shows I was given 100,000 bonus points, which they have no record of. I have no membership cards, I got an RCI "Weeks" book, but no "Points" book to see what resorts are available. No way to go online to look.:brick:

Do I have unreasonable expectations?

Nope, you're expectations are fine. My parents bought at Orange Lake back in 1985 when it was much cheaper, and just the first couple streets, a clubhouse and the pool area. Back then they blatantly lied to my parents and told them they were going to stay small in order to keep it a beautiful and exclusive place. Well, now it's 20 times the size, and they've built brand new "orange lakes" in 3 other places in the country.

They'll say anything to get you to buy. On our last trip down this past December, they tried the SELL SELL SELL attitude when they checked in. It was unbelievable. My parents basically told them to knock it off immediately, and they did, until later in the week when they got another phone call to attend something else. This was all DURING OUR VACATION, which is pretty unacceptable.

That being said, the facilities are top notch, it's a beautiful place, and we have great memories there.............when they aren't trying to jam more stuff down your throat.

 

[The Mom]

Timeshares are very difficult to use. We have one (it's RCI) and basically use it for family reunions, as my BIL is the timeshare whiz. BUT, he's retired (for about 20 years now) so has time to keep calling, is extremely organized (he's an engineer) and is very flexible as to dates.

It has worked out very well for him.

We had another that fortunately was liquidated, so we got our money back. We were never able to find an exchange for it.

So, if you are someone who has limited possibilities as to when you can vacation, or live in the area and can use it as a guest facility (which my BIL does at Orange Lakes; his children and grandchildren use it every year) it isn't that great of a deal, IMO.

 

[Nosmo King]

I have to say that I am VERY disappointed in them. After much pressure....

That should have been your first tip-off right there!

 

[jeffk410]

!!

I own at Orange Lake in Riverside
I can not express how much i love it. It has been my favorite vacations.
The facilities are amazing.
best place i have ever stayed and i have been on many many vacations.

 

[jeffk410]

and that is not really Orange Lakes problem =[. You took a risk and yeah i know the service should be quicker. I do agree they can be very pushy at times. But we have not had many problems with them at all. Also as of Jan 1 Orange lake is completely wi-fi for free =D. Look at the positives. Not many other HUGE time shares are wi-fi for free. I do agree though that the switch to Holiday Inn Vacation Clubs was kind of drastic, but technically they are still global access for now?
Oh and depending on which part of Orange Lake you own the points are alot. We switched to the points and we have like 88,000. that can get us almost two weeks at other places for a 2BR.

 

[hwdelien]

and that is not really Orange Lakes problem =[. You took a risk and yeah i know the service should be quicker. I do agree they can be very pushy at times. But we have not had many problems with them at all. Also as of Jan 1 Orange lake is completely wi-fi for free =D. Look at the positives. Not many other HUGE time shares are wi-fi for free. I do agree though that the switch to Holiday Inn Vacation Clubs was kind of drastic, but technically they are still global access for now?
Oh and depending on which part of Orange Lake you own the points are alot. We switched to the points and we have like 88,000. that can get us almost two weeks at other places for a 2BR.

Don't get me wrong, I love the place. But now I feel abandoned. I'll have 186,000 points a year to spend, but 4 months into my new ownership I have nothing to show for it but broken promises and higher mortgage payment.

 

[hwdelien]

So I basically e-mailed Orange Lake, to an address that was specified to send you vacation story, the same thing I posted here with the subject "I have a vacation story..." This is their response:


I received a copy of the email that you sent to Resort Services and would like to take this opportunity to personally respond. I apologize that your experiences with Club ownership have been so difficult and that your requests have been unsuccessful.

Your ownership was complete on 11/16/08 and it takes a few weeks after this to receive your Exchange number from RCI. Your Holiday Inn Club number is XXXXXXX and your RCI Exchange number is X-XXXXXXX. Go to www.RCI.com and view RCI's online directory. As you pull the resort section up each resort will be listed. In order to check on availability or put in a search, please contact one of our vacation counselors tollfree at 877-606-2582. You now have 159,000 2009 points and 159,000 2010 points allocated and one of our vacation counselors will be glad to assist you. Except for the RCI directory you received at closing, additional RCI Directories are available through RCI.

