Varsity Clubs of America South Bend Review (2025)

Varsity Clubs of America South Bend Review

There are only two Varsity Clubs of America timeshares/hotels and I honestly wish there were more.

I don’t even love sports, but I love these properties.

They’re low-key, but still offer all the amenities, like free breakfast!

When using timeshare points or paying cash, they’re just as affordable as a regular hotel room, but you’re getting a kitchen and a separate bedroom.

The courtyard is a great place to enjoy a warm fire, practice your putting, or go swimming.

The lobby is a great place to just hang out, watch a game, or play a game.

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One Bedroom

Even though we booked a studio, we ended up being upgraded to a one bedroom since it was the only room available when we checked in.

When we got to our room we had a nice welcome gift waiting for us on the kitchen counter that is exclusively for timeshare owners.

Bedroom

The bedroom has a king bed with side tables and lamps on both sides.

It’s not a huge room, but it’s spacious enough for luggage for 2 people.

There’s a tv, dresser, full sized closet, and extra bedding in the room too.

Bathroom

The bathroom is small and has just enough room for a tub and a toilet.

It’s a decent sized tub for a bath, but it’s nothing fancy like a jacuzzi tub.

The bathroom vanity is outside of the bathroom, making it easier for multiple people to get ready at the same time.

Just behind this picture is built in shelving that holds extra bath towels, washcloths, and pool towels.

Living Room

The living room is nicely sized, with plenty of seating.

The couch can comfortably sit 3 people and there’s another lounge chair.

There are 2 ottomans that can be easily moved around.

Just outside of the frame of this picture is another tv.

What’s great about this room is that the kitchen is open and has a direct view into the living room.

So you can watch tv from the kitchen or the living room.

Kitchen

The kitchen here is spacious, but is just a mini kitchen.

Most timeshares that have one bedroom units have full kitchens, so it’s interesting that this one is just a mini fridge and microwave.

There’s a small sink too and some smaller appliances in the cabinets.

The countertop is quite large and also has seating for 4 people.

Pricing

Cash pricing varies widely with this resort, but it is usually VERY affordable – like less than $100 per night.

Many weekends throughout the year are completely sold out months in advance though.

Think football season, graduation season, freshmen moving on campus, etc.

Any time something major is going on at Notre Dame, expect this place to be sold out or significantly pricier than average.

Look at the pricing below for November 2024.

The weekend of November 8th and 9th is a home football game and so is the 15th and 16th.

But the rest of the month is very affordable!

Here are some other numbers I’ve pulled just as a comparison:

For the same weekend we stayed this past year, the next year is already sold out, 7 months in advance!

You can see that the surrounding dates start at $210 and $244.

Many of these prices will be for the studio rooms, but they actually tend to have more availability for 1 bedrooms more than anything else, and they’re usually not that much more expensive.

But you can also see in the image below that much of the time, you can get a room here for just $82 (plus tax).

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Using Timeshare Points For Your Stay

Varsity Clubs of America South Bend used to be part of Diamond Resorts, but then Diamond was bought out by Hilton Grand Vacations several years ago.

So now they are part of Hilton!

We used 1,050 timeshare points for 2 nights in a studio for a Friday and Saturday night in May, during graduation season.

The price conversion for that is about $550 for a 2 night stay based off of what we bought the timeshare for, plus about 20 years worth of maintenance fees averaged per year.

Basically, it’s nearly $4,000 per year to have our timeshare if we use it for 20 years, but if we factor in the freebies we get in return, it’s really less than $3,000 per year.

Now the $550 for 2 nights might seem high, but if they’re already sold out that weekend 7 months in advance, how much do you think those people were paying per night?

We’ve seen just for football season that rooms can be $500+ just for one night!

Now, if we factor in all the freebies our timeshare has given us like free points, free stays, gift cards, etc., then the cost for the total stay is $415, which is a much better deal.

I like to look at both since the freebies really do make a difference with having and using a timeshare.

Even hotel rewards programs don’t give out this level of “free” stuff.

Remember though, we booked a studio and we had a complimentary upgrade to a one bedroom, so $207 or $275 per night for a one bedroom on a Friday and Saturday night when every hotel is booked for graduations, is not bad, considering we had a kitchen and separate bedroom.

Timeshare are notoriously ridiculously expensive for Friday and Saturday stays, but since we booked this less than 60 days out, it was discounted.

This property in particular is just cheaper than the typical timeshare resort, so that helped as well.

We would not have used our timeshare points here if we weren’t getting a decent deal.

Resort Amenities

Here are some of the highlights of things you can enjoy outside your room.

Lobby

The lobby has a lot of seating and is very collegiate looking.

It’s a great place to just hang out if you’re traveling with a group or just to sit and do some work.

There’s a large tv in the lobby, so it’s also a good spot to watch sporting events.

There’s also another room off of the lobby that’s like a sitting room or library that’s smaller, but cozy.

There is also a pool table just off to the side and a business center.

Free Breakfast

When you check-in you’ll be given vouchers for free breakfast for the number of people that should be in your room.

So if you’ve smuggled in extra people, those people won’t get free breakfast.

For breakfast they offer a little bit of everything like juice, coffee, tea, water, fruit, yogurt, hot foods, cereal, and more.

Pool

The pool is indoors, so it is open year-round!

We did not use it since we weren’t really at the resort very much, but it looks nice!

Fitness Center

We also didn’t make use of the fitness center, but it is also just off of the lobby.

It’s not huge, but it has all the basics.

Courtyard

The courtyard has a little bit of everything.

A putting green, fire pits, grills, and tables and chairs.

So if you want to grill out while you’re here and enjoy the outdoors, you can do all of that right here in the courtyard.

Overall Experience

Overall, we just love Varsity Clubs of America South Bend.

I think since we had such a positive experience at the Tucson location all the times we’ve stayed there that we knew what to expect.

Then those expectations were met and even succeeded in some ways.

The biggest pros for us were the affordability, availability of rooms other than studios, location, and free breakfast.

Also, even though they were completely booked out, it was quiet!

It was mostly older families with their adult children graduating college.

I don’t think I saw any small children or anyone being rowdy the whole time we were there.

So it’s a pretty property, it’s quiet, it’s centrally located, and has a ton of amenities.

Really the only thing I’d change is having a full kitchen in the one bedroom suites.

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Conclusion: Varsity Clubs of America South Bend Review

Varsity Clubs of America South Bend is a great place to stay if you’re visiting the Notre Dame campus for any reason or if you find yourself in South Bend for another reason.

We actually used this resort as a home base for day trips out to Indiana Dunes National Park and Chicago!

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