Time Share, Mazatlán

Many who venture into Mexico and other destinations have heard of the pitfalls of time share presentations.. They can high pressure and a waste of time ( time is such a prescious commodity on vacation) Be wary and just say no if you are not interested. I must say that I have not experienced the real negative reactions from the presenters that others may have but.... I got a free trip to Stone Island which I thouroughly enjoyed

Unique Suggestions: Get what you can.. Shop around to get free Blanket, t-shirts,golf trips and excursions etc..to name a few

Fun Alternatives: shopping is way more fun......

Try to stay away from visiting the Time Shares. Unless you are interested in buying, they will hard sell you using just about any line possible. They pay you for going to the time share properties...so I took advantage of the situation and went to 3 and made $250 total. But, if you aren't interested, gotta tell them no....they don't like you anymore but oh well.

Unique Suggestions: Say no if you aren't interested and walk away....with their cash!

Fun Alternatives: Make the trip to a Time Share with an opportunity to use their facilities for a day. These time share resorts have amazing grounds, pools, restaurants, beaches, workout centers, spas, etc. Enjoy yourself but be prepared to say no at the end.

People are paid to get you into the time-share presentations. Many times you can get decent rewards for your time. Be very careful. Make sure you know how you will be paid or rewarded upfront. We received 2 tickets for a dinner theatre show, a free buffet breakfast, and free RT taxi fare for our 3 hours in a presentation. We were only obligated to go for 90 minutes, but somehow they got us to consider buying a time-share. The good news is we left without buying one.

Unique Suggestions: Make certain who will pay you for your time before you decide to sit through the 90 minutes presentation.

Fun Alternatives: Don't let them talk you into going to the presentations if you don't have the time or willpower.

OK, I admit...you are going to get invited to see timeshare presentations. From the moment you arrive in the airport, on the street and in the restaurants...they will pose as information/activities booths and restaurant hostesses. If you are not interested at all, just tell them you leave in the morning, and that should take care of them...BUT! A lot of places are great to see, you can often get up to several hundred US dollars just for visiting, and you can always say no at the end.

We had an impression that 70% of locals are the street vendors trying to hawk timeshares by sucking you in with cheap site seeing tours. But it was not that bad during our last visit (maybe due to Christmas).

If you go to a timeshare tour for the freebies, remember, there is no such thing as a 'free lunch.' They will try very hard to sell you a timeshare. Better you should pay for your tours, and then if you want to buy a timeshare, check out the resale market when you get home. Try Timeshare Users Group for your education.

If you go to a timeshare tour for the freebies, remember, there is no such thing as a 'free lunch.' They will try very hard to sell you a timeshare. Better you should pay for your tours, and then if you want to buy a timeshare, check out the resale market when you get home. Try Timeshare Users Group for your education.

We went to Stone Island and were approached by a guy telling us that for a non committal presentation,we would be paid $200 and have a free breakfast. My wife and I decided that because the guy was nice we would give it a try. We were picked up outside of our current timeshare (thank goodness down the street). We were shown a unit that looked like a small hotel or motel room. We were then showed the excuse for a pool (our Villa pool was bigger). The woman that was trying to sell the timeshare looked like she was going to cry and told my wife it seemed like she was not paying attention. When we told them we would not make a $60,000( plus closing cost's) decision in less than a hour (even if they wanted to buy our current timeshare) they got upset. We took our $200 an left (even though my wife felt guilty)..I figured we earned it.

Unique Suggestions: If you want to make a fast $200 go for it. I even thought about writing a blog on how to enjoy Mazatlan on $200 a day. All you need to do is show your id and a credit card..I made sure nothing was written down. The breakfast was standard continental,but still o.k. Plan on staying for about 2 hours,if it's worth the money for you. It's just like any-other hard sales pitch (like buying a car)..but you do get rewarded at the end. Check out this post:

http://www.timesharegateway.com/forums/timeshare-rants-raves/316-beware-boutique-resort-la-jolla-mazatlan-mexico.html

Fun Alternatives: If you want there is plenty of other things to do.

Beware of Marina Grand. It was Villa Mar 2 years ago. First time in 13 years that we got

stiffed on a time share presentation after bring there for 90 minutes.

Unique Suggestions: Don't go. If it sounds too good to be true, it might not be true.