This is a very exciting time for our club members. We have expanded the benefits of our club via a strategic marketing alliance with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), the same company that owns the Holiday Inn brand. In honor of our new alliance we renamed our club Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

In surveys over the years, owners have expressed a desire for more flexibility in their vacation options. While RCI’s program added over 3,700 resort choices, it did not provide for shorter or longer vacations, or options for other products such as airfare and car rental. This desire for flexibility led to the launch of GlobalAccess in 2006 and has inspired us to form a new marketing alliance with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), owner of the Holiday Inn hotel brand.

Orange Lake formed this alliance for several reasons; one is that we share the same founder, Kemmons Wilson, and his vision to continually offer families better ways to vacation; another is that the Holiday Inn hotel brand began the largest brand relaunch in hospitality history last year with the start of a $1 billion refresh, raising quality and driving consistency. By 2010, the Holiday Inn global estate of more than 4,000 hotels will be completely relaunched.


Our alliance with Holiday Inn will allow us to offer more benefits and more vacation options to both our club members and fixed week owners. We will be sharing more details about what this alliance will mean to you later this month. Until then, please know that everything you appreciate about Orange Lake will remain and what we announce in the future will only enhance what you currently own.

At various times Disney makes the decision on whether to allow resorts to use points for Disney Tickets. At this time they may only be obtained through our in-house RCI office, which we can transfer you to. The ability to offer certain items for point use is solely at the discretion of the owner of the offered items. If you would be so kind as to either scan and email or fax a copy of your Bonus Certificate to me personally, I will confirm and see that your points are added. With the alliance to IHG, we suspended the issuance of cards and I have not been given information on when or whether they will resume.

I appreciate your sharing your questions and concerns. Our owners are the backbone of our industry and we are dedicated to making your experiences with Orange Lake everything you expect and deserve. Please let me know if I may assist you further.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

I am not an owner, but my husbands parents have been owners since the beginning when it was very small. We go every year, sometimes twice a year, and it's such a beautiful vacation spot. The facilities are so nice, and it's close to the parks. The new River area is amazing w/the lazy river & cabanas. Plus you have mini-golf and dining on property. We have always loved going.

I will say this though, the people of Orange Lake have been tough to work with at times. They have promised my in-laws many things for being long time members that they didn't or couldn't follow through on. I remember many times over the years that my father in law would be fighting at the front desk over something or another. So i think you have to put up with a lot and decide if it's worth it or not. We have found that if you bring things to their attention, they'll do their best to fix it - and that it's always been worth it to keep going back. I do like to mix it up at stay on a Disney resort now & then though too.

 

[ILUVTHEMOUSE]

My husband and I own at Orange Lake. We purchased our timeshare from my aunt and uncle who bought it back in 84. We too encounter pressure to attend the owner's information breakfast but always refuse. They try to offer us free Putt Putt for the week or raft rental but we never go for it.

They do try to call us during the week but we just don't answer the phone. The property is beautiful, well-maintained and we always enjoy our stay. We have no plans to ever convert from our week to the points system. We refuse to pay their conversion fee. We have been exchanging our week for the past few years now through RCI and have had no issues with that. The week we own is no longer a convenient time for us to visit because our boys participate in football.

I certainly understand your frustration as some of the people there can be down right rude when you tell them no. Unfortunately, we have encountered a few ourselves. My advice to you is do not allow them to bully you. Even though you have converted to points, they will continue to badger you about attending their owner's breakfast because they want to sell you even more points.

I hope everything gets worked out for you so that you can start enjoying your timeshare. Good Luck:wave:

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We own two Spring weeks at Orange lake, and are quite satisfied.
2) But, we use one week for family and usually trade the other week.
3) As a resort, OLCC is tough to beat.
4) But, do not let them get you into a sales or "info" presentation.
5) They have taken high pressure to an Art Form.
6) Some people have been kept 3-5 hours from the 90-min "tour".

NOTE: They are pushing "points" heavily, and you cannot buy "weeks" from the developer any longer. This way, if you can't get the week you wanted, it was YOUR fault for bad timing. Stay away from the points system.

 

[gljvd]

my parents bought when i was 3 back in 1984. It was great till they merged with holiday inn again. Now its changed for the worse. We have two weeks and have gone down 5 times in the last 2 years and they claim to have free upgrade for members but we are 0/5 in getting an upgrade at this point in time .