Westgate Resort Timeshares is a privately owned timeshare and vacation ownership company based in Orlando, Florida. David A. Siegel, a self-made multi-millionaire, who is personally so colorful I could write this entire blog just about his eccentricities, founded Westgate. Instead, I will save the Siegel stories for another time, and choose to focus instead on the upcoming Planet Hollywood Towers.

Planet Hollywood Towers is being constructed with the help of a $400 million construction and development loan arranged by Textron Financial Corp of Rhode Island. Westgate, which already has 28 timeshare resorts in 11 states, records around $800 million in annual revenues. Siegel obviously sees Planet Hollywood Towers timeshare resort as his crown jewel and has been quoted as saying that the timeshare resort is the first timeshare connected directly to a major resort hotel and casino complex, and will provide Westgate timeshare owners with, “vacation experiences unavailable anywhere else in the world.”

Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino kicked things off last week, with a grand opening that included three days of Hollywood headliners, including Bruce Willis, Barbra Streisand, Jon Stewart, Sugar Ray, and, Earth, Wind, and Fire. The event was hyped as Las Vegas’ biggest party, and any way you look at it, that’s tough billing to live up to.

Not so long ago, the prime piece of real estate on which Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino sits was occupied by the Aladdin, a resort and casino that was both grand and garish, even by Vegas standards. When the old Aladdin closed in the late 1990’s, it was imploded (except for the Aladdin Theater), taking with it memories of Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding held there, the many times part owner Wayne Newton crooned “Danny Boy,” or Neil Diamond sang “Sweet Caroline”, and no doubt the millions of dollars that had changed hands over the years across the gaming tables.

Reopening the Aladdin was attempted in 2000, but everything from the failed opening-night fireworks display, to union squabbles, to changing trends along the famous Vegas Strip made the rebirth of the Aladdin brief and painful.

In 2003, Starwood Resorts and Planet Hollywood purchased the Aladdin out of bankruptcy. To their credit, they have developed the hotel not as homage to movie memorabilia, but more along the sleek lines of the highly successful Wynn Resort.

Still, nothing is certain in Las Vegas success. One day they love you and the next day you’re yesterday’s news. But it least for now it appears that Westgate’s Planet Hollywood Towers are strategically positioned for triumph. The timeshare resort will provide direct access to the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino for timeshare owners in the 1200 villas, which includes 28 penthouse suites.

The nearly 200 boutiques of the Miracle Mile encircle Planet Hollywood, and the 50-story timeshare resort will dominate the corner of Harmon Avenue and Audrey Lane. The towers will include a tropical pool with its own sandy beach and private cabanas, a private pool on the 46 floor for exclusive use by the timeshare owners in the penthouse suites, a fitness center, restaurants, marketplace/deli, and all the amenities $400 million can buy.

Target date for opening this timeshare extravaganza? Even Westgate’s own website doesn’t speculate on when you will be able to buy timeshare at the Planet Hollywood Towers.

Until Westgate’s Planet Hollywood Towers are ready for your next vacation, here are other Westgate timeshare resales for you to enjoy:

• Westgate Blue Tree Lake Buena Vista, Florida
• Westgate Branson Lakes Hollister, Missouri
• Westgate Branson Woods Branson, Missouri
• Westgate Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, Florida
• Westgate Flamingo Bay Las Vegas, Nevada
• Westgate Historic Williamsburg Williamsburg, Virginia
• Westgate Lakes Resort and Spa Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Leisure Resort Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Miami Beach North Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort Mesa, Arizona
• Westgate Palace Orlando, Florida
• Westgate Park City Resort and Spa Park City, Utah
• Westgate River Ranch River Ranch, Florida
• Westgate Smoky Mountain Resort Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• Westgate South Beach Miami Beach, Florida
• Westgate Towers Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Town Center Kissimmee, Florida
• Westgate Tunica Resort Robinsville, Mississippi
• Westgate Vacation Villas Kissimmee, Florida

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calls it, “Alba”. It’s a Spanish word that means “dawn” and in Venezuela it stands for a trade initiative that Chavez believes will make the country less dependent on trade with the United States.

When Hilton Hotels and Grand Vacation Club’s operating license to manage the 900-room Hilton Hotel Caracas expired, the government of Venezuela took over the management of the property. The state-managed hotel is described as a “socialist tourism business”.

President Chavez’s plan calls for taking the former Hilton (what he termed as a flagship for international capitalism) into his vision for “Socialism of the 21st Century”.

The London Daily Telegraph, quotes Eustacio Aguilera, the president of Simon Bolivar Centre (the government institution that now owns the hotel) as saying, “Now everyone will have access to a great hotel and be able to enjoy it.”

