WorldMark Seattle - The Camlin — Hotel in Seattle

Be prepared to feel like you just walked on a used car lot when you walk into the Camlin

My parents are Worldmark owners so my husband and I are able to take advantage of their points frequently. This is the only Worldmark where I've felt like they are pushy and trying to shill their stuff leaving you hurried to get through the lobby and not wanting to talk to staff instead of feeling welcomed and a home-away-from-home, which is how Worldmark makes you think you'll feel.

While checking in, another staff member (appeared to be supervisor) came over and said that they could comp our parking ($35/day), of course we said yes - should have known nothing comes free. After checking in the supervisor asked us to come sit with her so she could go over the local events and discounts they have. First question she asked was what day we wanted the breakfast. Thought it was odd because I've stayed at the Camlin several times with my mom and had never known they had breakfast. Well...turns out it wasn't 'breakfast', after signing us up for breakfast, it was another 5 minutes before she said ANYTHING about what they get out of the com'ed parking and breakfast....it was a 90-minute sales presentation that if we sat through, we'd get the parking waved. As soon as I put it together I became frustrated at the obvious sales tactic as they lure you in without actually telling you the truth-and clearly intentionally avoiding the presentation by not mentioning it at all. I said I didn't want the presentation, as my parents had been owners for over 10 years, I KNEW the company and perks, but we didn't need it because I would just book through my parents (they always have way more points then they actually use). The 'supervisor' - now I realize she is actually the SALES person - tried upping it to $100 in event tickets, I don't think she realized it was fact that they were shady about the presentation and got me to say yes to the perks WITHOUT saying anything about the breakfast. Had she led with "hey, we have a 90 minute presentation that if you sit through we can comp your parking and fed you during the presentation' I would have been happy to waste 90 minutes, but the shady underhanded old-school sales tactics left a bad taste in my mouth, you should be confident enough in your program that you can lead with the truth. Of course I'll probably stay at the Camlin again, but unfortunately I'll know going into it that I'll have to get a little bitchy and make it clear from the get-go, I'm not sitting through the presentation because I...

We own with Margaritaville, so our standards may be a bit different than those who have only stayed at WorldMark properties…but aside from the ability to use points and the relatively convenient location, this place has nothing to recommend it. A few “highlights”: *We arrived late in the evening, so the exterior door was locked - that’s fine and to be expected. What’s not fine is that staff or guests also regularly unplug the buzzer, so it took some time to get the attention of the only staff member on-site. *The only entrance has several very steep steps, and luggage assistance is not offered. As an added bonus, there is blaring disco Muzak playing 24/7 in the unloading area. *Our reservation, which we had to make over the phone with WorldMark since it was done before online booking became available to Wyndham owners (I.e. this was not a data entry air on our part) was made under “shell vacations” rather than our name. Since we were unable to get a cellular signal in the building, retrieving our reservation involved multiple trips outside (through the locked door) to pull up the confirmation. *Internet access is $14.95 per day, even for Wyndham owners - and there is very limited cellular service throughout the building. *The only bed in the studio rooms is a Murphy bed, which sits essentially on the floor. If you’ve slept on an air mattress, the experience is similar. *The toilet clogged several times during our stay - the plunger is kept in the room’s closet, and hotel staff (aside from the lovely night security guard who came on our last night there) were very put out to be bothered about it. No cleanup was offered even when the toilet overflowed. *One of the two small elevators stopped working partway through our stay, which made for an exciting time when everyone was trying to leave at once for cruises. *The hotel is not air conditioned, which to be fair is noted in the fine print of the WorldMark description, but is unusual enough in America in 2023 that most people would not think to look for it. Windows do slightly open, so that helps if there is a breeze.

Now that we’re home we can laugh about it - but if you don’t want to spend your vacation experiencing the combined worst qualities of downtown business hotels (expensive internet and parking), cheap motels (poorly maintained plumbing, electrical, and elevators), and camping (sleeping on the floor), I would give this one...

I would like to caution owners and guests of The Camlin about attending a timeshare presentation at this location. I have been a WorldMark owner for over 22 years so I am definitely in a position to know how this program works and, let me tell you, it isn't what it used to be. WorldMark/Wyndham's sales team has always been very aggressive, even predatory, but now I'm finding them to be incompetent too. I recently purchased additional credits so I could gain access to their new TravelUp program. I also negotiated a few additional benefits but, to date, almost 60 days out now, I have still not received ANY of the benefits I was promised. I made several phone calls to the sales team but it's difficult to get a return call and, if you do, all you get is a bunch of excuses and no action. Since I was getting no satisfaction with the sales team, I contacted owner resolution and lodged an official complaint. Now, a week later, still nothing has been done and my frustration level is through the roof. In the past you could open a case and it would be resolved fairly quickly. But it seems the owner resolution department has no control over the sales team because all they can do is open an issue and forward it sales management who has done absolutely nothing.

I will never sit in on another WorldMark/ Wyndham presentation ever again. They are your new best friend, extending themselves and making all kinds of promises, until the sale is made... then they don't know your name! I have never seen anything like this and it has completely devalued my ownership. Not to mention the fact I shelled out a lot of money and still have not received the benefits I was promised.

Finally, it was months later that I learned one of the benefits I was told I would get from my upgrade turned out to be a lie! Ramie, the sales rep I worked with, flat-out lied to me about all I would receive from my upgrade. When I tried to discuss it with her, she back-peddled big time and claimed she didn't know what I was talking about. Unscrupulous!

Proceed with caution. Don't say I...