Things are not going well as pro golfer Vijay Singh backs out of timeshare project in his native Fiji.
On April 14, I reported on a bad situation at the Natadola Marina Resort and Timeshare in Fiji, where construction has slowed (or perhaps stopped) because of several problems. I promised to keep you apprised as news about the luxury resort and timeshare development became available, so here’s an update:
On April 18, PGA superstar, Vijay Singh, a native of Fiji, cancelled his design contract for a championship golf course at the resort and timeshare. Singh’s management firm, IMG, quoted him as saying, “…great disappointment for me as my dream is now altogether gone to provide this masterpiece for the people of Fiji.”
What will happen next is unclear. The project was originally planned for 275 hotel rooms, an ocean-side golf course, a timeshare resort, convention center, marina, and residential villas. Singh’s role was to help draw international attention to the beautiful location on Natadola Beach and to specifically develop a golf course and golf school at the site. Reportedly, Singh has already devoted 7 years to the project.
If you are interested in learning more about timeshare resales that are currently available in Fiji, visit the Sell My Timeshare NOW website. And as more news becomes available on the Natadola Marina Resort and Timeshare , I will continue to keep you informed.
Hilton Grand Vacation Timeshares at Reflection Bay
Hilton timeshares and Waldorf-Astoria fractionals under construction at the famed Reflection Bay golf course.
New Las Vegas timeshares and fractionals are in the plans for Henderson, Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. The Hilton Hotels Corporation has announced that they will build 250 timeshare units at Lake Las Vegas Resort. Two hundred of the units will carry the brand of Hilton timeshares, while another fifty will be branded as part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Currently Waldorf-Astoria Collection timeshares or fractionals are available at La Quinta, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Maui; and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Many of the timeshare units in the new Hilton and Waldorf=Astoria, will face the 17th hole and the 18th tee of the famous Reflection Bay Golf Course.
Reflection Bay Golf Course is the first public course Jack Nicklaus designed in the state of Nevada. It is also home to the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, where each year, stars from the PGA, LPGA, and the Champions Tours tee it up in a fan-favorite golfing showdown. Five golf holes play alongside Lake Las Vegas, and the course features three waterfalls. But if your game isn’t up to that much water, play the forward tees and you will completely take the water out of play.
Because Reflection Bay is a public course, even if you schedule your Las Vegas timeshare vacation at the last minute, you still have a good chance to get on this incredible golf course. Also there are always great deals available in Hilton timeshare resales and Hilton timeshare rentals.
The Natadola Resort and Timeshare promises to be spectacular—but a few problems threaten to delay its opening.
At a cross point in the Pacific Ocean, between the Melanesian and the Polynesian Islands, you will find the 300+ isles of Fiji. Approximately 80 percent of Fiji’s population lives on the main island of Viti Levu or a second island, Vanua Levu, leaving the remainder of the land as unspoiled nature reserves. Throughout the islands, the lush tropical landscape and dramatic mountains sloping to white sand beaches make this the perfect location for building an upscale tropical retreat and timeshare resort.
At least this was the plan when PGA Tour superstar Vijay Singh added his name to the project under development by Asia Pacific Resort International Limited (known as APRIL). The plan’s overall design calls for 275 hotel rooms to be managed by InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, the brand behind Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn. There will also be an ocean-view championship golf course designed by Singh, residential homes, villas, a timeshare resort, marina, a convention center, and other recreational amenities.
But on March 16, 2007, the Fiji Times online edition released an article on the resignation of Louis Gerard Saliot, APRIL’s chief executive officer. Saliot’s past, it seems, includes two years jail time in Monaco in 1992 for breach of trust, and in 1993, a three-year sentence for breach of trust, complicity of bankruptcy, forgery, and use of forgeries. Saliot violated Fijian law when he failed to divulge this information at the time he applied for a foreign investor’s license.
