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Carmel-by-the-Sea

January 16th, 2009 at 05:58 am

To celebrate dh's birthday I've planned a four-day weekend at one of our favorite places, Carmel-by-the-Sea. The timing is good, just before the start of the spring semester. I am able to do this through a timeshare we've had for a few years. If we don't use the time, we would eventually lose it. So, Carmel, here we come... four days in a luxurious one-bedroom suite at the Highland's Inn, complete with an ocean view, a massive fireplace, a spa tub, and a kitchenette in our unit.

Our timeshare works like a "pre-paid" vacation in a sense. The annual dues are now up to ~ $1,000 a year, but through the exchange process, we can leverage our week to give us 2 or 3 weeks depending on the season, but at a different resort. Or, we can use the time for a week at the resort we purchased, including a split week. I checked online and the condo we are using is $635 a night. But here is the thing... we would NEVER pay this much for a hotel room because we like to economize when we travel. So when it's not connected to the timeshare, we usually stay in modest digs. But the timeshare makes staying in luxury condos more affordable.

Of course, there are pros and cons to timeshare ownership, and to be frank, I am not sure there is a HUGE money-saving advantage. First of all, you have to pay the initial purchase price and then annual maintenance fees. And if you want to exchange, you also pay a small fee. But it comes out about the same or slightly less than if we were staying at budget hotels. Timeshares are typically apartment-like in that they have kitchens and sleeping space for additional visitors. Cooking some our own meals saves money and is healthier than constantly eating out, and we often invite friends to join us part of the time.

One good thing about owning a timeshare is that it's motivated us to travel to different parts of the USA and the world. So from that standpoint, it has been great. When dh and I are both retired, we'll have more options for traveling during the "low" season and the timeshare should pay off even more.

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