Ultimate Resorts Review

 After a few frustrating vacation experiences several years ago a our family became members in what is now referred to as a "Luxury Destination Club" called Distinctive Retreats.  We paid a up front fee to join, a yearly maintenance fee and then a nightly fee for each night we stayed at one of the residences. 

The problem that we were trying to solve by joining this type of club was three fold.  First, getting availability in the prime weeks at the best locations is very challenging and you often have to commit to space a year in advance.  Second, because demand is so high resort hotels jack their prices to $500+ per room and because we have 3 kids, we need at least two rooms.  Third, hotels and their beaches are incredibly crowded and stress inducing during the busiest weeks.  After fighting with someones grandmother over a beach chair at the Hyatt in the Cayman Islands, I decided it was time to look for a very different solution.

We have three young children under eight so the luxury destination club seemed like a perfect concept.  We joined a club called Distinctive Retreats which boasted homes in their portfolio of an average value of $2.5 million.  When we originally joined their were affiliated with Abercrombie & Kent.  At some point along the way, they split when A&K and then subsequently changed their name to Tanner & Haley.

Although Distinctive Retreats/Tanner & Haley seemed to be very disorganized we did ultimately book several great vacations through them.  We stayed at their properties in West Palm, Naples, Scottsdale and Aspen over a two year period.  All the houses were over the top amazing.  They were huge 6,000 square foot homes with top of the line appointments.  They all had amazing outdoor space with pools, yards, bbq areas etc.

At around the same time a competing club started up called Exclusive Resorts which seemed to be much better run.  Their properties were more modest with an average value of $1.5 million but according to my friends who are members, they ran a tight ship, had a great online reservation system and their member base grew quickly to surpass Distinctive Retreats. Steve Case, the original founder of AOL became an investor in the business.

About a year ago, the bottom dropped out and Distinctive Retreats/Tanner & Haley declared bankruptcy.  We came to learn they had made a number of mistakes that caused the model to fall apart. We were at risk of losing all of our initial upfront investment.   Fortunately after about six months, a smaller destination club called Ultimate Resorts raised $100 million and bought most of the assets of DR/T&H.  Although not every member did elect to join UR, we did.  We traded our membership down to a level that gave us more days with more advanced days but less luxurious homes.  

Although there have been some initial hiccups, I give UR credit for getting their act together.  We have been pleased with the service and the availability of homes.  We have already been to Esperanza in Cabos San Lucas Mexico (see my review of that) and we are planning a trip to Jackson Hole and New York City.  The units have been available in all cases.  We have also secured advanced reservations for a few other sought after destinations a year or two from now.

Although I am not completely up to speed on all the clubs, the general idea is that you can buy in for $150 to $450k and pay a yearly fee of $15 to $35k.  The amount of up front and yearly fee will determine a) the size of the homes and b) how many advanced and prime week reservations you are entitled to. My advice is to focus on the home to member ratio, their reservation policies, and the size and nature of the homes.  Compare the destinations to see if there are any desitnations that you really want.  For example, UR does not currently have a Snowmass/Aspen location and ER does.

A list of some programs web sites

www.Quintess.com  

www.ExclusiveResorts.com 

www.ultimateresorts.com

www.heliumreport.com (they publish a guide on all 24 clubs)