Airmen, Ozarks & Iraq

A recent comment from a reader...

My husband and I bought into Worldmark in July 2004, at 23 years old, and just a few months after we got married. We are both Active Duty Air Force, just Airmen at the time. So, while stationed in Phoenix, we got a call for a free 3-day stay in Vegas plus a free gift if we sat thru the 90 minute presentation. Our parents were coming to visit so we took them up on the offer and signed up our parents too. The young guy on the phone was very friendly, a local in phoenix doing telemarketing.

We drove up and checked into the Sahara Hotel where our rooms were waiting for us. We then headed over to the Vegas Resort for the presentation. Everyone was really friendly, and we didn't feel pressured. We DID have an "Open Mind" going into the presentation, we were there to have a good time and enjoy ourselves. We weren't there for the free gift or even the free hotel nights, we manage our money carefully and could have afforded the hotel on our own...we just thought it was something new to try.

After the corny video and the presentation, we felt Worldmark would fit into our Military lifestyle, so we purchased 10,000 credits. I do wish we knew about buying in from the broker websites at a cheaper rate, but still, we have no regrets. Our parents delcined to purchase that day (they just went for us). They WERE NOT treated the way others describe on this site, everyone at the Vegas resort was really respectful....but we treated them with respect too.

We've been owners 4 years now and we still love it. We travel so much with the Air Force that its given us the chance to visit lots of resorts. So far we've visited: Cabo San Lucas, Grand Lake OK, Branson Mo, Lake of the Ozarks Mo, Pine Top AZ, Vegas, Steamboat Springs CO. (incredible skiing!), and Rancho Vistoso AZ. We are stationed in Japan right now. We'd like to visit the Fiji resort and Carins Australia while we are here.

The resorts are beautiful, I love having the washer/dryer, full kitchen, utencils/pots/pans, paper towels & bathrobes! The staff members have been incredible every time...its like staying w/family...they know all the good local restaraunts and will do anything they can to make your stay more comfortable. In Cabo they hosted several free classes about local shopping, tours, ice-cream socials, etc. For our 10K credits we pay about $450 per year in maint fees, which we pay quarterly by automatic withdrawal. Some may say this is alot of money, but we have steady incomes...and its something we value in our lives.

We've both been to Iraq 3x each since we became owners, and we always celebrate our homecomings with a worldmark trip. It gives us something to look forward to, and its fun to use the website to search resorts. I leave again for Iraq January 2009. If God doesnt bring me home this time, I know that my husband will cherish all the memories we shared....especially our incredible vacations. Life is way too short, Worldmark is a great way to enjoy it!

Tags: trendwest worldmark