April 2, 2012

That sound we heard was the sound of a week that passed by so fast, we hardly hit the ground!

It was a busy week, to say the least. Here are topics of what we are going to publish in the coming weeks:

• Train Station - We have already published our report - May open during the summer months
• Grand Luxxe Tower IV A and B and Grand Luxxe Tower V - Projected opening date - late 2013
• Pool area at the bend of the Ameca River - Under construction
• Punta Pool Area Update - New fleet of waiter rides; no word on heating the pool; reserved sections for Owners of Presidential Villas is supposedly enforced when the area is crowded
• Golf Academy - Opens late April, early May
• Train - May be operating by late 2013
• Cirque du Soleil - April and May, 2014
• Greg Norman Golf Course - may start construction late 2012
• Call Center Tour
• Mansions of the World - Construction is underway....at least that's what we hear

New news to us: Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace equity will no longer be transferable to other brands. We do not know about the Grand Bliss. What this implies to us is equity in the Grand Mayan, Mayan Palace and Sea Garden remains within their respective brands. If true, this effectively closes a meaningful process whereby most Grand Luxxe owners acquired their interest in the Grand Luxxe Residence Club in the first place.

We are particularly familiar with this phenomenon because we owned a 3 BR Penthouse unit contract at Paradise Village. It was a great unit and we spent many years of enjoyment there.

But then our children got married. Then they started having children of their own. You know where this is going.....not enough space.

We asked to use our equity in our Penthouse unit toward a larger, free standing unit. Management denied our request. Consequently, we purchased a Grand Luxxe Villa, when it was described on a sheet of copy paper.

The Sister Resort Exchange was a major selling point for us, since we did not own a Grupo Mayan developed resort in the beginning. However, the fact that we could not use our equity in the Penthouse is the only reason we bought the Grand Luxxe in the first place. We had to start all over again, and it sounds as though owners of other Vidanta brands of resorts may be put in the same position as well, IF they have a need or interest in upgrading to the Grand Luxxe Residence Club.

Attending the Member Update is the only way to get true answers to questions about our options as owners. We did, which is where we heard about this new development.

More on all of these topics later. We plan to be here for a long time and are looking forward to the changes that are sure to take place in the future.

In the meantime....