Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromAndrew A

  Date: 04/07/2024

  1 star
  I would stay as far away from this company as possible. After our presentation we bought the package, but were told we would have 10 days to cancel. The contract also said we had 10 days to cancel. I wrote numerous emails, sent a fax, and sent a letter requesting the contract be cancelled all within the first couple of days. I also requested that I receive confirmation of the cancellation. I haven't heard anything from the company. Stay far, far away.

• Review fromMilton M

  Date: 04/07/2024

  1 star
  I am very disappointed in sheraton flex. They say one thing and then something different. Add membership fees. And it was not in the contract. I think they are a big rip-off. Get in the office and pressure you. You say no, they bring someone else into pressure you too. This has to be a stop to this. Try to call them get no response. They give you the run around now. You have to find a lawyer to spend More Money to get out of your contract.

• Review frombrandi j

  Date: 04/01/2024

  1 star
  This company is a sham. I was led to believe this is a vacation club with Sheraton. To find out later this is a timeshare with *********************** They said payments would be about $230 a month for 180 months. I was laid off in November of 2023 for about 3.5 months. I called several times to discuss my account. Most times I received a recording that no one is available to take my call. I dug for a different number and was able to reach a person. I asked what type of arrangement they could make for being unemployed and they said none. The only option was to not pay but my loan would go into foreclosure. I pressed hard to get a better answer and he said the exit team would contact me once I start missing payments. I started working again about a month ago and reached out to try to negotiate a repayment plan. I was told they dont have one. Pay the outstanding balance, sell the timeshare or go into foreclosure. I asked what foreclosure entails and was not provided details. I asked the remaining balance and it was about the amount I financed. She said my monthly payment is covering $25 of the principal. Well if you multiply $25 X 180 you get $4500. If only $25 is going toward principal I wont pay it off until over 800 months! This is a scam. The fact that they cant tell me what the foreclosure process is nor work with me on my missed payments is beyond comprehension.

• Review fromCynthia C

  Date: 03/11/2024

  1 star
  I have been a member since July 2018. After sitting through a required presentation, I was approached by two representatives, one more convincing than the other. I was given a lot of information, very fast. The process was exhausting, and I felt pressured along the way as if I couldnt say no. After vast amounts of persuading, talking, and explaining, I committed to signing on as an owner.I was told numerous times that I could have a $7, ****** timeshare paid off in seven years just by paying $123.00 monthly. The contract states the property would be paid off in 120 months, this is clearly not seven years. At the time, it seemed reasonable and within my budget; however, after five years I still owe over $5, 000. During those five years I was asked to update my financial status at least twice from what I can remember. Once being within the last year. It is concerning that they are asking me to update my financial status and I have only used the timeshare twice since 2018. Why is that?There are maintenance fees that I am expected to pay even if I do not use the timeshare as well as if I had paid for the timeshare in full. In addition, owner dues were added back in February of 2023 and was not included in the original contract. As a result, this required more money for me to pay out that I did not agree to. I am retiring in less than two years. The monthly payments, maintenance fees, and owner dues are not in my budget. I was convinced that everything would have been paid off in seven years starting from 2018, not true. I was only given ten days to read over the contract and come up with a decision. After those ten days I was not allowed to cancel the contract even if I had decided not to go on with owning a timeshare. That was not enough time for me and was ridiculous to put someone in a bind like that. I have no use of this timeshare and have no desire on keeping it. There needs to be better options to sell back or get out of contract.

• Review fromJay C

  Date: 01/13/2024

  1 star
  Using a Power Point presentation, the salesman demonstrated how we could use our vacation properties as rental income to offset expenses, since we were already obligated to another timeshare contract. When we stated that we were not comfortable paying *****% interest, he said that, most people will just refinance the mortgage. Though we felt that this would be stretching our budget, we felt that we could manage the expense if we refinanced. The product was presented as real property, throughout the entire presentation. Our down payment was referred to as equity from the other contracts which we were converting. So, our $26,348.75 in equity applied to the proposed contract cost, made the process seem like an actual real estate transaction. On top of that, they offered to pay the closing costs. Since there were no immediate out-of-pocket expenses, we accepted. Other enticements were the fact that our children would inherit the timeshare. But it was not made clear that our children would be obligated to continue with the expense of the contract and all associated maintenance fees, etc. We felt that the t/s would be an asset to our estate, not a liability to our children. The entire cost of the contract, over time, was quickly glossed over but never fully explained. At least not like other mortgages we have purchased in the past. Maintenance fees were mentioned as part of the deal, but not fully explained. We were told that increases had occurred but historically were minimal. Had we known the real cost of maintenance fees and how they increase, that would have been a deal breaker. The pressure to buy is quite high. But it was applied in such a clever way, that it causes you to put yourself under pressure to make what appears to be a no-brainer decision. The omission of details concerning the real cost, lack of availability and truly understanding just how the program works makes the presentation out to be deceptive, if not an outright lie.

