Category: Grand Pacific Resorts

GPX - GRAND PACIFIC EXCHANGE

6/13/2018

Every new timeshare owner quickly learns about the largest timeshare exchange operators, namely RCI and Interval International. However, when deciding on selecting the right timeshare exchange operator, the answer can be difficult, as there are are many exchange operators, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. But when done wisely, using an exchange can open up exciting new destinations, or even allow you to exchange your week for a more valuable week, such as when we exchanged a week worth $902 for a week worth $1,469.

Pool deck at Grand Pacific Palisades

Here on the West Coast, one of the best exchanges is GPX, the timeshare exchange operated by Grand Pacific Resorts. GPX is exclusive to owners of timeshare at one of the Grand Pacific Resorts, such as the Carlsbad Inn, Grand Pacific Palisades, and Red Wolf - Squaw Valley. There is no annual membership fee. GPX is a “look first” exchange, meaning you can search for availability before you are required to deposit your week. Deposits must be made at least 14 days or more from the arrival date. Late deposits can still be made, but they incur a fee of $99 - $149. The exchange fee is $189, and GPX allows owners to upgrade when exchanging for an additional fee of $85 (studio to 1BR) or $185 (studio to 2BR or 1BR to 2 or 3BR), depending on availability.

Why do we like GPX so much? First, we love the option to look first before you have to deposit. Second, we love the opportunity to exchange a lower value week (like a fall week in Lake Tahoe) for a higher value week (like a summer week on the beach in Carlsbad). Third, the fees are very reasonable. Fourth and finally, Grand Pacific Resorts has lots of great properties on the West Coast and Hawaii.

If you live in San Diego county, you should consider buying a cheap week at the Carlsbad Inn or Coronado Beach Resort for two reasons: 1) year-round day use at the Carlsbad Inn and Coronado Beach Resort; and 2) the opportunity to exchange your “cheap week” for a higher value week using GPX. It’s usually easy to find cheap off-season weeks at these resorts for under $1,000.

Day Use At The Carlsbad Inn & Coronado Beach Resort

3/20/2018

One of the most beneficial, but also most overlooked, aspect of being a timeshare owner is the ability to have day use at your resort. (Another overlooked, but very beneficial aspect is bonus time, but that will be the subject of a future post!) We’ve already discussed Day Use at the Welk Resort in this blog, so now we’ll examine day use at the Carlsbad Inn and Coronado Beach Resort.

Carlsbad Inn during Thanksgiving weekend. Perfect weather!

So what is “day use” and why is it so valuable? Put simply, day use is the ability to use some or all of the resort’s facilities, parking, and equipment during times when you are not a guest at the resort. I love the beach, but hate trying to find parking at the beach. If you own at the Carlsbad Inn, you can call ahead and reserve a parking pass, then simply show up and park in the resort’s garage. No need to go up and down streets, pay $20 to park in a private lot, or sit and wait for someone to leave. Once you get to the resort, you can use the pool and spa, check out a beach cruiser or boogie board, and use the resort’s bathrooms. And it doesn’t matter whether you own a week 3 that you bought for $500, or a week 27 that you bought for $10,000 - either way you get the same level of day use benefits.

Beach cruisers available for day use at the Carlsbad Inn

During Thanksgiving week at the Carlsbad Inn, we met several owners that were enjoying day use privileges at the resort, including a group of local owners and their guests that would sit around one of the fire pits at night and share their favorite craft beers with each other (and us!) We also met a really nice family with young kids that were enjoying the pool and spa, and they told us the Carlsbad Inn was like a second home to them during the summers.

For someone that lives in the southern part of San Diego county, the Coronado Beach resort also has amazing day use privileges, including parking, beach cruisers, and the BBQ on the rooftop deck with views of the Hotel del Coronado, Ballast Point, and of course the Pacific Ocean.

Day use at the Coronado Beach Resort - a great benefit of ownership

For San Diego locals, day use at the Carlsbad Inn and Coronado Beach resort is an unbeatable value, especially when you can pick up a cheap week for $500 or less, and then exchange through GPX (next blog post).

President's Day Weekend at Red Wolf Lodge

2/11/2018

We recently spent a long weekend at the Red Wolf Lodge in Squaw Valley. This is a Grand Pacific Resorts property, and you can find exchange weeks available on the GPX exchange. The resort is a little on the older side, but it's really charming, and the location is unbeatable! This is a true ski-in/ski-out property, with quick access to the Funitel and Red Dog chair lifts. If you get a room with a mountain view, you can sit on your couch and watch people ski down the mountain all day. Here's the view from our room:

What the resort may lack in amenities, it more than makes up for in its location, friendly staff, and fun activities onsite. Once you get to the resort, you park your vehicle below the building, and check-in at the lobby. The Village at Squaw Valley is a quick three-minute walk from the resort, and there are lots of great restaurants (Twenty-Two Bistro), bars (Auld Dubliner), shops (Spruce), and even a little market with some good wine and craft beer. Besides skiing, we took the kiddos up the tram to High Camp to show them where Mom and Dad got engaged many years ago!

