TimeSharing Today
Page 37
Jul/Aug, 2011
FOCUS ON: Vacation Village at Weston,FL
By Jason Farlam, Clawson, MI
The last few years, I have attended
the NASCAR season finale races at
Homestead Miami Speedway and have
always stayed in hotels. Recently the Vacation Village group has been advertising
some of their resorts in Endless Vacation
Magazine as exchange destinations for
several races, so I thought I’d try for a unit.
Because it was close to the date, the RCI
points exchange was only 9000 points as a
last minute booking. When we got there in
the second week of November, the resort
was only about 15% full. By race day it
was nicely filled up.
I had heard mixed reviews, and read
some negative statements on the internet,
but my experience was very positive.
The resort was built in stages, starting
about 20 years ago. When they ran out
of land around the clubhouse, they would
buy another piece nearby and put up one or
two of their distinctive seven story buildings. The result is that about half the units
are in a central location and about half the
units are in a few locations maybe within
a half mile, but each group with their own
pool and hot tub. The newest shorter
building was completed recently.
We spoke to people at our pool and in
and around the clubhouse and every unit
we saw was either new, or fairly recently
refurbished to nearly the same standard, at
least low to mid Gold-Crown-quality.
One thing several people mentioned
was that the property is hard to find. I
found the RCI directions to be wrong,
although in fairness, nearby interstate
road construction may have been partly
responsible.
If you think you’ve heard of the town
of Weston before, its probably because of
golf. There’s lots of golf opportunities,
including a very nearby PGA course with
significantly discounted greens fees for
people from Vacation Village.
Units are generally two-bedroom
lockoffs. The larger side has a nice living room with seating for 5-6 and a large
screen TV. There is a large dining room
table for six, kitchen with full size fridge
and stove, dishwasher and microwave.
Counter space is limited but the kitchen is
well equipped for six and has enough pots
and pyrex cookware to cook any meal.
There is a nice bathroom with Jacuzzi and
large bedroom with a large bed and second
TV. A nice balcony or patio has a table
and four chairs. Extensive use of architectural angles and natural light makes it
feel larger than its 800 square feet.
The other side has a smaller kitchen,
living room and dining area but a similar
bathroom, although no Jacuzzi, and bed-
room with large bed. Both living room
and bedroom have TV’s. None of the
smaller sides we saw had a balcony and, in
spite of the same natural light and ceramic,
they felt every bit the 480 square feet the
resort claims. Almost all exchangers had
either the A or B side only, and not the full
two-bedroom unit.
All of the activities you would expect
at a Gold Crown resort were in place, although sparsely used due to the initial light
occupancy. Some organized trips were
available and, interestingly, the resort offers free bus service to the nearby grocery
stores and restaurants. Another surprising
feature is the ability to check in any day of
the week, subject to availability.
You are a little over half an hour from
the beach at Fort Lauderdale and less
than an hour from the art deco wonder
of Miami’s South Beach. And yes, the
roller blade girls and body builder guys
really populate this area along with some
odd characters who may have a giant
parrot on his shoulder or large constrictor
around her neck. Lots of fancy shopping
and a broad price range of dining options
abound at South Beach. Miami’s skyline
also looks just like on CSI Miami with
dozens of construction cranes and many
brightly colored buildings.
Some people from the resort visited
the Hard Rock Casino and others went
to Jungle Island, Miami Seaquarium and
the Lion Safari and all seemed satisfied
with the various venues. Sawgrass Mills
bills itself as the largest outlet mall in
America and you could take the resort’s
free shuttle if you didn’t want to drive.
There’s lots of other stuff quite nearby,
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TimeSharing Today
and really, you should have a car to fully
explore the area.
The speedway would probably be an
hour away 362 days a year, but on race
day with 100,000 fans converging on a
single location, it took longer.
Back at the resort, there is a weight
room, full commercial class spa (spa
services $55 to $200) and gift shop. In
the evening, the outdoor hot tubs by each
heated pool were a great way to relax.
