Tag Archives: Timeshare

Resort Review: Pacific Shores Resort and Spa (Vancouver Island)

February 20 2:09 pm ,

Pacific Shores Resort and Spa

My timeshare is probably one of the best investments I have ever made.

I did not always think so.

I ranted about fees, used it sparingly, suffered poor customer service, thought about selling it.

But very recently, RCI redeemed itself through one beautiful resort in Vancouver Island.

Enter Pacific Shores Resort and Spa.

Let’s start from the very beginning.  The resort was in Vancouver Island, which is not in Vancouver, and we had to cross a body of water to go to it.  And by body of water, I mean a large one, and by cross, I mean through a ferry.  So we took the BC Ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island and brought our rental car to the island (our rental car on a ferry!).  This was the first time hubby drove in Canada ever so he was not very pleased that (1) he was driving the car to the inside of the ferry (which was crowded with other cars) (2) the ferry, with the car (and us), will be sailing for more than an hour and (3) he was sticking his neck out and his driver’s license too by doing this.  But after all is said and done, I think he did a great job.  (whew)

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Posted in: Canada, Travel , Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Sometimes I Do Not Agree With Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich

March 4 10:09 pm ,

Crimson

Well, at least, one time I did not.

Because, in an email to me about his “breathtaking insight about customers and human behavior,” he discussed two categories of customers:

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Posted in: Financial Education, Financial Planning , Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

If You Are in Business, Why Customer Service Should be Your Priority

April 30 6:00 pm ,

With A Smile

I was surprised by a frantic call from my home resort, the company where I bought my timeshare.

They were threatened to be exposed on national television of being a scam.  Being an attorney for the leading broadcasting station, they wanted me to speak on their behalf, to do some sort of a testimony, to talk to their client and allay the client’s fears (and silence his threats).

I told them I could not.  I was not happy with them.

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Posted in: Financial Education, The Basics of Finance, Travel , Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Travel: Amorita of Bohol

December 6 4:54 pm ,

 

To Travel the World

To Travel the World

I like hotels.

I like them so much – and traveling! – that we bought our own timeshare.  But like I said in my MoneySmarts guest post:

It gives birth to other expenses – yearly maintenance fees (which went up from P2,500 to P4,000 in the blink of an eye), RCI fees (S$150 annually –in Singapore dollars, but with the current exchange rate, it might as well be in US dollars), booking fees that could range from P2,500 (Asia) to almost P10,000 (outside of Asia). It does not include airfare, or the cost of food. The RCI hotels, although three or four stars, are almost always in the outskirts of the city – that means it is 30 minutes away from where the action is. With the cab fares we are paying, we could have had a decent room at a city hotel with dancing lights, Prada and great food at our doorstep.

But it is not all bad, as we have found out in our two years of owning one.

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Posted in: The Philippines, Travel , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,