Marriott International Offers Second Phase Of Timber Lodge Timeshare Resort

A bed is not just a bed when you're traveling. And just to prove it, Marriott International has not only replaced its bedding at all its hotels. It sells the feather beds billed as some of the most fluffy, sinking sleep aids available today.

The beds have even made it to South Lake Tahoe, where Marriott Vacation Club - a subsidiary of the world's giant hotelier - has set up in its first two phases of Timber Lodge at Heavenly Village near Stateline. The third phase will begin construction in summer of 2007.

A vernacular filled with 300-thread-count sheets, feather duvets and matching duvet covers have become a part of the Marriott timeshare life. A guest getting between the sheets will find the hotel chain has also upgraded from five down pillows to three down and three euro pillows. The hotelier once boasted 200-thread-count linen.

Lauren Epstein owns one week a year of a Timber Lodge unit and waited long and hard for the chain's new feather beds to make it to Tahoe. She learned about them on the Internet.

"A bed is important to me. When I'm not at home and comfortable with my own bed and I'm on vacation, the bed needs to be comfortable and the bedding needs to be right or I don't sleep under the covers," the Los Angeles woman said, while she sprawled out on the comfy bed. She arrived a week ago and has enjoyed a good night of z's ever since.

The second phase will add 192 timeshare of these villas to add to the Marriott's weekly options in South Lake Tahoe. This includes the three-bedroom villas that allow for separate groups.

"You can split these into two, and you have a guest room," Marriott Timber Lodge marketing team leader Tania Pilkinton said on a tour this week.

Some units offer three bedrooms that can be split into two separate quarters with a guest room that also comes with a pull-out sofa bed.

Refrigerators and microwaves and other accents give the units the amenities of a full-service vacation home - all in a traditional timeshare package.

With mahogany-looking furniture and recessed lighting, it's the spare-no-expense offering that Marriott plans to sell in its next round of sales. Prices begin at $14,650 per deeded week. The three-bedroom villas start at $27,000 - something new to the second phase in the $250 million public-private timeshare redevelopment project next to Park Avenue.