Whether you are looking for surfing, diving, playing on the beach, or just soaking in the sun, here's my totally unscientific top ten picks for beach resort timeshares:

10. Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club - Separated from the magnificent Caribbean Sea by a lovely white, sandy beach, this Five Star property offers the ultimate in luxury vacations.Accommodations range from one to two bedroom villas that are elegantly appointed with full kitchen, kitchenette, formal living and dining areas, whirlpool spa in master bath, private balcony with ocean view, laundry facilities and more.

9. The Royal Mayan Cancun, Mexico. Guests will love this fabulous Five Star resort just a few minutes from a Mayan archaeological site and a championship golf course.

8. Marriott's Kauai Beach Club - On the southern coast of Kauai, 51 tropical acres provide the garden setting for Marriott's Kauai Beach Club. The one and two bedroom vacation ownership villas and luxury hotel offer two restaurants, world-class swimming pool complex, two championship golf courses, tennis and a myriad of beach activities on the quarter mile of Kalapaki Beach.

7. Mayan Palace Nuevo Vallarta - Situated on the beach, 15 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, Mayan Palace Nuevo Vallarta is a retreat for recreational water activities. When the sun goes down, explore the exciting nightlife, designer shops, and the international restaurants of Puerto Vallarta.

6. Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas - Accommodations feature lanai with ocean view, stone flooring and distinctive Hawaiian themed decor. Activities and amenities include two spas, waterslide, steam room, swimming pool, gameroom, poolside bar, sauna, fitness center, tennis,washer and dryer in both portions of the lockout units and more.

5. Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - My top choice for Maui, located on one of the world's most famous beaches is Marriott's Maui Ocean Club. Amenities include golf, tennis, watersports, lavish swimming pools, waterfalls, live entertainment, health club, shopping, restaurants, children's activity center and much more. Suite amenities include private balconies, separate living and dining areas, and kitchenette. Don't miss historic Lahaina only minutes away.

4. Pueblo Bonito Rose Resort - This awesome resort is located in the mystical, desert landscape of the southern Baja California peninsula. Situated at Land's End, Pueblo Bonito Rose is surrounded by beautiful coastline, magnificent sea life, and the majestic nature of Los Cabos.

3. Charter Club of Marco Beach - One of the best of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, Marco Island will delight water lovers, sightseers, and sun worshipers. A beachfront location allows guests to be right in the midsts of one of the world's best shelling areas.

2. Vidafel Mayan Palace-Acapulco - This fabulous tropical paradise is in the new Acapulco Diamente Zone and offers beautiful lakes and gardens thoughout the property. Amenities include golf, tennis, restaurants, beach, live entertainment, playground, and the largest swimming pool in the world.

1. Harborside Resort at Atlantis - My number 1 choice. Surrounded by the beautiful Caribbean and pure-white beaches, Harborside Resort at Atlantis is ideally situated in the perfect spot for relaxing and adventure. These luxurious villas feature full kitchens, formal living and dining areas, whirlpool bath and private terraces.

So that's my top ten. Let me know if you would nominate others for this list!

As I write this, tropical storm Fay is creeping slowly north through central Florida near Lake Okeechobee. It made landfall early this morning somewhere between Fort Myers and Key West. It is supposed to slowly work its way north with most of the damage coming from heavy rainfall. Predictions are that it will drop from 5 to 10 inches of rain. Vacation resort areas in Fay's landfall path included Marco Island, Naples, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, and others. Wind and heavy rain battered the entire southern half of the state from Key West to Miami and the storm is still moving. The storm has not weakened, in fact there was a report of winds gusting to 80 mph near Lake Okeechobee.

Initial reports have said that many have lost power, but structural damage is fairly light. But the storm continues to be a threat from flooding.

Screenshot from 3:00pm ET 

As more details come out of Florida's west coast I'll post it here. The future of this storm is a little uncertain, according to the weather forecasters.

Having grown up on the Texas Gulf Coast, I remember my father keeping a hurricane tracking chart with all the previous years' hurricanes still drawn on it. I wish I had a copy of it to post here.  Some of those storms went in circles in the gulf, tracked backwards, and confounded everyone as to where it would go next.  While weather prediction has vastly improved, we all still need to keep a close eye on the powerful forces of nature.

I stumbled across this story about New York City that discusses the best free or inexpensive attractions. Absolutely terrific advice! I plan on printing it out and taking it with me the next time I travel there. I'll summarize it here if you don't want to read the whole thing there:

The subway is $2, Central Park is still free, Times Square at night, Rockefeller Center (Ice Skating, Christmas Tree), Grand Central Terminal, Staten Island Ferry (free), Governors Island Ferry (also free),  walking across Brooklyn Bridge, parades, street fairs, some museums with "free hours", and more, more, more.

Not mentioned in the CNN article but worthwhile: Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York Public Library (3rd largest in the world), and for a small fee - Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But when you get to the biggest ticket item, accommodations, the discounted options diminish.

