Posts Tagged ‘The Crane Beach Resort’

RCI Timeshare Resort: The Young Island Resort, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Young Island Resort

I was talking with a client yesterday and he told me about a new resort in St. Vincent and the Grenadines called the Young Island Resort.  I don’t know how long it’s been affiliated with RCI as a timeshare, but not long.  The ID number is 6926 so that tells me it’s pretty new.

It seems that the gentleman and his wife and another couple have been going there for a number of years for Thanksgiving (November) and paying $2,600 for 8 nights including2 or 3 meals a day.  He is new to timeshare, he inherited it from his dad 3 years ago and has never used it, and he was shocked that he could get probably an upgraded cottage for only $189/week.

Better yet, he could use 2 exchange weeks for 2 cottages and his friends could pick up the airfare or meals.  This really got him going.

He waxed poetic about how beautiful the resort and the Grenadines were so I decided to have a look.  He was right.  The Young Island Resort is truly a piece of paradise.  The entire island is only 35 acres and the only thing on it is the resort, spa, lighted tennis courts, restaraunt and beach. No shopping and limited dining but if you’re looking for a place to just get away from it all and relax this is the spot. Young Island owns and operates Two (2) yachts, which can be chartered for a day sail to Bequia or Mustique and it’s just 200 yards from the Island of St. Vincent if you’re looking for other sightseeing opportunities.

Young Island Resort Pool

Young Island Resort Pool

RCI has listed two types of rooms; studios and 1 bedrooms. Both sleep 4, are air conditioned, have phones and internet but no televisions.  Their website lists 3 different types of cottages, of which there are 28 total, and a 2 bedroom. The daily rates start at $422/night in hurricane season and go to $1,222 for the 2 bedroom, plus tax I assume, making it a great place to do a timeshare exchange. I don’t know how many are timeshares so it would be good to ask RCI when booking.

A perfect add on before or after a week at The Young Island Resort would be to do an exchange for the Trade Winds Cruise Club or the Festiva Sailing Vacation yachts for a week. You will embark on a weeklong cruise aboard one of the club’s luxury cruising catamarans that will take you to places you could not visit on a land-based vacation. All yachts have four or five guest cabins and one for the crew, who are in charge of the yacht and all cooking. Each day sail for an hour or two after breakfast and again after lunch. You will visit different islands every day ending with cocktails and dinner in quiet bays where the yacht will moor overnight.  There is a mandatory all inclusive fee for meals on the yachts.

Once, while staying at The Crane Beach Hotel in Barbados on exchange, I nearly exteneded my vacation a week because the Trade Winds in the Grenadines was available online for the following week.  I didn’t because my wife at the time would never board anything smaller than a cruise ship.  I could kick myself now. 

Make sure you maximize your exchange power and request early to take this dream vacation.

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Jeff Pierce, The Timeshare Expert, has taught thousands of timeshare owners the secrets to getting the best exchanges with both RCI and Interval International for over 22 years.

His two books, The Timeshare Exchange Bible – RCI Weeks Edition, and The Timeshare Exchange Bible – Interval International, are the only books of their kind in the timeshare industry and designed to help you  master at the very complicated art of getting good exchanges. 

I would love to have you share your opinions and personal insights on this blog. 

For 10 FREE videos on getting better timeshare exchanges in RCI and II go to TheTimeshareExpert.com.  

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The Crane Beach Resort, Barbados RCI

Friday, April 4th, 2008

The Crane Beach Resort, on the island of Barbados, is one of the best exchanges I’ve ever done.  It’s said that it is the first resort ever built in the Caribbean! The main building, which still exists, started accepting guests at the end of the 1700′s.

The Crane sits on a bluff above one of the most beautiful palm lined, pink sand beaches you’ll ever see.  You take a switchback staircase down to it where the staff will bring you drinks and rent you umbrellas and body boards.  The shallow slope of the beach makes it safe for swimming and even though there were good waves for body surfing, I detected no undertow or rip currents. 

It’s also on the quieter and more remote side of Barbados and is very romantic.  It’s away from the hustle and bustle of Bridgetown, the capital, and the more popular resort area of St. Lawrence Gap. 

The pool has one of the most dramatic settings you’ll ever find.  At far end of the pool are  sets of Dorian columns that are backed by the ocean.  It’s truly a breathtaking setting.  You can see some pictures of it here.

There are a great restaurant and pool bar on site and a grocery store nearby.  Because the Crane is more remote you’ll either want to rent a car or take tours to see the other parts of the beautiful island. 

Be warned, Barbados is a former British Colony so you drive on the left, which takes some getting used to for many of us.  Also, be sure to look both ways when stepping off a sidewalk because the cars will be coming from a direction you’re not used to.

Make sure you visit Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary, a beautifully manicured mangrove swamp filled with the natural flora and fauna of Barbados.  Look for the beautiful Rainbow Eucalyptus trees the bare trunks of which are covered with the pastel colors of the rainbow.

Barbados is also outside of the hurricane zone so you can safely travel there anytime of the year.  Winter is best, of course, but the hardest time to exchange.  I was there in May and it was great.

You can check it out at http://www.thecrane.com/.

You’ll find this one of the most challenging timeshare exchanges you’ll ever do.  If you want any chance of exchanging to this resort, make sure you pick up

“The Timshare Exchange Bible-The Da Vinci Code of Timeshare Exchanging.”

In the next post find out which resort you can stay at with its own penguin colony while still wearing shorts all week.