Exchanges and Ratings

There are two major exchange companies; Resort Condominiums International (RCI) & Interval International (II).  RCI has more resorts to exchange with. II has, some say, a higher quality of resort overall. In my opinion it's six of one, and a half dozen of the other.

The Exchange Companies have designated special awards or ratings to signify excellence and have set-up rigorous qualifications for the resorts to adhere to in order to receive those awarded ratings.

• RCI has designations of Gold Crown (the best, expect luxury) and Silver Crown (just a step below a Gold Crown) and Standard ( just what it sounds like, don't expect a ton of amenities). If it is a standard resort, no designation is made in our descriptions.

• Interval International has only one rating of excellence- 5 Star! These include the Marriott and much of the Sunterra resorts. The rest of their resort affiliates are something less than a 5 star so it is difficult to gage what to expect at many of their resorts.

Finding out the true quality is simple; Either join www.tug2.net and enter the "Rankings and Reviews" pages to see what other timeshare owners say about their recent visits to resorts, or order a rankings and reviews booklet from www.timesharing-today.com and, again, see how other timeshare owners rate resorts. You can also enter the message board at Timesharing Today's website and ask if someone has been to that resort recently.