• Review fromBetty

  Date: 11/09/2023

  1 star
  I have been an owner since 2016 and purchased the every odd year 44,000 star options. I have gotten good use out of the ownership and traveled out of the country to Spain, Italy and Myrtle Beach, Florida, Kauai and many other places. I have attended lots of presentations which they try to sell me to purchase every year and have turned them down many times since my ownership was paid off and I just pay the maintenance fees yearly. I attended the presentations for the free tickets or debit cards they give out. I purchased this so I could travel and not worry if I'm stuck in a bad hotel. I know with this ownership, the resorts will always be nice and well taken care of and in safe areas. I have been really happy with the resorts and my vacations I have taken with my ownership. I just used my star option points last July 2023 at Sheraton Vistana Resorts in FL and attended a presentation to get the $200 free debit card and discount tickets to Disney World. The salesman, Charley Witherspoon, told me something no other sales rep has told me that with the new Abound program that I could use my Bonvoy points along with my staroptions and cash them in to pay for my monthly loan payment and maintenance fees. He was very convincing and told me as long as I don't use more than 2 weeks vacation a year and I accumulate alot of points on my Bonvoy card that it will work. They used equity from my previous ownership to make the downpayment. He told me he would call me closer to when my first payment is due this fall and show me step by step how to do this. I asked for his business card in case he didn't call. I have left a couple messages and emails with him and he has not responded. I have also emailed the advocacy email. Barbara Livingston said she talked with his supervisor and director to call me and they have not called me. I was scammed and not given correct information. I thought this company was better than this. So now I have lost the every odd year ownership.

• Review fromtedra b

  Date: 07/31/2023

  1 star
  I feel compelled to share my disappointing experience with Sheraton Vistana in Florida. During a recent vacation, my partner, Tedra, and I, Bruce, were intrigued by a mailer offering a discounted stay at the resort. Little did we anticipate the whirlwind of frustration and deception that awaited us. Upon our arrival, we were persuaded to attend a sales presentation, enticed by promises of exclusive incentives and benefits. What was supposed to be a relaxing vacation quickly turned into an exhaustive and high-pressure sales pitch that lasted for hours. Throughout the presentation, our salesperson, Brent *******, painted a rosy picture of timeshare ownership, showcasing apparent contentment among existing owners and presenting it as a lucrative investment opportunity. However, subsequent research revealed that timeshares often depreciate in value, and the touted advantages were mere illusions. Disturbingly, Mr. ******* avoided using the term "timeshare" and instead marketed it as a unique vacation opportunity without the burdens commonly associated with timeshare ownership. Despite expressing our disinterest in a timeshare, he omitted crucial information, leaving us ill-informed and unprepared to make an educated decision. Adding to our dissatisfaction, we were presented with an unreasonable downpayment and a timeshare price that far exceeded its perceived value. This financial burden was both unjust and unaffordable, leaving us questioning the ethics of such a pricing strategy. In light of the deceptive practices, misinformation, and the substantial financial burden imposed upon us, we formally request the cancellation of our timeshare contract with Sheraton Vistana. We no longer wish to proceed with this agreement and kindly seek prompt action to rectify this situation.

