Our experience was quite different from the one described above. We were also interested in selling an existing timeshare and replacing it with the Velas Vallarta plan. All of the rather convoluted but at the same time appealing details of the plan where people rent out your room at Velas Vallarta for the chance for you to stay at resorts all over was intriguing. Our agent Arturo Montaño made it very clear that renting out your timeshare was not strictly guaranteed nor was there a set price. He made it very clear that the timeshare we wanted to trade in would be handled by another agency and that selling would probably be easy but was not guaranteed. We signed all of the paper work for one of the plans and paid $7, 000. After we got back to the hotel we did some internet research and based on complaints like the one above we decided to cancel. The five-day cancellation policy is clearly stated on the contract. It also states that you must go in person to the place where you signed the contract and that they have two weeks to return your money. When we showed up Arturo was very gracious and made no attempt to dissuade us. He simply said it was no longer in his hands and we waited to see Monica Dallegrave. In the meantime Arturo even offered us breakfast or beverages and made sure we were comfortable. We were taken into the inner sanctum where we met with Ms. Dallegrave. She did ask us what our reasons for changing our mind were and even tried to get us to agree to a less expensive plan. When we insisted we just wanted out she put up no more resistance and we cancelled the contract and left. The money was refunded on time as was the fee for reselling our other timeshare. Believe me I understand that some agents may be unscrupulous and that the benefits may be exaggerated. At the same time the people staying at Velas Vallarta itself seemed to be really enjoying themselves and I have to say the service is next to none and the food excellent. The moral of the story is this —don't sign up for one of these timeshares if you are going to be leaving the country in the next day or two. That way, if you change your mind you only need to go back and cancel. Once you are back home you won't have a lot of options.
