New Wellness Community to Focus on Health, Fitness, and Relaxation

Tucson’s famed Canyon Ranch Spa and Wellness Center is planning to build their third “healthy living” residential community. But future residents should not expect desert vistas or cactus flowers in bloom. The newest Canyon Ranch facility will be a 67-story tower overlooking Chicago’s city-center strip known as the Magnificent Mile.

Plans for the health-centered residential community include a 65,000 square foot health and wellness complex, 256 luxury condos, 128 hotel-condominium rooms (that can be purchased like timeshares), and 48,000 square feet of office space. An on-staff medical team, therapists, and other specialists from the Cleveland Clinic will be available to serve the needs of the residents.

Similar properties are planned for Miami Beach, Florida, and Bethesda, Maryland, with Los Angeles, New York City, and Texas as other potential development locations. Canyon Ranch and the Chicago-based LR Development Company, made the official announcement about Canyon Ranch-Chicago on May 19, 2006, and plan to break ground on the 450 million dollar property early next year.  

Suspects may account for 90% of timeshare fraud in the Costa del Sol area in recent years.

On Friday, police in Spain announced that they had captured several individuals accused of timeshare fraud. The profits generated from these scams amount to more than 18 million euros. Though allegedly masterminded by an expatriate South African, this gang is known for its ties to British criminal elements operating in Tenerife as well as the UK.

Authorities claim that 90% of timeshare fraud on the Costa del Sol can be directly attributed to this organization, which operated behind more than 300 businesses.

While these arrests are a step in the right direction, I don’t think it qualifies as a happy ending just yet. Many people lost their life savings to these scams. In my view, a happy ending will only happen if all victims are compensated in full.

What’s the lesson to be learned here?
Do not take the purchase or sale of a timeshare lightly!
If you are one of thousands of people who have been defrauded in timeshare scams, you’ll know that buyer’s remorse often arrives too late. Choose an established company you trust to handle your timeshare transactions.

More on this story is available from the following sources:

Reuters
Typically Spanish
Times Online

When an idea works, why not run (or roll) with it?

A recent edition of the Miami Herald reported a new twist in time sharing.  Blas García Moros, a former Microsoft executive, loves fine automobiles—loves them so much he can’t decide which one (or ones) he wants to own.

So for Moros, and others like him, who just can’t choose whether to buy a Lamborghini or an Aston Martin, the newly created Collexium of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, will soon offer a solution. Premiering later this summer, Collexium plans to operate much like vacation timeshares, except that the featured product will be luxury cars -not condo-style accommodations.

Current plans call for members to pay a $15,000 initiation fee, as well as a $15,000 annual fee. In return, they will receive about thirty days of driving. To gain additional drive time each year, members will need to purchase points.

Although automobile timesharing may be a clever idea, Moros is not actually the first to come up with it. Collexium is similar in concept to Car Club Manhattan and Car Club London, however both of these other  “auto timeshares,” offer mainly classic or muscle cars. Collexium plans to keep their lineup all about performance—very high performance.

But don’t put on your driving gloves or take out your checkbook yet. When Collexium premiers, at least in its initial phases, membership will be by invitation only.

Today’s post continues our coverage of the ongoing Royal Oasis debacle.

I’ve been wanting to follow up on the continuing story of timeshare owners at the Royal Oasis resort on Grand Bahama. The Freeport News recently published a letter to the editor from a concerned timeshare owner. Looks like this letter can speak for itself, and needs no further preamble from me.

Check it out:

http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/editorial/286062345496719.php