Did Your Mexico Timeshare Withstand Hurricane Dean?

Now that Hurricane Dean has made its way across the Yucatan Peninsula, residents and business owners are left to face the clean up and disruption to life (and often revenues) that follows in the aftermath of a hurricane.

Timeshare owners of Cancun timeshare or Cozumel timeshare can breathe a sigh of relief that reported damage to the resorts there does not generally seem to be extensive. The timeshares and resorts of Cancun and Cozumel missed the worst of Hurricane Dean, even though pounding waves potentially may have caused serious beach erosion.

By midday (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, August 21, 2007, the Palace timeshare resorts were reporting that guests who had been relocated to a secure area onsite, had already returned to their rooms. Throughout the Palace Resort properties, the restaurants were reopening and clean up of poolside areas had already begun.

The Cancun tourist area still shows signs of repairs from Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Although fast-moving Dean was a stronger hurricane, many experts expect the damages to be less than those of Wilma, which stalled over the Yucatan Peninsula, pounding it for more than a day.

For a first hand report on timeshare resorts in Cancun, check what they say on the Storm Carib blog which says, “Club Internacional de Cancun, Royal Sands and Royal Haciendas are fine. It is too soon to tell the exact condition of the beach at Royal Mayan, Royal Caribbean, and Royal Islander.”

Hurricane Dean made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane and at one point had a wind speed of 165 miles per hour, with gusts up to a staggering 200 miles per hour. The Costa Maya area, known for its diving and sports fishing, is identified as ground zero where Dean made landfall. The largest city in the Costa Maya area, Mahahual, is roughly 230 miles south of Cancun.

Prior to the storm, 250 small communities were evacuated according to Quintana Roo (just north of Belize) Governor Felix Gonzalez in an Associated Press interview published by MSNBC.com. Damages of the coastal areas where Dean came ashore will no doubt be severe, but as often happens after such storms, blocked roads and downed phone lines make immediate assessment difficult. If you own timeshare at the Sole Vacation Club at Sunscape Tulum, your Mexico timeshare may not have fared as well as did most of the timeshare resorts in Cancun and Cozumel. However, I have no definitive information about Sole Vacation Club in Tulum, Mexico at this point.

A few weeks ago, the Timeshare Owners Blog offered a series of posts dealing with what to do if a hurricane threatens during your timeshare holiday, what to expect from your timeshare resort if hurricane repairs are necessary, and even a look at travel insurance designed especially for timeshare owners.

To add to this, I have included links to the Palace Resort timeshare’s hurricane policy, which says in part: “If guests wish to postpone their vacation and travel at a later date, we will protect original rate for travel up to one year after original departure date. Bookings must be rescheduled within 30 days after a hurricane strikes. Based on availability and black out periods apply.”

To review the full details of this hurricane policy, visit the Palace Resort timeshare’s main page and then follow the link labeled, “2007 Hurricane Policy” that appears at the bottom of the page.

And to learn more about Mexico timeshare resale and Mexico timeshare rental visit Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Tomorrow I’ll share the updates I find about timeshares in other parts of the Caribbean impacted by Hurricane Dean.