Ever dreamed of taking that vacation in Hawaii? How about South Africa? The French Alps? Or perhaps Florida? Ever dreamed of spending little and staying in a Resort instead of some dirty hotel room? For an entire week? That's what I'm offering you if you win my auction - a week in your version of paradise.

What am I bidding on?

You get to use my RCI exchange and take a 1 week vacation anywhere there is an RCI affiliated resort. Where are there resorts? Everywhere. Mexico, Japan, France, Spain, Florida, Hawaii, South Africa, Australia. The only question is: where do you want to go?

The stay is for 1 week - and you get to stay at the resort of your choice. For you and up to 5 other friends (a total of 3 couples), you are getting a great deal!

(Go back to eBay listing)

How will it work?

Upon the close of the auction, you have 7 days in which to contact me and to arrange payment. I highly prefer paypal. I will run searches against RCI availability for you as per your desires, and will send you the results. Lather, rinse, repeat until you find a resort you like. I will book it and send you the paperwork. It's that simple.

What is the total cost?

All costs are included in the auction bid except the below:

Transportation to the resort. That's up to you and your travel agent.
Mail / Shipping costs of the exchange documents and any expedited status requested.
Special resort fees - some resorts are extra special - and charge extra fees. These are listed with the resort description, so there shouldn't be any surprises, however these fees are NOT included with the auction.
Damage deposits - some resorts charge a refundable damage deposit. You are responsible for this. Again this should not be a surprise.

These costs are included:

Exchange fee for RCI (approx $80-150 varies by the resort)
Guest certificate fee (approx $40-80 varies by the resort)

Note that any costs not specifically included are therefore excluded.

During the auction

If you are the current high-bidder, during the auction I will gladly run searches against current RCI availability, time permitting.

What are the restrictions / limitations?

Generally, up to 4 people can stay in the room, including you. 2 people per bed is presumed. The resort search will tell you how many people can stay in the room, as well as how many have their own room (privacy).
50 day advance booking. This is RCI, not me. Which means the first valid date of travel is March 1st (approximately) and last is 30 June 2004 (when the exchange expires). That gives you approximately 4 months: March, April, May and June. 4 months in which to make your holiday.
Payment required within 7 days of close-of-auction. Choice of resort required within 21 days of close-of-auction.
The resorts define their own "weeks". One resort may consider a week from Sunday to Sunday, the one right next door might consider a week starting on Saturday. I have no control over this.

How do we search?

You need a rough time when you want to go (see restrictions above) and an idea where you want to go. I suggest you use the RCI Resort Directory (see links below) to get a rough idea of what could potentially be available. Generally it's a good idea to have either a country picked out, or a State if you're going to travel to the USA. Some examples of the categories are listed in the availability sample searches. Other examples can be seen on the RCI Resort Directory.

Have a range of dates picked out, within the restrictions listed above. Obviously, the more flexible you can be, the more likely we are to find something where you want to go. The search engine only will search a 10 week period.

Tell me what your parameters are, and I'll let you know a list of resorts. You can then go to the resort directory and look at them yourself. If you like one, we book it!

other search parameters

If you have special requests or needs, such as handicapped access, or want a place with a pool, let me know. Obviously I'm trying to give you what you want or need. However I'm not an RCI agent so I can only go with what the system gives me. Check out the RCI directory (below) for a sample of how the resorts list themselves.

If you are planning on taking a group of people (not just 2) please tell me.

Pets - RCI resorts are notoriously unfriendly to pets. Leave snowball and rover at home. Sorry.

Refunds

What if I can't find any resort that meets my interest?

If, after 2 weeks, you have not chosen a resort that meets your needs, then I will refund your money, minus a 15% service charge (for re-running the auction, original auction costs, etc).

After the exchange

After I've booked the exchange for you, there are no refunds. Sorry.

For more information

There is lots more information, so PLEASE see my website at http://www.theveers.com/rci.html. There you will find out about RCI, see the sample availability searches, and some links to some RCI resorts, and some more pictures.

Resorts and RCI

RCI stands for Resort Condominiums International. Basically, if you buy a timeshare then you can either use the timeshare for the week you have purchased, or you can "deposit" that week into the RCI system. Upon depositing it, you are then eligable to "exchange" it for another week at any other week available in the system. The other weeks were deposited by other RCI members.

It should be noted that RCI is for resorts not hotels. Resorts are generally, but not always, located outside of major cities. You won't find an RCI available in the city of Manhattan (New York), but you will find some available in New York state. There are lots of RCI resorts along the coast in Greece, but there aren't any in Athens. However, we found some exceptions. There is one (the Edinburgh Residence) which is in downtown Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm sure there are others. My point in bringing this up is if you are ALREADY planning a trip to say, city X, and you want to replace your hotel with a RCI resort stay, you will most likely be out-of-luck. The point here is to arrange a vacation, not a cheap place to stay.