• Review fromBolita S

  Date: 05/17/2023

  3 stars
  I agree with the other customers. Think twice before you consider getting vacation club ownership. The sales staff are just like car salesman, they will tell you enough to peak your interest. If they can't get you to buy, out comes the sales manager. If you are going to buy, this is where you negotiate and if they can't meet your demands, get up and walk away. They will entice you with Network Star Options aka Bonus Star options. Use your negotiating power here to get the max options since you'll need to pay at min 20% down to be able to take advantage of using the vacation club for immediate travel because in our case we won't be owners until 2024. Otherwise, the bonus options won't be credited to after you make 6 payments. So basically you're making payments and will be hit with a maintenance fee for use the following year. Also, if the salesperson hasn't answered your questions, ask for a clear explanation before signing any paper work. Ask them to show you the info in the contract and if they can't or won't take the time to, walk away. I say this because when you call the Owner Customer Service, the information that they provide you will most likely be totally different than what the sales person told you and customer service will always advise you to refer back to the contract. At that point it does not matter what the sales person told you. And don't count on the salesperson trying to honor what they told you. They can't! I'm not going to say that it is a bad deal but know that the salesperson is not telling you everything that you need to know. Also if you do decide to purchase ownership and take the time to read the contract in full afterwards and feel uncomfortable, in some states your are able to cancel the contract as long as you do so within the timeframe outlined in the contract. Otherwise, you may be better off being a member or Marriott Bonvoy with no strings attached.

• Review fromTom D

  Date: 01/19/2023

  1 star
  As it seems for most companies anymore, it's not about providing help for the convenience of the customer it's all about what makes it easy for the company. This is true for Sheraton Resorts. I've spent 2 hours on the phone trying to get ahold of someone at the resort about my upcoming reservation to ask a question. I was hoping to reach the resort but kept getting bounced to one of their call centers which then had long wait times. VERY FRUSTRATING AND POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

• Review fromWendy Y

  Date: 01/05/2023

  1 star

  Wendy Y

  Date: 01/05/2023

  Horrible experience with this companies sales team. They didn't credit me my maintenance fees and good thing I caught that and took good notes, finally got that resolved after 3 months of work. I had already upgraded to an annual timeshare and then got totally scammed last year. I wanted to be able to travel with my Mother to Aruba and be able to use more resorts overall. The sales team totally made it seen that I needed to buy into the Abound program if I wanted to have access to the Marriott resorts. What a lie! EVERYONE that is an owner with Vistana was rolled into the Abound program and they knew that. $17,000 dollars later, I went to book Aruba on the day Abound opened and you can't book! Natalie, sales lead, said that I can't book during special event weeks and she knew I was a teacher when signing up. I specifically asked about "black out" dates and they still told me that I would have to buy into the Abound program knowing that I would not be able to actually use it for the times that I specifically asked them about during sales. Natalie responded, "people pay big money to visit those weeks", like my 17 grand isn't enough! Yes, I know I was scammed, misled, and a total fool. DO NOT trust them, they are like all the rest, such a waste of money. It should be illegal to sell under such pretenses, just like a lemon car. All I was trying to do was travel with my Mother before she can't. Big scammers and then you are stuck unless you want to deed it back to them and lose all of your money. But they certainly know how to "book" my maintenance fees bills! HORRIBLE COMPANY!

  Sheraton Flex Vacations, LLC

  Date: 01/11/2023

  We are very sorry to receive this 1-star review from Mrs. *****. Owners will typically purchase ABOUND Club points if they are in need of more vacation time in the ABOUND program. Usage at a specific resort is not guaranteed and all reservation requests are subject to availability on a first come, first serve basis. Aruba in particular is one of our most popular vacation ownership destinations. While owners can travel to Aruba through ABOUND, some flexibility may be required in terms of travel dates. Dates come available when Aruba owners elect to give up their ownership weeks in exchange for a stipend of ABOUND club points that they received to travel elsewhere.

  Wendy Y

  Date: 01/11/2023

  Now that is what should have been said to me at the sales meeting! It would have saved me 17,000! So much for integrity!

  Sheraton Flex Vacations, LLC

  Date: 01/12/2023

  Each new purchaser receives a copy of the reservation procedures at the point of sale, as well as a thorough Quality Assurance Checklist. The QA Checklist specifically addresses this point as it states that all reservations are subject to availability and a specific reservation to a specific resort or for specific travel dates cannot be guaranteed. It is possible for Mrs. ***** to use her ABOUND club points to visit the island of Aruba; however, her dates of travel will need to be flexible due to the popularity of this resort location and competition of amongst owners to visit.