More Stories

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) is featuring personal stories from three Festiva Hospitality Group owners during June as part of the industry’s effort to share the amenities, experiences, and heartfelt memories of timeshare vacations.

The three families—the Todds, Augers, and Raders—hail from around the country and each has spent their vacation time at a different Festiva resort. See their blogs below to learn more!

“My Children Have Been Here Every Year of Their Lives!”

For nearly 20 years I’ve been vacationing in Myrtle Beach at the Peppertree Ocean Club during Week 32. Over that time we’ve seen many changes….to the resort, the city, and our family.

We take other vacations throughout the year, but we use this week for our family to spend time together, relax, and grow closer. My children have been here every year of their lives!

They’ve gone from floating around in the baby pools at the age of one to chasing girls in their teens. Peppertree Ocean Club is a strong part of our family’s history and is a tradition we look forward to all year long.

--Richard Todd, Festiva’s Peppertree Ocean Club in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

“Heaven on Earth”

Our first visit to Rangeley Lake Resort was pure "heaven" to us! It was relaxing, peaceful, and a great time for family bonding. With my husband – who is in the Navy – being deployed quite a bit, this vacation gave us the best "family time" we could ask for.

We love to hike the many trails that surround the lakes…from the top of Bald Mountain to the Majestic Angel Falls, our hikes show us so much of the beauty of the area. Our new family tradition is to take the short seven-mile drive to Smalls Falls, not just for the beauty, but because the kids really love jumping off the rocks into the lower pool. The water is cold, but so refreshing!

Swimming at the resort's own dock area is always fun. The kids can canoe, paddle boat, swim, or fish. We have had some great times down on the lake, including the times we rent a pontoon boat and cruise around the lake. My favorite thing to do is to take pictures. I love going out and looking for moose and other wildlife to photograph. I have captured some of our most cherished family memories at Rangeley Lake Resort!

The staff at Rangeley is very accommodating and friendly; the cabins are well cared for, cozy, and wonderfully decorated! The town of Rangeley has its own rustic flair too. Small town friendliness mixed with great restaurants and fun shops to browse make this tiny town center a must visit for us each year.

It’s fun in the winter as well, seeing the snowmobilers riding on the lake. Snow shoeing and cross-country trails are in abundance and we love to head up the hill a short way to Saddleback Ski Area. It is so nice to be able to ski all day, take in the winter views from the top of the mountain, and be "home" in 10 minutes and relax in the hot tub or by a cozy fire.

We love Rangeley Lake Resort and our timeshare vacation so much that even when we had to move to the West Coast, we still made time to get to Rangeley for our summer vacation!

--Dina Auger, Festiva’s Rangeley Lake Resort, Maine

“The happy sighs of our children made it all worthwhile”

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time vacationing with timeshare and Festiva Adventure Club. The Cape Cod resort had so much to offer!

We appreciated how close the pools were and that there were both indoor and outdoor. There was a great exercise room if we were up for that…or if we just wanted to relax after a long day, we could just hang out, fix dinner, eat, and catch a movie together.

The townhouse was very comfortable, roomy, tastefully decorated, and clean. We loved that there was plenty of room for our family of five. The staff that greeted us in the lobby was very friendly and extremely helpful.

The resort was kid-friendly, with plenty of activities for children, including themed socials like the ice cream sundae social and pie social that our kids loved.

When we take family trips we enjoy sightseeing. We loved walking the old streets of Falmouth and just taking in the sights and the atmosphere. There were local people and those that were vacationing just like we were, but you didn’t feel rushed as if you were at a beach crowded with people. The weather was perfect! We loved the fact that the day was warm but the nights were very pleasant.

Just being together in this environment and hearing the laughs and sighs of our children made the long trip from North Carolina to Cape Cod all worthwhile.

-- Angela and Eric Rader, Festiva’s Southcape Resort and Club, Cape Cod