Tahiti Village is a 22.5-acre timeshare complex at 7200 Las Vegas Blvd. S., near the intersection of E. Warm Springs Road just south of 215, about two miles south of Mandalay Bay (a shuttle runs back and forth to the Strip).
It’s a marginally Tahitian-themed resort with five residential towers, five to eight stories tall, surrounding a landscaped courtyard featuring pools, hot tubs, a lazy river, sand volleyball courts, a golf putting green, and a reflecting pool with shade cabanas. There’s also a three-story hotel-style lobby and sales center and a 24-hour restaurant, Tahiti Joe’s. Within walking distance are a Denny’s, McDonald's, Chipolte, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Quiznos, along with the outlet mall.
Like all timeshare promotions, you have to take a tour of the property, usually given by a sweet young hostess, then withstand a long sales pitch, often by a high-pressure closer. If you accept the free-trip offer and fulfill your end of the bargain by attending the sales presentation, you get two nights at a hotel-casino, plus some extras.
According to one report, a Michigan couple answered the ad, taking Tahiti Village up on its free-trip offer. They were put up at the Las Vegas Hilton for two nights and received two tickets to the comedy club at the Riviera and two dinners at the Sahara buffet. They had to put down a $129 deposit, but it was refunded after they attended the pitch; if they hadn’t attended, they’d’ve paid the $129 for the hotel and extras.
If you don’t mind touring timeshare properties and standing your ground in the face of hard sells, these promotions can be a good deal. And if you’re actually in the market for a timeshare and want to look at various properties, you can really score; attend several presentations and you can stay a week for free, see three or four shows, and get dinner every night.
Some people consider "timeshare" a dirty word, while others, including at least one LVA staffer, have had positive (and frugal) experiences touring properties in exchange for freebies, owning timeshare units, and taking advantage of exchange services and special offers for travel around the world.
You can also rent timeshares from owners and there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of listings of Las Vegas timeshares on timeshare rental and resale Web sites.
For example, at just one timeshare Web site, www.vacationtimesharerentals.com/United-States/Timeshares/Nevada/Las-Vegas/Tahiti-Village/, roughly 80 units are listed for rent at Tahiti Village, starting at $298 a week ($42.50 per night) for a two-bedroom one-bath with kitchen. Another 80 are for sale; several two-bedroom one-bath units start at $1,599.
Of course, there are numerous caveats in conjunction with buying timeshares, which are beyond the scope of this answer. Timeshares are a big story, perhaps the subject for a follow-up QoD or two.
But especially in today’s real-estate market, taking advantage of timeshare promotions, renting timeshares by the night or week, and buying timeshares from resellers can be excellent deals indeed -- as long as you know exactly what you’re doing.
