biggie

We were offered one of those timeshare deals in NY. (No sermons about timeshares, please.)

The deal is: for $1300 you get seven nights (good for one year) at the Manhattan Club in NY. You pick the nights; Xmastime is the only blackout period.

Anyone ever had any experience with this kind of thing? More specifically, does anyone know anything about the Manahattan Club? Thnx.

xxx

No, it sounds like a rip-off. Firstly, before tax, you are paying $185 per night. Secondly, you have blackout dates, another red flag, thirdly, priceline is a heck of a lot cheaper. And these are the pitfalls before they even add on maintenance. I say run far far away from this "deal".

Estelle

New York City is not the place to do timeshare. Hawaii yes, NYC, no.

Abbey

I would skip it - you can book a nice hotel for much less that $185 per night, (even if you don't want to use prilceline) plus you don't want to pay all that money and then be told when NOT to use your accommodations.

aj

Biggie -
Where are you living now?

biggie

aj asks a good question. We live in Philadelphia, so we have easy, quick access to NYC.

Thanks for the responses so far. Some of you point out that if you hunt around, you can get a hotel in NYC for less than $185/nt. But that's why I asked the original question about whether anyone was familiar with the Manhattan Club.

My point was, what if the place is at a standard equal to NY's 4-star hotels? I doubt you could get one of those for $185/nt. And I don't think the blackout is a red flag. As I mentioned, the only blackout is around Xmas.

I am fully skeptical of this deal (thus, the post) but knowing more about the Manhattan club would make the decision more informed.

xxx

Biggie, whos 4 Star rating is it? The reason I ask is because ratings vary so much from rating system to rating system.

Owen O'Neill

The property was originally a twin e tower hotel - one tower is now the Park Central (I think that's the name) and the other is the Manhattan Club. Last winter my GF got a deal that ended up getting us a night in the hotel (I would call the hotel a 2 1/2*) at $129 and in exchange for sitting through the timeshare pitch on a Sunday morning we got a $50 lunch voucher for Gallagher's Steakhouse and two free tix for decent mezzanine seats at Rent.

WE viwed the suites/timeshare units as part of our tour - I presume that you're being offered on of the "junior" units which is in essence like a very small studio apartment albeit with almost no storage space. That unit was IMHO about the same as a typical generic 3* NYC hotel - the room might have been a tad bigger than average and it did have a kitchenette. I have read a posy in this forum from Patrick P. of FL who had friends that stayed there and their juniuor was smaller and not as nice as the "sample" unit so bbuyer beware. The larger unit had a separate bedroom and was akin to a suite that would cost $350 per night or more in NYC. They seem to be as legit as timeshares get - they spell out all the actual costs in their pitch and don't use high pressure but when I did the math and added in the extra fees and charges it just wasn't worth it (by the way - I live 6 miles from midtown in NJ but my GF and I had pondered the possibility because we do/did like to stay over in Manhattan on occasion on the weekends). I've gotten nice 3* hotels in NYC on Priceline - most recently the Clarion on 40th Street and the Marriot on Lexington - both were as nice or nicer than Manhattan Club's smaller unit. I paid $77 and $92 respectively incl ALL taxes and PL fees. Those were one night stays and I'm an experienced (and patient) PL bidder but I agree that you can do better. Just doesn't seem like a good deal to me.

Leslie

I can tell you a couple of other things as I know someone who has a timeshare at the Manhattan Club.

They are like Owen yet live in CT and like to travel into Manhattan.

They very much like the timeshare. Can probably afford to stay somewhere nicer, but the Manhattan Club is actually pretty nice and in a good location. Its also pretty easy to trade out contrary to what another poster believes. A decent timeshare in a good location in Manhattan is desireable to a lot of travelers in this world! Currently they have been trading out their timeshare in order to arrange a block of units there for a one week family reunion type thing in the city!

As I'm family, I'm really looking forward to it.

Patrick

Yes, I did once comment that I visited friends who "own" a timeshare there and were disappointed that one time their apartment was VERY small. I would never recommend buying a unit there, and they were unhappy because they supposedly purchased one of the larger units. They had been there before and had a larger unit, but this time they were in a very small one. HOWEVER. . .
If I understand biggie right, we're not talking about buying one here. You're simply talking about a one time rental for seven nights at $1300. I'd say go for it. The rooms are nice, and frankly I've seldom stayed in a standard hotel room in central Manhattan that was any nicer for that low a price. Sure there are hotels for less, but not furnished so nicely. On the other hand, I just got a flyer from The Marriott Marquis with a lot of dates of special price of $185 a night also. Frankly, I'd prefer the rooms at the Marriott Marquis (bigger than the one I saw at Manhattan Club) if they were the same price.

biggie

Excellent info, Owen and Leslie.

You even addressed concerns I didn't mention: the bait-and-switch and trading.

(BTW, to xxx, I was using "4-star" as a generic term for top-quality. Anyone who's been to NY knows which hotels have that sort of rating, no matter how many "stars" you use.)

I'm still undecided. I guess I'll probably sleep on it for a while. The big question for me is whether I would go to NYC for seven nights. Thanks again for the great info. It helped.

xxx

Biggie, Manhattan for seven nights is great. You don't feel like you have to cram everything into a couple of days and can be leisurely about your activities. All of them except walking down the sidewalk. Good luck and keep us posted!

nina

We've been getting solicitations from the Manhattan Club for a couple of years now. I'll tell you one thing, it is NOT inexpensive. The least expensive apartment (suite really), is about 220,000K, and goes up from there! For the very few nights we actually stay over in the city, it would be cheaper to stay in the presidential suite at the Palace!

ll

What's Nina's point? Biggie wasn't talking about buying at the Mnhttn Club, just renting for 7 nts for $1300. I couldn't figure out whether she thought it was good or not.

nina

"More specifically, does anyone know anything about the Manhattan Club" Is what biggie asked. What I know is that the Manhattan Club is very expensive. I think it looks nice, but not worth it (to buy)unless you have money to burn. Do you need me to spell it out even further for you ll?

Jacquee4

Just to re-iterate, you can get a nicer room for less money in Manhattan through Priceline. ie, We just got a great room at the Grand Hyatt for $99 in the spring. Well worth it!

Kris

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet - go to the TUG (timeshare users' group) and look in the Eastern US bulletin board - lots of info. on the MC - and you can also post a question there without joing. Site is http://www.tug2.net/

ll

OK, Nina, I'll speak more slowly so you can understand. Biggie specifically said he (she) wasn't buying. It's obvious that his questions were about the quality of the place and the value for the $1300 rental. Telling him that an apartment there is $220K has no relevance and no perspective.

nina

ll, You better have some coffee and kick start that brain of yours. First of all, unless you are in fact biggie, how do you know whether the fact that they will likely have to sit through a high pressure sales pitch for some very expensive real estate has relevance to his staying there or not? I've seen some fabulous deals for timeshares that my husband has flat out vetoed because he wouldn't sit through a sales pitch no matter how good the deal.

It really is amazing that you can tell what is or isn't relevant to other posters.

I'm afraid it is your post which has no point, other than to instigate. Why all the concern for my posts? You're a little to interested in me ll. I'd worry about that if I were you.

Now I've got things to do, so will be unable to continue this pointless discussion. I suggest you do the same.

xxx

II - agreed! I think nina must have been responding to some other post because her answer is of zero significance. Why shoudl biggie care what the thing cost to buy. It's like asking, "is $150 night a good rate for the Bellagio?" and responding "Well, it cost $1.6 billion to build it, it's not cheap!"