However problems with Saliot are only one of the issues surrounding the Natadola Resort and Timeshare project. Only three days after breaking the news of Saliot’s resignation, the Fiji Timesreported that a technical evaluation of the project revealed, “Much of the structural design for the Natadola Resort does not meet Fiji and New Zealand building code standards relating to earthquakes.”
With difficulties like this, it is not surprising that the project funder, the Fiji National Provident Fund, stepped in to prevent APRIL from completing the hotel and timeshare resort. But here’s where the problems grow even more complex. Vijay Singh has 31 PGA Tour victories and 22 international tournament wins, including the 2000 Masters, and the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championships. Singh, who serves as Fiji’s Ambassador for Sports, is arguably the most famous and influential native son of the Fijian islands. When the project’s problems became apparent, Singh quickly went public and said, (quoting the Fiji Times) “I am not happy with attempts to remove APRIL from its role as project developer/manager”.
Singh then went on to say that if Saliot was not in place at the helm and APRIL was not involved with the project, he would withdraw, “his name, his design for the golf course, and the proposed golf academy from the project altogether”. He added that he would seriously consider also resigning as the Fijian Ambassador of Sports.
I hope, for many reasons, this problem is soon resolved and construction of the hotel and Fiji timeshare resort is quickly back on track. Timeshare resorts are really beginning to gain popularity in Australia, New Zealand, and other Pacific islands—and why not? These are some of the most beautiful destinations in the world and ideal locations for buying timeshare resales or enjoying timeshare rentals.
Vijay Singh is not simply the best professional golfer from Fiji; Singh is the only successful professional golfer from Fiji. Singh has made it clear that he wants to build his golf school so that the children of Fiji have an opportunity to learn and play the game, and perhaps even the chance to grow up and compete on an international level. Singh’s reputation as one of the hardest working players in professional golf is something to respect, and I’d like to see this Fiji hotel and timeshare resort succeed.
Golf’s greats are at Augusta this week for the Masters. Sell My Timeshare NOW’s favorite golfer, Bobby Cole, tells us about playing there for the first time as an amateur.
Regular readers of the Sell My Timeshare NOW blog know that from time to time, PGA Tour veteran, Bobby Cole, tees it up in a tournament wearing the logo of Sell My Timeshare NOW.
Since this is the week of the Masters tournament, one of golf’s most historic and prestigious events, I asked Bobby about the times he played at Augusta. Bobby Cole’s first trip to Augusta was in 1967.
As the 1966 British Amateur champion, a tournament he won at Carnoustie, Scotland, he earned the right to play in the Masters the following spring.
If you or I were going to Augusta to take in this tournament, we would hopefully have scheduled a Georgia timeshare within convenient driving distance of the golf course. But for Cole, accommodations weren’t a concern. He would stay in the cupola section of the Augusta National Clubhouse, known as the Crow’s Nest.
The Crow’s Nest houses five players, and the privilege of staying there is offered only to the amateurs who are invited to play. In the past, the Masters tournament often included a dozen or more amateurs, but in recent years the number has been set at five. Each year the US Amateur winner and runner-up, the US Mid-Amateur winner, the US Public Links champion, and the British Amateur champion are invited to participate.
The room itself is large and simple. It is accessed only by a narrow stairway, and the five occupants must share a single bathroom. But the thrill of spending the week in the Crow’s Nest has little to do with décor or amenities. Instead, accommodations in the Crow’s Nest mean you have earned the right to bunk in the same quarters once shared by Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. The windows afford some of the best views of the golf course, and every detail of the room reminds you that you are standing on golf’s hallowed ground.
Bobby Cole, like so many of the men who stayed in the Crow’s Nest before and after him, will tell you that a week there is unforgettable. For Cole, it was also historic. As an eighteen-year old amateur, he made the cut in the 1967 Masters, and for that accomplishment he holds a record that still stands today as the youngest player to make the cut and play the weekend in a Masters tournament.
You may never get to the Crow’s Nest. And you may never play Augusta National. But Georgia timeshares, from Tybee Island timeshares to Apple Mountain timeshares, offer great opportunities for sharing memorable vacation moments with your family and friends.
