The timeshares they are touting at the BHC are for their (Island Hotels) new development, namely the rebuilding of the Golden sands hotel. I went on it last year as I am interested but decided to wait a while.

Touts never bother us much and if they do I just say a firm no and thats it or yes as it can be fun and you get the gift to boot. I have been on about 7 in Malta over the years and really enjoyed the "game" It can be a great sport Just treat it as free entertainment 1 to 1 playing mind games great fun like playing a big fish

However I am interested in the new place and I am going to go there in August with a view to buying so will let you all know, but also looking at a place in Spain in September so I won't be signing on the day untill I have seen both although this time not a game lol

Hi M-people ( thats a new one for Charliegirl007 ) anyway it is about time the MTB took note and did something about these time share louts, they say it is good for the repeat visiter but what about the ones that never come back just because of all the agro they get from them. Well lets hope that they won't be on peoples back from now on, the companys that sell time share should be made to have offices so people who wish to bye here could just go to get a deal for what place/hotel they want and every body is happy.

Dave

I got a reply from Airtours just before Easter but haven't had time to post it until now. Anyway here it is:

>>>>
Dear M r Mckeon

Thank you for writing to us about your holiday.

Time share or "holiday ownership" schemes do operate in the resort of Malta and the employees of these
projects normally offer a free visit to the site which includes a discussion about the terms of purchase. 1 am sorry
if you felt that this visit was not worthwhile and that you were pressured in to going to one of these meetings.

Timeshares do appeal to some customers and so this is why the hotel offers to promote an up coming new
development. If you are being pressurised into attending any meeting or buying an apartment a firm "no" usually
informs the employees you are not interested. 1 am sorry if you found this not o be the case. Your comments
have been taken very seriously and will be passed on to our resort manager for this to be discussed with the
hotelier.

Thank you for this feedback and 1 do hope despite this you enjoyed your stay in Malta.

>>>>

I've replied via e-mail pointing out that my complaint wasn't about Timeshare in general but the fact that we were being targeted in our own hotel room. I'll let you know if I get a reply.

Just thought I'd let you know that I got a further reply saying "this is something controlled by the hotelier" and that the hotel had agreed to ask their staff not to be so persistent in future. Still kind of misses the point - my complaint wasn't how persistent they were but the fact that they were targeting us in our own bedroom - the one place where I thought we should be safe from timeshare touts.

Anyway, I don't intend to pursue it any further.

Hello Malta Just browsing and had to comment. This also happened to me at The Coastline Hotel in Salina Bay (Near Qwara) Really nice hotel I have to say - recommend it! Hotel immaculate, food pretty good, staff friendly and efficient. Rooms excellent (however if you try it - do go for a sea view room, as the rooms at the back of the hotel have balcony's plagued by mosquitoes!! because of the plants etc.) Can be a bit "pongy" in hot weather (caused by the salt pans) but never ever yet found the "tip" that is supposed to be behind the hotel and I walked a million miles on that Island - honest!!! Back to Time Share........
On arrival we were also offered a bottle of wine (accepted from what we thought were hotel staff - turns out they were selling holiday share in the new hotel somewhere up the coast owned by the Coastline hotel group!) Drank the wine (very nice thankyou!!! - then told the "nice boy" and his two female sidekicks that we were not interested in seeing the hotel time share on offer and thought we had gotten away with it! (big fool us hahahaha) Twice we had phone calls to the room saying we had appointments to view!!! My husband stopped being "nice" and told them in no uncertain terms we were on holiday and not to call us again EVER IN THIS LIFE TIME OR THE NEXT. They got the message! However I think it is unfair of a hotel to work this way and told them so!!! It's bad enough on the streets without being a captive audience in your hotel!!!!! Love the Island though.... That Valetta gets me every time!!!!!!! Magic!

My mother swore it was the best place to stay, we went as a family, three generations, the most enormous cockroach's in Malta also live there. we too had phone calls to collect a bottle of wine in reception at the tour operators desk. we were invited to go for a ride , transport provided, to see the plans for their new hotel, definately NOT timeshare , we were asured. We were taken to a beautiful hotel, forgot the name now, we were shown plans for a new style of hotel/timeshare, it was going to be built near the ferry terminal, and the Bugiba complex was going to be pulled down, thats as much as I remember from a grilling hard sell which took an hour.
I think the idea is, that if they can get enough people to buy in advaNCE at this"special price", then they would have all the money needed to build the darn thing. I notice that they are still trying to sell them and the Bugiba complex still stands, so it cant have been that fruitful, I was there in year 2001.Make my day, Pull it down, its a dump now.

Oh no here we go again , just when it seemed to be calming down a bit yet another horror story regarding these most charming individuals just click on the link http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=204640

Well i have got to admit while we were there it was still horrendous.You could not walk through the square in Bugibba without being harrassed.
We were also stopped in the 2 weeks we were there 8 times by timeshare reps in cars,just driving around ready to pounce.

