I fell in love with my home resort during a trip to Orlando, Florida, in 1995.
It was a classic story of timeshare publicity. We were offered tickets to a dinner show if we visited a resort and sat through a presentation.
At the time, I figured, “Why not?”
I sat through a Personal Preview and sales presentation at the Embassy Vacation Resort at Grand Beach. I saw the beautiful 3-Bedroom Suites and was amazed to see two primary bedrooms, a third room with twin beds and three full bathrooms. The view of the lake was lovely from the screened-in patio and the kitchen was perfect. I could already picture my family in this spacious unit.
The units were selling for a specific week. I already knew about timeshare, as my father owned weeks in a resort in Egypt and traveled using RCI®. He encountered issues booking high-demand destinations with his RCI week. So what really convinced me was the trading power of the week in Orlando.
Orlando is booked all the time. Purchasing a unit in Orlando meant top trading power; it didn’t matter if I bought week one, 52 or any in between. I would be able to book a vacation in a popular destination.
So I bought a week at Grand Beach and became an Owner. Since then, I’ve enjoyed several trips to Orlando and other resorts around the world, including England and the Canary Islands.
In 2007, I sat through a Membership Review and learned that ownership would change from fixed weeks to ClubPoints. I learned that my week afforded me 8,000 ClubPoints. However, to make the most of the trading power, it made sense for me to upgrade to 12,000 ClubPoints.
I told myself I would try the ClubPoints system and see if all the perks mentioned in the sales meeting were true. And they were. I made the most of my travel perks, booked full weeks in many resorts and loved all the freedom I had. This began another love story with ClubPoints.
During my next visit to Orlando, I decided to buy additional ClubPoints and upgrade my membership tier. I was already vacationing for four weeks in gorgeous resorts with my ClubPoints, so these extra ClubPoints opened a wider range of vacation opportunities.
"Hello Carlsbad, hello Hurghada, hello Swiss Alps, hello Paris, hello Las Vegas. Traveling from one gorgeous location to the next was a dream come true."
In 2009, I booked a stay at the Polynesian Isles Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, for my parents. My father knew how much I enjoyed my ClubPoints. He attended a Personal Preview and sales presentation there and ended up buying enough ClubPoints to reach the highest tier immediately. His plan was to enjoy retirement and travel around the world with my mom. Unfortunately, he never got to live out this dream with her as Mom passed away suddenly in 2010.
Nevertheless, he enjoyed traveling and spending time with his grandkids, so we all traveled to Las Vegas in 2012 and had a beautiful stay at the Polo Towers. Then he took us on a Caribbean cruise in 2014 with his ClubPoints and enjoyed true relaxation and pampering.
In 2018, Dad passed away at 90 years old after traveling and enjoying his life to the fullest.
At that point, my brother and I inherited his ClubPoints. Since we inherited the ClubPoints together, we decided to combine both memberships.
In August 2019, I used these ClubPoints for an Alaska cruise. It was one of the most amazing cruises I’ve ever gone on. We booked three cabins for me, my grown-up sons and their girlfriends and had a wonderful time.
In 2020, the pandemic hit the planet, and travel became way more restricted. However, I still used my ClubPoints for hotels and resorts in Quebec, Canada, where I live. I had a wonderful time in Mont-Tremblant and the Eastern Townships. We traveled with masks on but still managed to enjoy our ClubPoints.
In 2021, we went to Orlando again, where I visited Mystic Dunes, a Hilton Vacation Club, for a Membership Review. I decided to buy an additional 10,000 ClubPoints to reach Centum level with all the benefits and opt into the Hilton Grand Vacations family.
My ClubPoints journey continues to this day, with trips to California, Florida and more on the radar.
Do I like my ClubPoints? Starting with 12,000 and being at 100,000 ClubPoints today says it all.
Read “Why I Love Hilton Grand Vacations’ ClubPoints System (Plus What To Do In Lake Placid, New York)” and see another Owner’s favorite way to use her ClubPoints.