Timeshare Trends Blog

Seven of Starwood Hotels and Resorts newest properties have made the Conde Nast Traveler Hot List. Starwood is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies, and among timeshares, it provides generally the most luxurious and spacious vacation accommodations. With seven premier new hotels making this year’s Conde Nast Traveler Hot List, it is more than any other hotel group. Bearing the flags of Starwood’s luxury and design-led brands, hotels that gained spots on the famous list includes the majority of new St. Regis hotels that opened last 2009, including three W Hotels from Washington D.C to South Beach to Santiago, Chile, and the first Luxury Collection in Peru. Properties on the Conde Nast list include Hotel Paracas in Peru; St. Regis Atlanta; St. Regis Mexico City; St. Regis Deer Crest in Park City, Utah; the W Santiago, Chile; W South Beach in Miami; and the W Washington, DC.

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LaTour Hotels and Resorts will be managing Grove Gardens Phuket in Thailand. US based LaTour Hotels and Resorts, which offers personalized luxury hospitality management services for four and five-star properties worldwide, will now manage Grove Gardens Phuket, an exclusive residential estate property located on prestigious Cape Yamu on the East Coast of Phuket, Thailand. Grove Gardens Phuket brings the number of LaTour Hotels and Resorts properties in Asia to three. LaTour Hotels and Resorts delivers highly personalized vacation experiences at new and existing four and five-star golf, ski, urban and oceanfront properties. LaTour Hotels and Resorts currently operates properties in the United States, Mexico and Thailand, with upcoming expansion plans throughout South America, Europe and Asia.

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Over 100 new resorts in 2009 were welcomed by RCI, the world’s largest vacation exchange company. Demonstrating that vacation exchange remains a bright spot in the travel industry, RCI, considered the global leader in vacation exchange and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, announced that it added more than 100 new resorts in 2009 alone, including 10 properties under development.

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The Sithonia Beach Club of Porto Carras in Greece joins the RCI network of affiliated resorts. The resort is a fabulous mixed-use resort offering guests a variety of activities, from golf, casino and spa to Blue Flag beaches and secluded coves. The Sithonia Beach Club at Porto Carras is located on the west coast of the popular Halkidiki area of mainland Greece and is part of the stunning mixed-use Porto Carras Grand Resort, which incorporates four luxury hotels, a private casino, modern Thalassotherapy and spa facilities, a conference center, plus an 18-hole international standard golf course. Guests can enjoy a variety of additional on-site activities, including live entertainment, fitness facilities, swimming pools, tennis courts and horseback riding.

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Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group, has added Bali Palms Resort to its exchange network. Just steps from the sand in the East Bali town of Candi Dasa, the fractional vacation residences include studios and one and two-bedroom apartments available in three, six or ninth month increments. The Bali Palms Resort is known for having one of the largest pools in the area with lush palms and sunbeds all along the beachfront and well-established tropical gardens. It also boasts the Palms Cafe beachfront bar and restaurant where guests can relax, enjoy a cool drink or meal and watch the sea.

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New Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong to be World’s Highest Hotel. The new Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, once completed, will be the highest hotel in the World and is set to open in December 2010. The hotel will occupy the top 16 floors of the International Commerce Center, a 118-story skyscraper that serves as the base for financial giants like Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. According to Mark Lettenbichler, Vice President and Area General Manager for Ritz-Carlton, he said that “the hotel will stand as a showcase of contemporary design, and become an iconic landmark in a city known for its architectural excellence.” The hotel’s design is set to be varied but consistent with a classic theme. Vast windows and high ceilings will be found all over the hotel together with several trendy restaurants, an indoor infinity pool and a rooftop bar that is sure to take ‘chilling out’ to a whole new height. Aside from the top-quality service for which Ritz-Carlton hotels are known, there will be panoramic views of the skyline, green mountains, and busy ports.

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Interval International has presented the Villa Group in Mexico with the Chairman’s Club Award. During a recent ceremony in Nuevo Vallarta, Interval International, presented The Villa Group’s executives with the prestigious Chairman’s Club Award. The annual award recognizes the top 25 membership-producing companies worldwide, based on new memberships received by Interval during the previous calendar year. Founded in 1984, The Villa Group is one of Mexico’s leading privately owned real estate development companies. Its portfolio includes beachfront vacation ownership resorts located in Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, Los Cabos, Loreto, and Cancun.

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Starwood Hotels and Resorts are dramatically expanding in India with plans to expand its presence in India by nearly 60% by 2013. The first Starwood resort was located in Mumbai in 1973, and since the 70s, the company has opened 26 other resorts under names including Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, the Luxury Collection and Le Meridien. With all of the different locations and brands to choose from, this makes Starwood the largest upscale US resort operation in all of India. Breaking down the future expansion plans, Starwood has 15 resorts under development in India alone. They have been working on six Aloft resorts, and three of which are scheduled to open this year. The new line of Aloft resorts put a chic spin on traveling. With hip villa décor, on-site bars, and live music performances, Starwood hopes that this new spin on resorts will attract travelers of all ages.

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Sol Melia Vacation Club has opened two new resorts in Coatia. Sol Melia, one of the world’s leading timeshare resort brands has opened two luxury resorts in Umag, Croatia. Previously part of Sol Hotels, both resorts are now part of the Sol Melia group, which owns over 300 properties in 28 countries across four continents. The luxury makeovers mean the Melia Coral and Melia Istran Villas are now the most luxurious properties on the Umag coast. Both resorts offer guests the amenities and standards of service that have become Sol Melia’s gold seal. The Meliá Coral offers 244 rooms, six luxury suites, a spa, pool, solarium, an elegant bar and Mediterranean tavern, and two outdoor leisure areas known as the Club Elite Automat and the Beach Club. The Meliá Istrian Villas is an environmental village without cars in an oasis of 180 properties set on the edge of the sea, well-known for its 15-court tennis center. The villas combine traditional architecture with modern comfort, new facilities include the O Grill restaurant.

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ResortCom Elite has been rebranded as LaTour Hotels and Resorts. LaTour Hotels and Resorts offers personalized, luxury hospitality management services for four and five-star properties. Currently, LaTour, operates seven developments representing nearly 500 units, with nearly 400 more units at multiple properties planned in the near future. For every client, the company’s goal is transform the ownership experience through superior service, distinctive amenities, imaginative activities and an obsessive attention-to-detail. LaTour Hotels and Resorts include the Tonopalo Private Residence Club in Lake Tahoe, California; El Secreto and El Caracol in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; IndoChine Resort and Villas and Grove Gardens Resort in Phuket, Thailand; and the Lodge at Stillwater in Deer Valley, Utah; as well as an in-construction project, the Delcanto Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico scheduled to open summer 2010. The LaTour Signature Group also actively operates Dewa Resort in Phuket, Thailand and has two projects in various stages of construction, which include the Wyoming Club in Black Hills, Wyoming; and Olamar Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

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