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You hear that timeshares are a waste of money - that you get tricked into buying one with high pressure sales tactics, and regret ever owning one. We actually travel quite inexpensively. Here is how…..

Our Timeshare Purchase

Before I go into that, I just want to give you a brief overview of how we started owning this timeshare. On October 27, 2022 we purchased a WorldMark Timeshare on Ebay. Our $3,499 bid won an annual 20,000-credit Timeshare. This timeshare came with 38,200 points already available to use, which can be used for probably over 30 nights of stays in 1 bedroom condos. The per night cost of this purchase ($3,499 divided by 30 nights) is $116/night. If you are not familiar with time shares, you use your credits to book vacations. For example, we just stayed two nights in a 1-bedroom ‘condo’ at the WorldMark Plaza Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, California for 2,100 credits. To stay in a 1-bedroom condo in Solvang, California is would be 2,750 credits.

Annual Cost

In September 2023, we are paying $1,800 for 20,000 WorldMark Timeshare credits. Using the above numbers, if the cost is an average of 1,200 credits per night, this will give us about 16 nights per year at a cost of $112 per night in a fully equipped 1 bedroom condo. This includes a full kitchen, living room, dining table, separate king size bedroom, and usually a small balcony with a table and barbeque. Sometimes there are resort fees of like $35/stay, and sometimes we have to pay an extra Cleaning fee which might be about $120/stay because we like to take so many short trips as we only get 2 cleaning fees per year, so this adds to our cost of each stay as well.

Now that we have gone over our purchase costs, and annual costs, here is another way we save money.

Inventory Specials

WorldMark Inventory Specials allow you to book timeshares within 90 days for a discounted rate. The example I use here is a trip that we just booked today for a friend of ours that wanted to stay in wine country in California. The resort we booked was the Worldmark Windsor, which is in the heart of Sonoma County's wine region, which is about 30 minutes from Napa Valley.

$101 per Night

The cost is just over $100 a night for a 1 bedroom condo with all the amenities that I explained above.

Many Room Options Available

At this resort, there are many options available.

A 2-bedroom condo would cost about $125 a night.

A 3-bedroom condo would cost about $150 a night.

A Studio would cost about $87 a night.

1-Bedroom Availability in September 2023

The lowest cost prices are within 90 days, so in looking at the WorldMark Windsor property in 2023, there is quite a bit of availability in November still, and completely availble in December. This is just showing the 1-bedroom availability. I would think the December trips would be available every year when booked in September - it just isn't as popular a time as it is in other parts of the year.

WorldMark Windsor

It is a pretty big facility. Here is what the pool area looks like:

3-Story Buildings

Each building is 3-stories, with stairs on each end and an elevator in the middle.

Walk to the Russian River Brewing Company

We have been staying at the WorldMark Windsor for over 10 years now, and one of the great additions to the are is Russian River Brewing Company. There is a trail from the timeshare to the brewery, so it is probably about a 10 minute walk.

Wineries Are All Around the Resort

We really think it is beatiful country in Windsor and the surrounding areas. In this map you can see how many wineries surround the Windsor Timeshare.

Other Destinations - Scenic Drive

If you drive 1 hour west you will have a great scenic drive and will have to choose from seeing the rustic california coast (Sonoma Coast Natural Preserve), stopping at a market and sampling local cheeses, taking a tour of one of the first champagne makers (Korbel), or walking through a Giant Redwood Forest (Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve).