The Moorings Resort

A magazine article by a timeshare resort owner from Auckland New Zealand, quickly sums up many of the advantages of buying into timeshare resorts:
 

Timeshare - Well worth buying!
 

On a visit to the Gold Coast 11 years ago, we were invited by a young lady to look at timeshare at Beach House. She must have made a very good case because we bought four weeks. For three years I had grave misgivings. When I thought of the money spent, the payment of four weeks maintenance levies every year and the interest lost I really wondered whether owning timeshare was such a good idea. After three years of this niggling doubt, we spent a weekend at my sister's holiday beach cottage. It struck me our timeshare had cost us considerably less than their cottage, our maintenance levy was probably no more than their insurance, rates and other running costs and they were stuck with going there for all their holidays and working on the property for at least the first couple of days.

We realised we could travel anywhere in the world and just walk in and start enjoying ourselves from day one. Motels of the same standard as most timeshare properties cost around $700 to $800 a week and good hotels much more. So to recent timeshare buyers having doubts I say hang in there - after several years of enjoying friendships formed by exchanging around the world you will be pleased you did.

Most of our exchanges have been to Australia, the furthest away at Marine Cove at Goolwa. We used their mini-bus to visit Adelaide and shopping, other days a wine trail around the local vineyards or exploring other towns within easy driving distance. We've been to three timeshares close to Melbourne, including Kyneton where we found the blue stone buildings of Old Kyneton picturesque and the bush setting of the resort very relaxing. With yet another wine trail and historic Bendigo within easy reach we had no problem in enjoying our week.

Other memorable experiences include the glass-blower at House of Bottles in Noosa, the Twelve Apostles down the Great Ocean Road from Lorne and the lake and lock system on the Murray River at Yarrawonga. In total we have enjoyed ourselves at all 16 Australian timeshare resorts we have stayed in, from Noosa to Goolwa, our favourite still being our home resort Beach House, which has the best activities programme of any timeshare we have visited.

Twice we have exchanged into Hawaii, once Kauai, once Big Hawaii Island - and next year hopefully Maui. Our daughter and her husband who live in Los Angeles have met us there and we have had fabulous holidays together. The Hawaiian resorts we stayed at tended to be bigger and fancier than those down here but provided less resort facilities. The furthest we have been is to a timeshare on the Florida Keys. Very hot, but the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico, the Budweiser Brewery Tour and theme park and the water skiing at Cyprus Gardens were great.

You can see that in our 11 years of timeshare ownership we have utilised our timeshare and exchange holidays to the max.
 

Arthur, New Zealand