Star Bay Suites Resort Category 4 stars

Inside the StarBay Suites Resort located in Bucerias there is a timeshare/vacation membership operation working under the name of Banderas Bay Vacation Club. They claim to be affiliated with Holiday Systems International. The sales staff of the Banderas Bay Vacation Club have taken timeshare scams to the next level.
Not only do they make the usual scam claims of easy reservations, but will claim that they guarantee your reservation at the resort of your choice for the date of your choice. They claim to have 193 resorts that they are affiliated with that they can guarantee this reservation capability with. They have not provided a list of these 193 resorts, the salesman said that they would be on the DVD that is provided by Holiday Systems International. Well those are HSI resorts, how can they guarantee what HSI will deliver? We contacted Holiday Systems International, HSI, and they assured that Banderas Bay Vacation Club was part of the HSI network. HSI stated that our membership was with StarBay, but no where in the contract does the name StarBay appear. Additionally, I already had a membership with HSI, which I had told them; now they want me buy another!
The usual timeshare scam of placing your week in their hands to rent out when you can not use it for a return of more than the going rate is also offered as a benefit to membership.
They claimed to have a website, www.banderasbayvc.net that members are supposed to be able to access and make vacation requests; the domain name expired on Jan 24, 2008. Now that link will redirect to a site named www.crownholiday.net. Trying to cover their tracks it would appear by now operating under the name Crown Holiday. The website is amateur and full of misspelled words.
They also claim to be affiliated with a vacation annuity company, Lloydshare Ltd. that they will place your membership funds into and at the end of 30 years you will be paid your membership fees in full plus 12.56% interest. They even show you a fake certificate that you will receive. We contacted Lloydshare and they said that they have no affiliation with the Banderas Bay Vacation Club.
If you already have a timeshare, they will guarantee that they will purchase it from you for much more than you originally paid for it. They claim to be affiliated with Travel Consultants Ltd. to facilitate the sale and transfer, have not heard anything back on this guaranteed commitment. They have a web site, http://travelconsolidatorsltd.com/home that has a very similar globe icon as Banderas Bay Vacation Club and the address they provide for their office is not able to be located via any of the more popular street mapping tools available.
These appear to be clear examples of fraud and I strongly encourage anyone to avoid doing business with anyone that represents themselves as being affiliated with Banderas Bay Vacation Club or Crown Holiday.
I would encourage anyone that is contacted to participate in a timeshare presentation at StarBay to turn it down so you are not exposed to the scams outlined above.

Star Bay, Bucerias Review

As a travel agent in Canada for many years I have traveled to Mexico 4 to 5 times a year inspecting hotels, there has always been room for improvements and they have over charged for things we North Americas take for granted.

In 2008 the Star Bay in Bucerias is one of those hotels charging there guest $10 a day for wireless internet even if you are only on the internet for 30 minuets, $5 for a $1.50 bottle of water and the list goes on and on.

Soon they will be charging for walking on the beach and swimming in the ocean, this could be a great hotel if here was some good direction from the Mexican owners of the resort; we have only stayed at the Hotel for 4 nights in February 2008 and we heard complaints from every guest we met. We would rate this resort a 4 star with a bad nickel and dime attitude stay away till they learn.

The Hotel is on busy highway..noisy Nothing on beach the gates are locked in the morning so one and so on.

This hotel is definitely for those who are looking NOT for luxury and services, but for:

1. a nice, comfortable place,
2. in an attractive setting with nice views,
3. a clean, pretty, and quiet beach,
4. a beautiful patio area with a beautiful pool and sunning area,
5. full kitchen facilities, well stocked with pots/pans/utensils/dinnerware/etc. (for convenience, economy, and independence from the limitations of restaurant food options),
6. off-the-beaten-path, yet convenient location.

The furnishings are simple, yet quite comfortable. As someone mentioned, the V-shape of the building allows for at least a nice view, looked like a great view for some, from every suite. The balconies were large enough for space to relax and stretch out (it would have been great to have had a hammock!).

I did not hear much of the road noise that another reviewer mentioned, but that might depend upon the time of day and year. Also, all suites entrances are on the outer side of the building, so all the balconies face the enclosed V-shaped pool area. It wasn't like being on a private beach far from civilization, but the sound insulation seemed pretty good.

I can understand Karen's unhappiness with the place, as it sounds like she didn't have all the information it would have been good for her to have before she selected her accomodations.

It would have made things much, much easier if they had someone around who spoke more than just broken English. I called the front desk to get connected for a telephone call, and though I know enough conversational Spanish to get around quite well, it took five minutes for me to understand that I had to hang up before he could dial the call, and that my phone would ring back when the connection was ready.

Services are minimal. That was fine with me, but the only really unpleasant experience was the absence of someone to help with my luggage in a timely manner. I was going to an activity close by, and hired a cab to take me first to Star Bay so I could check in and drop off my stuff, then take me to where I would spend most of the day. Though the driver didn't make any demands, I felt obligated to pay him extra for the excessive wait time required for my things to be brought to my room.

It also irked me to learn that they would charge me $25 if I lost either my beach towel or my towel room card (not sure which one it was). Twenty-five dollars???? These were not luxury towels from Saks Fifth Avenue. Similar towels could probably have been purchased for ten dollars or less at a local store. I would just bring along an inexpensive beach towel or two, or purchase one at a local store.

The only other thing I wasn't happy about was that I ran out of hot water in the shower in less than three minutes. But no one else has complained of this, and I was only there one night, so that may have been an isolated problem.