Sheraton Timeshares - Sheraton Vacation Ownership and StarOptions
Emma Martin
September 29, 2008
Sheraton timeshares are another popular choice among the hotel-owned brands of timeshares. Operating under the name Sheraton Vacation Ownership, Sheraton timeshares are part of the Starwood family of vacation resorts. The Starwood corporate family also includes the Westin brand and St. Regis and Starwood continues to build resorts under all three brand names.
If you're looking to buy into the Sheraton timeshare resorts, there are lots of great vacation locations to choose from. Their flagship resort is located in Orlando, Fl and is known as the Sheraton Vistana Resort. But they also have a newer resort in Orlando called Sheraton Vistana Villages, which is a very popular resort of those visiting Walt Disney World.
If you don't have any interest in Mickey Mouse, there are other Sheraton resorts located in Florida, so you can always visit the beach resort at Jensen Beach or, if you're an avid golfer, their terrific PGA Vacation Resort at Port Stl. Lucie. And aside from Florida, Sheraton has resorts in Myrtle Beach, SC, Scottsdale, AZ, and at the Colorado ski resorts in Vail and Steamboat Springs.
One of the advantages of the Starwood resorts is the ability to use the StarOptions points program at different Starwood resorts than your home resort. This would mean that as a Sheraton owner you could trade to a different Sheraton resort, or to one of the Westin or St. Regis resorts. Basically, StarOptions give you access to the entire Starwood Resort Network so you can increase your flexibility on where you vacation.
However, if you are buying any of the Starwood resorts, including Sheraton, on resale instead of from the developer you need to be aware that only certain resort ownerships pass on the StarOption program to new owners. These are referred to as "StarOption Mandatory" resorts and they only include the following locations:
Now some of the villas at Vistana Villages and at St. John are excluded, so it pays to double-check and do your due diligence before buying any Sheraton resale if the StarOptions are important to you. I know that Bay Vista Villas at St. John is not a mandatory resort and neither are the Amelia villas in Orlando, but it still pays to check yourself before purchase.
If you do decide to buy a Sheraton timeshare that doesn't include StarOptions, you still don't have to always go to your own resort for vacation. You'll be able to trade your week with Interval International to vacation somewhere else. In fact, you can do this with the resorts with StarOptions as well so you aren't limited to just the network of Starwood timeshares anyway. Just make sure that you always allow plenty of time for a trade to come through to get your first pick of locations. I recommend depositing at least a year in advance of when you want to travel, or even earlier, if possible.
If you're looking to buy into the Sheraton timeshare resorts, there are lots of great vacation locations to choose from. Their flagship resort is located in Orlando, Fl and is known as the Sheraton Vistana Resort. But they also have a newer resort in Orlando called Sheraton Vistana Villages, which is a very popular resort of those visiting Walt Disney World.
If you don't have any interest in Mickey Mouse, there are other Sheraton resorts located in Florida, so you can always visit the beach resort at Jensen Beach or, if you're an avid golfer, their terrific PGA Vacation Resort at Port Stl. Lucie. And aside from Florida, Sheraton has resorts in Myrtle Beach, SC, Scottsdale, AZ, and at the Colorado ski resorts in Vail and Steamboat Springs.
One of the advantages of the Starwood resorts is the ability to use the StarOptions points program at different Starwood resorts than your home resort. This would mean that as a Sheraton owner you could trade to a different Sheraton resort, or to one of the Westin or St. Regis resorts. Basically, StarOptions give you access to the entire Starwood Resort Network so you can increase your flexibility on where you vacation.
However, if you are buying any of the Starwood resorts, including Sheraton, on resale instead of from the developer you need to be aware that only certain resort ownerships pass on the StarOption program to new owners. These are referred to as "StarOption Mandatory" resorts and they only include the following locations:
- Vistana Villages in Orlando
- Harborside Resort at Atlantis in the Bahamas
- Westin Resort at St. John in the Virgin Islands
- Westin Resorts at Ka'anapali Ka'anapali-North in Hawaii
- Kierlan Villas at the Westin Resort in Scottsdale
Now some of the villas at Vistana Villages and at St. John are excluded, so it pays to double-check and do your due diligence before buying any Sheraton resale if the StarOptions are important to you. I know that Bay Vista Villas at St. John is not a mandatory resort and neither are the Amelia villas in Orlando, but it still pays to check yourself before purchase.
If you do decide to buy a Sheraton timeshare that doesn't include StarOptions, you still don't have to always go to your own resort for vacation. You'll be able to trade your week with Interval International to vacation somewhere else. In fact, you can do this with the resorts with StarOptions as well so you aren't limited to just the network of Starwood timeshares anyway. Just make sure that you always allow plenty of time for a trade to come through to get your first pick of locations. I recommend depositing at least a year in advance of when you want to travel, or even earlier, if possible.
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