This is a great resort for the whole family. Besides our family of 4, we had Grandma and Grandpa, and an aunt an uncle stay in another room directly across the hall from us. Their room had quick access to the on-property hot tub! It was fun cooking dinners together after a full day of skiing and shopping in the village. Squaw Valley shot off fireworks over Red Dog on Saturday night, which the kids loved! If you're an annual skier, you should consider looking at this resort, a Welk Platinum Points package for booking stays at Northstar, or Marriott Timber Lodge. This is a great place to spend a long President's Day weekend. Happy skiing and pray for snow!

Carlsbad Inn Upgrades & Amazing Elm 201 Views

11/23/2017

Our week at the Carlsbad Inn in Oak 322 is almost over. Our family has had such a great time, even with all the construction going on in the Oak units. It looks like the units are being completely upgraded. According to the staff on property, construction is scheduled to be completed sometime in January. There has been lots of construction noise during the day, and the water was off for most of yesterday. But with the beach on one side of the resort, and the Carlsbad Village on the other side, no wants to spend the day indoors anyways! Here's some construction photos:

Construction in Oak Building at the Carlsbad Inn

Yesterday we did some beach time, and then hit the farmer's market on State Street, an easy walk down Carlsbad Village Drive from the resort. My husband has also made several trips to Texas Wine & Spirits down the road to pick up some hard-to-find craft beer that he can't find up our way in Rocklin.

Farmer's Market on State Street

Beach day at Carlsbad Inn resort!

This has been a great trip to get a feel for the resort and meet some great people here. We have three weeks listed (6, 7, 8) in Elm 201, an oceanfront unit. I was able to get into this unit and get some pictures of the view from the balcony (below). As you can see, these are some of the best views in the resort! These weeks are priced to sell quickly ($3,500), and I have the feeling someone is going to pick these up soon.

View from Carlsbad Inn Elm 201

Thanksgiving week at the Carlsbad Inn

11/21/2017

We are at the Carlsbad Inn, enjoying sunny, mid-80s weather with the kids during this Thanksgiving week. We're staying in unit 322, almost an oceanfront unit, with a beautiful ocean view. Here's the pictures of when we arrived:

Carlsbad Inn timeshare Oak building sunset

View from 3rd floor, Oak building, upon arrival.

Courtney Jex and Penelope Jex

We drove 10 hours to get to the Carlsbad Inn, didn't feel like shopping for groceries, so had a fun dinner at the on-site Mexican restarurant

This resort is amazing!! It's about as close to the beach as you can get, and there are so many nice restaurants, ice cream shops, and bars at the Carlsbad Village right next door. Once you get here, you can park your car and pretty much forget about it. One thing we probably should have done was have groceries delivered to the resort when we got here, so we didn't have to do grocery shopping first thing the next day. But it worked out fine, because we had a fun dinner at Norte's our first night.

On the beach at the Carlsbad Inn!

Standing on the sand of the beach. These are the two small stairs leading to the resort.

We're having so much fun here! Going to the beach during the day, cooking a nice dinner in the room while the kids nap, and then walking to the Village for ice cream or chocolate at night. Easy to see why the Carlsbad Inn has the highest trading power of any Southern California resort through RCI. We've learned a lot about day use (future blog post) and yesterday we did a trip to the Coronado Beach Resort, maybe 2nd best Grand Pacific resort in San Diego County (also future blog post).

Happy Thanksgiving 2017 to everyone!

Courtney Jex

Carlsbad Timeshares - "How Close to the Beach?"

11/8/2015

Every year our family takes a “stay-cation” in our beautiful city of San Diego. This year we decided to stay at a Carlsbad timeshare, which is an affluent seaside resort city located about 35 miles north of downtown San Diego. It is known for its beautiful and uncrowded beaches, local street fairs and art walks in the Village and the famous LEGOLAND® California and SEA LIFE Aquarium just off the coast. We stayed at Carlsbad Seapointe Resort, which is a nice family friendly resort just off the Pacific Coast Highway, making it easy to get to and from other locations. See our review of our stay at the Carlsbad Seapointe timeshare.

