HIATUS TRAVEL MAGAZINE: All About Timeshares

With a choice of looking out the newsstand window at bleak, snow-covered suburban New Jersey or at the pages of Hiatus Travel Magazine, it's no contest. Those shimmering beaches and emerald golf greens win every time. Hiatus, subtitled the "Travel Magazine for Vacation & Timeshare Enthusiasts," is filled with information essential to anyone who owns or is contemplating buying a vacation timeshare. I've been reading the magazine's 2005 "Buyer's Guide to Vacation Ownership," a 130-page issue that is divided, like Gaul, into three parts. The first part is a series of very informative and clearly written articles on the basics of timesharing, discussing the different kinds of timeshare arrangements, such as flex time and point systems, as well as describing what the legendary "90-minute presentation" by a salesperson at such a resort is like. The second part is an extensive directory of hundreds of timeshare properties by geographic region, with tables listing their amenities, types of accommodations, nearby facilities and distance from airports, as well as Web sites and phone numbers for more information. The last part of the issue contains typical travel magazine articles: a visit to Mexico in general and Cozumel in particular, tips on acquiring and spending airline miles, and a discussion of the different features to look for in a digital camera. While the magazine is understandably biased in favor of the concept of timeshares, publishers David and Karen Wood state that "none of the resorts appearing in Hiatus paid any fees for favorable editorial consideration or placement." I'm not sure how many issues Hiatus is planning to put out in 2006 from its headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ; the only subscription info in the issue I have is for the 2006 "Buyer's Guide." That issue will be available later in the year for $7.50 from the publisher. You can get a copy of the 2005 "Buyer's Guide" from us for $2.59.