My suggestion, no surprise, would be to stay in a timeshare - rent it!  The only real choice there is the Manhattan Club. The size may be smaller than what you are used to if you've rented a timeshare before, but, this is Manhattan! And again, the best bet would be to rent from an owner through www.rentvacations.com. You can probably pick up a weekly or weekend rental there for less than $350 a night and be located at the corner of 56th and 7th Ave. Carnegie Hall is across the street and the theatre district is a few blocks away.

You may be asking the question, "Why would I want to know how the resorts attract buyers, I want to sell my timeshare!" This question is important because you will be in competition with the resort when you decide to sell your timeshare. So, you need to know.

For example, over the last several months you may have seen one of the major resort developers running television ads to attract discounted vacation travelers to their resort.  They offer significantly reduced rack rates in exchange for your time for a "90 minute presentation".  Unless you bought your timeshare on the resales market from an owner, you are definitely familiar with the sales presentation. The tour, the food, the gift, the pitch, the guilt, and the last ditch handoff to the sales manager who offers you a "one day only" drop in the price if you buy right now. All these things combined plus sales commissions, overrides, and overhead add up to about 50% of the sales price.  The television ads, phone rooms, meals, rooms, gifts, and so on are all very expensive.  So they roll all that advertising expense into their sales prices. That's what you, as a buyer, paid for.

When you get ready to sell your timeshare, you won't be able to offer the same pitch, pressure, or lures to attract a buyer. You will not be able to put a sign in the window, lockbox on the door, sign in the yard, or hold an open house.  The short answer to this dilemma is to check out the seller's options described at www.timeshareads.com. A comprehensive list of timeshare selling solutions is available there. Take the time to read the timeshare resales study found on that website as well. Lots of good info: resales data, charts, average prices and more.

Audio version of the story plus a Westgate Timeshare Resorts slide show

Especially when your next maintenance fee bill arrives.  It has been often said that the best value of a timeshare is in its use. And if you are not using your timeshare, then it is time to sell it.  Throughout life our circumstances change in ways that prevent us from doing a lot of things we would rather do. Sometimes a job will be too unpredictable to allow us to plan for vacations and specific check in dates at our timeshare. Or perhaps changes in health may prevent someone from traveling as much as they'd like. Whatever the reason, if you are not using your timeshare every time it is available to you, it becomes a money pit.

Where to Start? If you are reading this, you have made a good start by researching your options. Sadly, most resorts offer no help in selling your timeshare for you. Running your own ads will probably attract unqualified buyers and low offers. Worse, you might be persuaded to pay someone hundreds, or thousands of dollars to just take your timeshare from you (then flip it on youknowwhere.com).  I'd say check out www.timeshareads.com. They offer sellers' guides, video guides, catalogs, interactive maps, and so on. Collectively, they have hundreds of years of timeshare resales experience. If they can't sell it, nobody can.

Whatever you do, don't procrastinate. It won't sell itself.  Wait much longer, and you'll have yet another maintenance fee bill for something you don't use.

Chances are, thanks to the price of gasoline, your summer vacation involved a little less driving!  A recent Cnn.com travel article said that Americans drove "12.2 billion fewer miles in June than the same month a year earlier." Many of us decided to take our holiday closer to our home. For those of us who live within easy driving distance to a great beach, mountains, golf, etc we have found great places to relax, swim, or just do nothing.  There are terrific deals to be found close to home. Take timeshare resorts for example.  If you live in the New York metro area, there are great timeshare deals to be found on Cape Cod and the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. For example, Inn Season at Pollard Brook is set high above New Hampshire's number one scenic byway just across from the state's most popular ski mountain, Loon Mountain. Or, Attitash Mountain Village in Bartlett, NH you can find 1, 2, or 3 bedroom units to accommodate a large group. In Cape Cod, you'd find Cove at Yarmouth, Courtyard Resort, or Sea Mist Resort to be in great locations and offer a better deal than hotels.

So, even if the price of gas is high, if you travel closer to home you can save cash on both your travel and your lodging if you rent or buy a timeshare close to home!

Last week RCI announced it was adding two more timeshare resorts to their collection in the Orlando/Kissimmee area. These resorts are Vista Royale Resort and Encantada.  The news article describes them as being in the RCI Points program. The president and CEO of RCI Group claims that they have over 4,000 resorts, 60,000 vacation rental properties, and more than 1 million subscribing members.  (source)

While RCI continues to dominate the timeshare exchange world, how are those "1 million subscribing members" doing?  And, where did those 60,000 "vacation rental properties" come from? For the most part, they get good reviews from happy timeshare exchanging members.  But where do all our/your banked weeks end up when you don't get what you request?  And, are those our weeks on redweek.com, travelocity.com, expedia.com, weather.com, vrbo.com, and all the other online travel brokers?

And, who controls what those "points" are worth today, next year, or ten years from now?

That week #1 in Acapulco is starting to look better and better. When you buy a timeshare, consider your usage rights, location, amenities, and chances that you will use that resort many times for your vacation or holiday.  That, in the long run, will be your better value.

Just my 2 cents.

Your thoughts?

If you are considering selling your timeshare, there are several options available to you.  Hopefully this blog article will answer many of those questions you may have if you need to sell your timeshare.