Wireless internet was available in some
units near the club house but for others,
and everyone in the satellite locations, it
was necessary to drive to the clubhouse
and sit in the comfortable chairs. A few
resort computers were available to those
without laptops. We found Vacation Village at Weston
to be well maintained, reasonably well
upgraded, even in the older units, and
scrupulously clean which is always important in South Florida. Some Interval
International exchangers seemed to have
arrived expecting a Marriot-like property
and, its not that fancy, but it is a good solid
Gold Crown resort close to many South
Florida attractions.
RE/MAX PROPERTIES S.W.
Timeshare Resale Division
The Smartest and Easiest way to Buy
or Sell your Timeshare.
Our team has over 30 years of combined
Real Estate experience.
(800)541-5666 ext 325
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www.TimeshareResalePros.com
Page 38
Jul/Aug, 2011
Pelican Rollercoaster Rolls On
As readers will recall from the front
page article in the May/Jun issue, the
resort was acquired by the mortgage
holder, Quantum Investment Trust, in a
foreclosure sale. In that article, we stated
that Richard Sutton held a substantial
interest in Quantum. Sutton heads Royal
Resorts, the Mexican-based resorts owner
that was managing the Pelican for more
than 10 years.
On June 4th, the Tenants Association
of Pelican Resort Club (TAPRC) held
a special general meeting of timeshare
owners in New York City, (TAPRC is the
homeowners association for the resort.)
Two attorneys, one from Florida and one
from St. Maarten, were sent by Sutton to
attend the meeting, but were barred from
entering the auditorium where the meeting
was being held.
Although more than 300 people had
pre-registered in advance, indicating that
they would attend, actual attendance
was about 150. The meeting was run by
Jeff Borowick, chairman of the TAPRC
board, and consisted primarily of reports
tracing the history of the resort, covering
much the same ground as the last issue of
TimeSharing Today.
However, the reports emphasized
improper actions alleged to have been
taken by Royal Resorts, including misappropriation of TAPRC funds transferred to
Belize after the foreclosure sale. TARPC
has authorized an appeal of the foreclosure
sale and has instituted lawsuits against
Sutton and others based on conflicts of
interest in view of Sutton’s alleged interest
in Quantum when he arranged the mort-
gage financing and claims that he allowed
the foreclosure to occur.
In a telephone call to TimeSharing
Today’s editor, Sutton stated emphatically that he never had an interest in
Quantum, although Borowick claims that
they have evidence of Sutton’s interest in
Quantum.
The lawsuit also alleges that Sutton
interfered with TAPRC’s efforts to collect
money from owners needed to fund the
lawsuits against him and Royal Resorts.
At the close of the meeting, owners
were asked to sign proxies over to the
current TAPRC board members for use at
another special general TAPRC meeting
that was called by Sutton for July 8th in
St. Maarten.
At the meeting on July 8th, Sutton
will presumably seek to oust the present
TAPRC board members. The stated goal
of Sutton, in an email to all owners, is to
elect “board members with no preconceived agenda” and to “end the current
ruinous litigation that is doing nothing but
hurting the resort.”
If the present TARPC board is no
longer in control, there is a substantial
likelihood that the litigation will end
unless individual owners can finance the
lawsuits.
Exchange Calendar Clarification
The exchange calendar for 2011 on page 40 has has created some confusion. We
will try, as best we can, to clarify matters.
RCI always starts its calendar with week #1 starting on the first possible date in
the year. The calendar published on page 40 shows the RCI calendar for weeks that
start on Saturday, with week #1 starting on January 1. Since the first Saturday in 2012
is not until January 7, 2012, there is a week #53 in 2011 for Saturday weeks.
Interval International and Royal Resorts start their Saturday weeks on January
8, 2011 so that Christmas will fall during week #51 and New Year’s Day is during
week #52. There is no week #53 during 2011 for those exchange companies.
For weeks starting on Fridays, in the RCI calendar, the first Friday in 2011 is not
until January 7, 2011. There is no week #53 for Friday weeks in 2011 because week
#52 for Friday weeks starts on December 30, 2011 and finishes on January 6, 2012.
Since some resorts belong to both RCI and II, it is imperative to call the resort
to confirm the exact dates for your exchange.
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