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A Timeshare Lifestyle
December 21, 2009 by Fractional & Shared Ownership Property News & Reviews · Leave a Comment
Owning a timeshare gives you the opportunity to buy a lifetime of holidays at today’s prices. But Sarah Lee discovers how it has proven even more important for one family.
Sam and Luke Chell are perhaps some of the best traveled youngsters in the UK. Sam, nine, has visited the United States
nine times, while little brother Luke, six, has been to the United States, France, Scotland and Portugal.
“They are extremely well traveled for their age,” says their mom Suzanne. “And it’s proven very beneficial – they are quite worldly. In fact, each year my husband Clive and I discuss our holiday plans with their teachers as we usually take them away for a week longer than the Easter holidays. Their teachers are always happy to release them from school for a few days, saying they know just how important travel experiences can be in their education.”
Each Easter the family visits Orlando for a family holiday, then they take in a European destination in the summer and holiday in the UK at another time in the year. However, it’s likely that Suzanne, Clive, Sam and Luke, from Teeside, wouldn’t travel so frequently if they didn’t own timeshare and exchange it through RCI.
“We like staying in good quality accommodation. The timeshare resorts we stay at are comparable to five-star hotels, but the difference is we don’t have to share just one room with Sam and Luke – we always have two-bedroom units, complete with a living area and fully equipped kitchen. There is no way we could afford to take the boys away and
find accommodation of this standard without staying in timeshare.”
The Chell’s bought the first of their timeshare weeks in 1986 at the The Oceanic, an RCI Silver Crown resort in Durban, South Africa. “Clive’s friend invited him to visit South Africa and he fell in love with the country,” said Suzanne.
“He thought the timeshare at The Oceanic was a great investment so he bought two weeks there. As it happens we’ve never visited the resort, but have exchanged those weeks on many occasions to visit other parts of South Africa.
“We’ve enjoyed many incredible holidays there staying at resorts in Cape Town and Plettenburg Bay in the spectacular Garden Route, and enjoying many, many safaris at Kruger National Park. We later bought three weeks at Sabi River Sun in Hazyview, just 20 minutes’ drive from Kruger, and would regularly drive in there for the day spotting the incredible
wildlife on the plain, then visit again the next day. We don’t have to stay at expensive private game reserves but enjoy the great quality accommodation at Sabi River Sun.
“We purchased two weeks at Sabi River Sun at first, but when the consecutive week became available it was too tempting to refuse.”
A Life Change
Suzanne and Clive would have continued to visit South Africa, but having children has changed the way they take their holidays. Suzanne explained: “South Africa is a long flight for the children and Sabi River Sun is in a malaria zone, so we haven’t visited for a few years.”
Instead the family has exchanged their weeks with RCI for stays at resorts in Florida and European breaks. However, following a stay at Orlando’s Orange Lake Country Club the Chells decided to buy a week there. “The resort is of such good quality that it’s really popular, so it has a policy that you can only exchange into it once every four years,” Suzanne explained.
“We liked it so much that we immediately bought a week’s timeshare there and have been back every year since Sam was a baby. The boys love it as there is just so much to do. “People think we go to Orlando for the theme parks and although we do spend a day at a different park each year, we only go for a day of our holiday – other than that we spend time at the resort, which has everything we need – a number of swimming pools including a lazy river-style pool, sports facilities and watersports. We usually have a unit complete with a patio area facing onto the golf course.
It’s such a home away from home and it’s the standard we’ve become used to. “Admittedly we always exchange into the best quality resorts – those rated with an RCI Gold Crown, but it’s because we’re so used to the consistent quality they offer. We went on a package holiday a year or two ago and were terribly disappointed with the standard of the
accommodation – we were holed up in a studio sleeping on sofa beds – I told Clive never again!”
An added benefit of visiting their timeshare in Florida is that the Chells are able to see Clive’s family who live in Canada.
Suzanne said: “If it wasn’t for our timeshare holidays, we definitely wouldn’t have seen Clive’s family as often as we do. We were also able to exchange into a ski lodge in Canada and spend New Year’s with them – it was a fantastic trip, which the boys really enjoyed. “They also come down to meet us each year and have bought weeks at the Orange Lake Country Club, as have some family friends who visited with us.
“We’ve seen many benefits from owning timeshare – we’ve even gifted RCI exchange holidays to family members as a wedding present, and they were delighted with the two holidays they had. “But overall we’ve benefited tremendously as a family. Timeshare has enhanced our lives immensely. We take six weeks holiday a year in fine accommodation that meets all our family needs. We wouldn’t have been on holiday quite as much if we didn’t have timeshare. Other
families save up for a year to take their children to Florida – we go every year without fail.”
The Oceanic is an RCI Silver Crown resort close to Durban’s restaurants, nightlife, and shopping as well as being close to the city’s great beaches. One-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have en suite bathrooms, full kitchens and covered parking. Sabi River Sun is the perfect place to discover adventure and South Africa’s incredible wildlife. The RCI Gold Crown resort has accommodation in well-equipped chalets. The resort has an 18-hole golf course, swimming
pools, tennis courts and a host of other sports facilities. Aside from being close to Kruger National Park, guests can go bird watching, or spot crocodiles and hippos in the nearby Sabi River.
Orange Lake Resorts is made up of four resorts on a site in the heart of Orlando. The Holiday Inn Club Vacation resorts have held an RCI Gold Crown award for many years and alongside incredible quality villa and suite accommodation they offer an excellent range of facilities including a golf club, swimming pools, and lakefront beach.
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