First, you may have thought of asking your home resort to assist you in selling your timeshare.  Unfortunately, most (about 58%) timeshare resorts offer no help in selling your timeshare for you. And if they do, often they will charge severe sales commissions - up to 40%!  For the resort developers, the greatest profit margin is when they sell the timeshare the first time.  Timeshares on the resales market offer the resort developers very little profit - thus, very little attention.

Second, you could advertise it yourself.  Placing your own ads in the resort's local newspaper will not reach your target buyers. The advertising should be nationwide and international to generate a worthy response.  Advertising in USA Today, for example, can cost you over $1,300 for a minimum 4 line classified ad for one week. Not only would that be costly, you would be responsible to qualify the buyers, search out the closing options, and close the deal. Also, online auctions of timeshares often generate excessively low offers - a "give it away" price.

Next, an option many choose, you could use a licensed brokerage that specializes in timeshare and fractional resales.  You will usually be charged a commission, but they would do all the legwork for you.

Finally, you could use www.timeshareads.com. They take the hassle out of the selling and buying experience using the largest database of buyers and timeshare properties offered for sale in the secondary market. They have no appraisal fees, offer a "no commission" plan, professional timeshare specialists with a no pressure approach.  You can find out more about timeshare resales options for sellers at www.timeshareads.com.

A Timeshare Sellers' Options - Plus a Slide Show of Wyndham Resorts!

I am asked that question every day. And normally, someone wants to know what their timeshare is worth because they are considering selling it or have been trying to sell it with no success.

The value of a timeshare is found in its usage. Its value is determined by the amount of savings you can realize compared to paying rack rates at comparable resorts. Over time the amount of money you save when you use your timeshare becomes its value to you.

On the other hand, the first time you pay your maintenance fee and do not use that week, you find out it is worth less than zero! It is a liability. And at that point many owners decide to sell their timeshare rather than pay for something they cannot use or no longer fits into their lifestyle.

ARDA published a study several years ago saying that the average timeshare sells for about 50 to 75% of the resort developers price. Remember, that is an average taking in all resorts, all locations, all types both good and bad. While someone may be able to say they can produce a timeshare appraisal, it is very seldom worth the paper its written on. Also, a true comparative market analysis is usually incorrect because of the way timeshares have been sold. A residential home most likely was sold while listed in an MLS. The MLS will have “sold data” that is compiled into reports that can help you decide at what price to sell your home. But that is not the case for timeshares. There is too little data and too many variables to produce any reliable brokers’ opinion on the price of a timeshare.

If you were to believe everything you see on the internet auction sites, you would think that timeshares are almost impossible to sell unless you are willing to sell for pennies on the dollar. But, with the right marketing and advertising and negotiating skills of a timeshare resales broker, you can get a better value for your timeshare when you get ready to sell.

What is My Timeshare Worth? Video & Hyatt Resort Slideshow

Timeshare rentals are available at the finest vacation resort condos worldwide. Rii® Stroman is a full service timeshare rental broker. They offer timeshares for rent on behalf of individual timeshare owners. Timeshare rentals at vacation resorts typically offer more amenities than a hotel room. Check out the differences between typical Hotel vs. Timeshare Resort.

Timeshare rentals generally have one, two, or three bedrooms, a kitchen, den, washer and dryer, making them far less expensive than hotels. Many resorts have access to golf, tennis, athletic facilities, marinas, scuba diving, ski lifts and many other recreational activities. Whether this is your first time renting a timeshare or you're a seasoned professional, Rii® Stroman can help you rent timeshare!

Why Stay in a Vacation Rental?

So why stay at a hotel when more cost effective options are available at most major vacation destinations? The majority of timeshare rentals have amenities not available in many hotels. Plus the complete kitchen facilities found in most vacation condos for rent can save on the expense of eating every meal in a restaurant.

Vacation rentals are realistically priced with some last minute deals! Click here to Search Last Minute Timeshare Resort Rental Deals!

Timeshare rentals are also a good idea for owners to consider when personal matters prevent them from using their allotted time interval. Timeshare rentals provide owners with a means to offset some of the costs associated with vacation property ownership and renting a timeshare is only one of the options available for owners who are unable to utilize their vacation interval.

Here are a few great timeshare deals currently available for rent: Consolidated Club de Soleil timeshare for rent in Las Vegas, Westgate Miami Beach & Newport Beachside Resort timeshare for rent, Royal Sands timeshare for rent in Cancun Mexico, Marriott's Mountain Valley Lodge timeshare for rent in Breckenridge Colorado, Hanalei Bay Resort timeshare for rent in Kauai Hawaii, Westin St John Resort Villas timeshare for rent, Mystic Dunes Resort timeshare for rent in Kissimmee Florida, Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas timeshare for rent in Hawaii, The Manhattan Club timeshare for rent in New York NY, Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club timeshare for rent in Hawaii, Sheraton's Vistana Orlando timeshare for rent in Orlando Florida, Marriott's Grand Chateau timeshare for rent in Las Vegas, Playa Linda Beach Resort timeshare for rent in Aruba, Marriott's Grande Ocean Resort timeshare for rent in Hilton Head SC, and hundreds of others.