The irony in this statement is that the least expensive rooms in the Hotel Alba Caracas cost pounds 70 per night, while the average income in Venezuela is around pounds 100 per month. Alas, the inherent flaw in government by a socialist dictatorship rears its head again!

For several months, Hilton has listed the hotel in Caracas as “under renovation”. Guests who have stayed there recently say it is obvious that no renovations have been either commenced or completed in a long time. Descriptions of the hotel’s present condition range from, clean but outdated to downright filthy. Guests describe the service as: poor, substandard, non-existent, and rude.

At this time, Hilton Hotels and Hilton Grand Vacations still manage two other resorts in Venezuela, the Hilton Barquisimeto and the Hilton Margarita & Suites, which is a Hilton timeshare resort.

Other opportunities in Venezuela timeshare and Venezuela timeshare resale include:

• Dunes Hotel and Beach Resort Timeshare
• Hilton Suites Venezuela Timeshare (Margarita Island)
• Lagunamar Hotel Resort Casino Timeshare Resale
• La Ceiba Beach Resort Timeshare Resales
• Pueblo Caribe International Beach Resort Timeshare Resales

Dennis Drummond was arrested last summer on a fugitive warrant in North Carolina and extradited to Massachusetts to face multiple counts of larceny. This was not Drummond’s first brush with the Massachusetts judicial system. Charges were brought against him in 1990, 2003, and 2005, all related to timeshare fraud.

In one lawsuit brought by Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Massachusetts state court ordered Drummond to pay $1.3 million in restitution and fees for defrauding timeshare buyers of nearly $400,000 in money and property. The Commonwealth’s case was a civil suit and named Dennis Drummond, Linda Drummond, and Lindsey Drummond, as well as their companies, Global Marketing and Resort Marketing.

Drummond has yet to repay his debt in the civil suit, and now faces criminal charges as well. On October 18, he made bail and was released from the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth, MA. Let’s hope there is a way to finally hold him accountable for the charges of which he has already been convicted.

Just to keep things clear, I searched for “Global Marketing” and found no website for a company by this name. I also searched for “Resort Marketing” and found a company based in Alpharetta, Georgia, that assured me they were not the company listed in the 2005 lawsuit.

If you ever believe you have been the victim of timeshare fraud, whether you were trying to sell timeshare, rent timeshare or buy timeshare, you should contact the Office of the Attorney General for the State in which the timeshare company is located.

You also can file a complaint with the FTC if your grievance involves deceptive advertising. You can call them at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

The Federal Trade Commission maintains an excellent webpage that advises on safe business practices when you buy timeshare, rent timeshare, or sell timeshare. The article is called, “Facts for Consumers Time and Time Again: Buying and Selling Timeshares and Vacation Plans.”

The Texas based timeshare company, Silverleaf Resorts, has announced expansion plans in Colorado with the purchase of over 15 acres of land in Grand County, Colorado.

According to information released by Silverleaf Timeshare Resorts, the company plans to build 136 vacation interval units, which will be within two miles of Silverleaf’s 64-room Pinnacle Lodge hotel in Fraser, Colorado. The area is also within a short drive of the ski resort areas in Mary Jane and Winter Park.

Yahoo Finance quoted Sharon K. Brayfield, president of Silverleaf timeshare resorts as saying, “With world-class skiing in the winter and plenty of outdoor activities such as golf, hiking and fishing in the summer, we are confident that our members will be able to take full advantage of the Winter Park properties throughout the entire year.”

The purchase price of the property is reportedly $4.6 million.

To learn more about Silverleaf timeshare resorts and Silverleaf timeshare resales check these links:

• Silverleaf’s Oak N’ Spruce Resort Timeshare in South Lee, Massachusetts
• Silverleaf’s Orlando Breeze Resort Timeshare in Davenport, Florida
• Silverleaf’s Fox River Timeshare in Sheridan, Illinois
• Silverleaf’s Apple Mountain Timeshare in Clarkesville, Georgia
• Silverleaf’s Holiday Hills Resort Timeshare in Branson, Missouri
• Silverleaf’s Ozark Mountain Resort Timeshare in Kimberling City, Missouri
• Silverleaf Timber Creek Resort Timeshare in Desoto, Missouri
• Silverleaf Piney Shores Resort Timeshare in Conroe, Texas
• Silverleaf Lake O’ The Woods Timeshare in Flint, Texas
• Silverleaf’s Holly Lake Ranch Timeshare in Holly Lake Ranch, Texas
• Silverleaf’s Hill Country Resort Timeshare in Canyon Lake, Texas
• Silverleaf’s Seaside Resort Timeshare in Galveston, Texas
• Silverleaf’s Villages Timeshare in Flint, Texas