WorldMark Phoenix - South Mountain Preserve in Phoenix

If you are visiting South Mountain Preserve and are invited to a "timeshare presentation," run the other way. The company behind it (Travel & Leisure / Wyndham Destinations) practices what I can only describe as corporate elder abuse. My in-laws, who are 86 and 80 years old, purchased their timeshare here nearly 20 years ago. They paid off their mortgage immediately and have never missed a single maintenance fee payment in two decades. Now, due to health issues—including cardiac and pulmonary complications, ovarian cancer, and multiple orthopedic surgeries—they are not capable of using the timeshare. We simply asked Wyndham for a mutual release so they could stop paying maintenance fees for a product they can no longer use. Wyndham coldly refused. They cited a standard "two-year dispute window" and told us that taking back the inventory didn't fit their "sales and marketing plans." They literally told an 86-year-old man to go navigate the predatory timeshare resale market himself. Out of sheer desperation, my in-laws tried to do just that and fell victim to a financial scam in late 2024. This company does not care about you once you sign on the dotted line. They will happily extract maintenance fees from sick octogenarians until the day they die. Consider this a warning: do not get financially entangled with Wyndham or WorldMark.

We checked in and we're ambushed by the concierge to book a sales pitch. After some pressure we agreed to reimbursement of my fees if we listened to the pitch. The next day just before we were to leave to attend the pitch we were called and told they were canceling. We had adjusted our day and they left of us hanging. No offer to reschedule. Then the first room we were given we couldnt get the garage door to work so I had to go back to the front desk. They said maintenance would meet us. After waiting for awhile, we unloaded at the curb and I parked away from the unit and hiked back. Once we got up the stairs, we asked for a bottom floor and were rudely told we got what we got. Opened the door and it smelled extremely musty. Called downstairs and were told they would call back When they did we were offered a bottom floor with no garage. I agreed as I didn't care about a garage as much as I did the smell. Got to the new room and the ac doesn't work. Didn't bother calling. We opened windows and decided we could live with it. The place is full of mosquitos I believe our smush count now is around 30. They seem to be coming from the drains. Finally we went to the pool. Turned on the spa jets and a bunch of bees started buzzing. Apparently they are building hives under the filter cover. Next day they were coming from under the kids splash zone. Last day here and came in tonight to the smell of toxic spray paint or something. There is a door in the kitchen we cannot open that appears to be connected to a maintenance garage and they were in there earlier working because we could hear their entire conversations when we came back from the pool. It is nearly 9pm and I am still waiting for a fan to help blow out the smell. I was offered airfreshner to cover up the smell, not anything to help so I asked for a fan. When I called to say I was still waiting I was told there is a line and I had to wait my turn. Do yourself a favor and skip this place!

The bathroom was not cleaned and had dirty feet stains in the tub upon arrival. The other bathroom had nail clippings on the bathroom counter. The TV was on in the living room upon entering for the first time so it seemed as someone was there right before we got there. There were approximately 9 bugs on the ceiling and when I complained about all these things so that the room could be cleaned or moved, we were simply ignored and told a manger would assist us. The manager at the end of the stay was nice and thought the problem was resolved prior to my check out but I explained to her I was never contacted or spoken to regardless how many times I went up to the office or called. I will never stay w that hotel again.