Bugibba Holiday Complex has a timeshare desk just to the left of reception and within being there 1 day we were called in our room,she didnt really say what she wanted but could she come to our room to have a word with us.She did and we knew straight away what it was for(timeshare at the Radisson Golden Sands).

Anyway she was straight with us(she didnt have an option i put her on the spot).We decided to go and have a look.
Pick up from BHC to GS,it took around 2 hours,rep(Dan) wasnt pushy at all.Had a good look round and had drinks and snacks that were provided.But all in all no hard sell at all(we just told him we could not afford it and as we had family there we could stay there when ever we wanted.We were given a 15lm voucher for the airport and a bottle of wine and then taken back to the hotel.

But as for these reps on the square and in cars this needs stopping as its getting beyond a joke.

This also happened to me at the Coastline hotel, where the slimeshare louts even have a desk in reception!!! me and my wife were called 3 times telling us we had a welcome bottle of wine, problem was this was on the 2nd week, they were offering anything from 15LM to 3 days 3 car hire, all you had to do was spend a couple of hours in the new Golden sand spa resort, we decided to go, as i went to the original resort many years ago, we were sat down and were told how much everything would cost us, but other people who we knew who went on the meeting were quoted different prices for the same packages

Yep same with us we went with another couple from the same hotel and they asked for prices on exactly the same apartment,time of year as we did and there was £4000 difference in quotes.
That rang alarm bells to start with.

We were told we could have a 1 bedroom apartment for 2 weeks a year at what we class as off peak times November - March for the grand price of £27,000 or a 3 year package priced at £7,000 that was before you paid your yearly service fees of £220(which rise every year) and still need you flights,food etc.

I think you'll find that the BHC used to be a Timeshare resort and now is being used as a base for IPCs (Inside Promotional Contacts) as opposed to OPCs for the wonderful Radisson SAS Golden Sands Island Residents Club.
I think people are a bit over sensitive when being approached in a rather gentle way by the IPCs. People seem to moan and winge when an OPC is in there face on the streets and quite rightly too, but come on. A lady or man in a hotel asking if you would like to go on a presentation is hardly a basis for spoiling your holiday.
Most people are happy to get ripped off by your local travel agent who offers sub standard accomodation at an extortionate rate, but if they are open minded and are approached in the right manner they tend to get scared and start bleating on about Timeshare this and Timeshare that.
Timeshare is here to stay so get used to it.
I own a timeshare and I'm very happy and have more holidays now than I could ever have afforded with a travel agent.
I also have stayed in some beautiful hotels and never had one complaint to lodge about any accomodation I have stayed in with my timeshare.

Malta nice and sunny at the moment so if you are not here at the moment then you should be.
Happy holidays.

Edited to protect the innocent.

Nice to see you back Macca67, Please don't worry about upsetting me. You never have! There is nothing wrong in having a difference of opinion so long as you can accept that others will disagree with you!
As for reporting you... for what! and I would not know how to? I am looking forward to my next visit over there in a week or two so please keep me informed as to what the weather is It's miserable and very damp over here.

I don't see any problem in being approached in a hotel either by a phone call or a note under your door to offer you the opportunity of viewing timeshare. This happened to us many years ago at Mistra Village (alas now departed!!). We said we weren't interested and that was the end of it.

What I do object to is being approached in the street and the touts denying it's timeshare they are promoting. I would not mind if, when you said you weren't interested, they just said "thanks" and bye" and went away but they don't. They follow you down the street making inane conversation.

I don't go on holiday to have to go out of my way to avoid these people, or to be rude to people or to pretend to be German!!! Some of them are so stupid they believe we are German even when carrying the Daily Mail.

When we were in Malta in July I did not think it was as bad as in previous years but I think we must have been lucky. It is bound to increase now with the new hotel at Golden Bay.

Most Inhouse reps are polite and if their offer is declined they just say thank you, enjoy your stay at the hotel.
I can't see anything wrong with that.

Icannot understand why you all have such a problem with timeshare. I have ben a timeshare owner for 15 years and think timeshare is a fantastic product. I stay in 4/5 star accommodation for a quarter of the normal cost, most timeshare resorts have superb facilities, good sevice, and my decision to own has paid for itself 10 times over. I would suggest that you give timeshare a try, there are millions of happy owners and frankly I think timeshare gets a bad rap.

It's good to see all these first time postings extolling the virtues of timeshare, it seems a very topical subject at present

Intersesting! Living legend, could you please provide some costings like how much did you pay and what extras do you pay for your 1 or 2 weeks stay in 4/5 star properties. Also can you name them?

I have nothing against timeshare at all. I think there are some fantastic deals and I know people who have had timeshare for many years and are extremely happy with it. It would not suit my style though. We tend to go away at the last minute and we never plan more than three months ahead.

My complaint is against the timeshare touts and their attitude and way of doing business.

If I did decide I wanted to investigate timeshare there is no way I would go with one of these touts anyway.

Anyone intrested in timeshare costs and management fees etc. Can PM me and I'll be pleased to go through my timeshare details with you.