Availability sample searches

These searches were performed Sunday January 25, 2004. occupancy is read as follows: 2/2 means space for 2 people (i.e. 1 bed), with privacy for 2 people. In other words, 1 bed period. 5/2 means there is room for 5 people to sleep, but only privacy for 2 (in other words, there's 1 bedroom, but the living room has a hide-a-bed and a cot or something.)

Mexico, Acapulco & Ixtapa region, March 1 - May 10, Hotel unit search

2 available

Mayan Palace Acapulco, Resort #2984, max occupancy 2/2, available 07/05/04 - 09/05/04.
Mayan Sea Garden Acapulco, 4125, 5/2, 23/04/04 - 09/05/04

Florida, Orlando area, March 1 - May 10

(18 resorts available). To look up a resort, the easiest is to use the resort id # (5159 for Club Sevilla).

Club Sevilla, Resort #5169, max occupancy 8/4, available 08/05/04 - 08/05/04.
High Point World Resort, 2066, 6/4, 01/05/04 - 09/05/04
Alhambra at Poinciana, 1496, 8/2, 24/04/04 - 08/05/04
Hilton Grand Vacations Club, 3517, 8/6, 07/05/04 - 07/05/04
Harder Hall Lakeside Villas, 0742, 4/2, 01/05/04 - 08/05/04
Villas at Fortune Place, 3654, 8/6, 01/05/04 - 08/05/04
Orbit One Vacation Villas, 5109, 6/6, 01/05/04 - 09/05/04
Oak Plantation Vacation Ownership, 4070, 4/2, 01/05/04 - 09/05/04
Sheraton Vistana Resort, 0450, 8/4, 30/04/04 - 09/05/04
Geo Group at Imperialakes, 2094, 6/6, 01/05/04 - 08/05/04
Silver Lake Resort, 2610, 4/4, 02/05/04 - 09/05/04
Grand Lake Resort, 4300, 6/4, 25/04/04 - 09/05/04
Orange Lake Country Club, 0670, 8/2, 01/05/04 - 09/05/04
Westgate Vacation Villas, 0899, 4/2, 01/05/04 - 08/05/04
Lifetime of Vacations at Grand Lake, 0851, 6/4, 27/03/04 - 08/05/04
Vacation Village at Parkway, 4940, 4/4, 30/04/04 - 08/05/04
Cypress Pointe Grandvillas Resort, 3996, 4/2, 07/05/04 - 07/05/04
Fairfield Orlando at Cypress, 3995, 4/2, 08/05/04 - 09/05/04

Hawaii, April 1 - June 10

No resorts available. Sorry. Hawaii is a tough one to get into.

Greece, April 1 - June 10

(1 resort available)

Nostos Village, Resort #2822 (Skiathos, GREECE), max occupancy 2/2, available 16/04/04 - 22/05/04

Bahamas / Bermuda / Caribean, April 1 - June 10

(11 resort available)

Guadalupe Resort, Resort #4020, located: La Puerta TRJL VENEZUELA, occupacy: 4/4, available: 10/04/04 - 05/06/04
Villas Jazmin en Costambar, 1830, Puerto Plata DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 4/2, 01/05/04 - 05/06/04
The Coconut Palms Resort, 2519, Carbarete DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 4/2, 24/04/04 - 05/06/04
Villa Chalet San Cristobal Hotel, 3439, San Cristobal TACH VENEZUELA, 6/4, 09/04/04 - 04/06/04
La Trucha Azul, 2472, Santo Domingo MER VENEZUELA, 6/2, 09/04/04 - 05/06/04
Viva Vacation Club at Viva Wyndh, 2330, Bayahibe DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 4/2, 28/04/04 - 09/06/04
Acuarium Suite Resort, 4859, Santo Domingo DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 4/2, 12/04/04 - 07/06/04
Village Caraibe Tennis Golf, 1017, Puerto Plata DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 8/2, 24/04/04 - 05/06/04
Hilton Suites, 3545, Isla de Margarita NESP VENEZUELA, 4/2, 09/04/04 - 05/06/04
Occidental Allegro Punta Cana, 3521, Cabeza de Toro DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 4/2, 24/04/04 - 22/05/04
LHVC @ Lifestyle Crown Villas, 6993, Puerto Plata DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 8/6, 08/05/04 - 05/06/04

links and reference information

Validity

this auction is valid January 26, 2004 to February 1, 2004. Go back to eBay listing

Questions?

Please ask! I will answer any reasonable question, and probably put the answer up for everyone to see. Note as I said, I will only run a search for the current HIGH bidder, so if you're not that person, don't ask. I can be reached via our contact information.

some Pics

Here's some pics for your from the Edinburgh residence and Vacation Village in Weston. Remember I said that the Edinburgh Residence is an exception to the "Resort" rule - it's more of a classical hotel than a resort.

the Edinburgh Residence - outside

the Edinburgh Residence - inside

the Edinburgh Residence - the bed

Layout / Floorplan of Vacation Village in Weston (dual unit)

Collage of sights at Vacation Village in Weston

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