Since we are timeshare owners and usually take a stay-cation every year, we wanted to check out some of the other Carlsbad resorts for future vacations. The first one that we visited was Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort. This resort is located right at the end of Carlsbad Village Dr and is steps away from the beach. Its location is very ideal for the vacationer wanting to walk everywhere and not have to drive at all. In fact, there is a local Mexican restaurant and bar called “El Norte”, as well as a Café called “Daily News Café” and other shops located right on-site! If you cross the street, you are in the center of the “Village” where many events occur year round and there are lots of cute boutique shops, local pubs and pizzerias, ice cream shops, sidewalk cafés, and several local beach/surf shops to explore. Besides the location of Carlsbad Inn being so wonderful, the resort itself is full of charm and many activities and amenities. There is a beautiful Oceanview Courtyard with Lush Gardens in the center of the property, which includes many chaise lounge chairs and comfy sofa seats for a relaxing atmosphere. There is a heated pool with spa, fitness center with sauna and an adult only hot tub. The views from the resort are amazing, but it’s the easy beach access that makes it so desirable by simply exiting the resort through the courtyard, crossing a small street and you’re steps away from the sand. As a resort guest you are able to check out complimentary beach items such as beach toys, chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards and even bicycles and jogging strollers! If you are not a beach goer, then the resort offers weekly activities such as: Yoga, chair massages, nutrition classes, Art display, wine tasting and a succulent box class! And for the more adventurous ones, the resort offers day trips to Catalina Island and Hollywood, as well as sailing trips. The Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort is perfect for resort travelers that prefer walking everywhere and easy beach access.

Just down about a block south from Carlsbad Inn is another nice resort called Tamarack Beach Resort Hotel. This resort sits right on Carlsbad Blvd and has incredible views of the Pacific Ocean and is a fantastic location to observe the many events held on highway 101, including the annual Carlsbad marathon and half marathon. The Mediterranean-style building offers very spacious rooms, most with panoramic ocean views and private balconies. This resort seemed very family friendly with several kids playing in the heated pool, and adults in the 2 hot tubs. There is also an on-site restaurant called “Dini’s Bistro”, which offers lunch and dinner. This resort is also great for the vacationer wanting to walk to the Village or to the beach, but is also nice for easy access to nearby attractions such as Legoland and Carlsbad Premium Outlets, which are about a 5 mile drive away. Tamarack Beach Resort has some of the most beautiful ocean views from the room balconies out of all the resorts that we visited in Carlsbad, because it sits right on the bluff and highway overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The last Carlsbad resort that we visited was Grand Pacific Palisades Resort. This resort sits above the magnificent Flower Fields, which is in bloom from mid-March through mid-May, and is located less than a mile from beautiful beaches. The location is fantastic because it is close enough to the beach for the occasional beach goer, but right next to the Carlsbad Premium Outlets and LEGOLAND®! The resort itself is very upscale compared to the other Carlsbad resorts we visited. The main entrance has a grand feel and overlooks the adults only pool and spa, which has gorgeous views of the city of Carlsbad and the ocean. The nice thing about the Adults only pool and spa is that is really does feel like “adults only”, with the pool-side bar and lounge music, relaxing chaise lounge chairs and sofa couches sitting next to a fire pit, along with private cabanas. There is even a phone booth with a menu for the Karl Strauss Brewery, which is located on-site, to deliver right to the pool! Although it may seem like this resort is not kid friendly, it is quite the opposite actually. There is a Family Water Park, pool and spa located on the opposite side of the resort (far enough away from the adults only pool and spa), which has an incredible splash pad for kids with a fun playground and a good size pool. As a guest, the resort offers discount tickets to LEGOLAND®, which is only about a 6-minute walk from the resort. However, the resort also offers a shuttle that will drop off and pick up anywhere within a 5 mile radius from the resort, making it very convenient to get around without a car. Overall, Grand Pacific Palisades is a great resort for families and/or adults wanting a luxurious getaway with new amenities and close to shopping, restaurants, beaches and fun local attractions.

Review - Carlsbad Seapointe Resort

10/27/2015

Our family stayed at the Carlsbad Seapointe resort the second week of this October, 2015. This resort is just one of many great Carlsbad timeshares in San Diego county. The weather was beautiful, and we were fortunate enough to miss the summer crowds. The Carlsbad Seapointe resort is located on a secluded bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It sits along the legendary Pacific Coast Highway, which takes just a few minutes’ drive to Carlsbad Village; a cute beach town filled with shopping, restaurants, cafés and local pubs.

This resort is family friendly and ideal for resort travelers that enjoy vacationing close to the beach, but also want easy access to local attractions, such as Legoland (which is less than 1 mile away), San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Seaworld and downtown San Diego, all of which are less than half hour drive away. The beach is accessed by crossing the PCH, then walking 5 minutes down the PCH to the beach.

The property has a very lush and tropical feel to it and offers several amenities such as 2 heated swimming pools (one of which has a fun kids splash pad), a tennis court, a fitness center, 2 jacuzzis and BBQ grills through-out. Being steps away from the beach, the resort also offers day use of beach equipment such as beach chairs, umbrella’s, beach towels, wagons, boogie boards, beach balls and sand toys.

The resort features spacious one and two bedroom condominium-style rooms with either a patio or a balcony facing the ocean, which have spectacular sunset views! One possible concern was that the units on the east side of the resort are fairly close to the rail line. However, we didn't hear any trains after about 9pm, and our 2 year-old son loved watching the trains go by! All in all, Carlsbad Seapointe is a really nice beach-friendly resort with a relaxing atmosphere.