Heard of "M" Resorts in Puerto Vallarta? [AKA Castles & Condos]

Watch for an email from PapaBearAB

Hello C&C "lurkers" (that is the facebook name for folks who look and do not post).

If you bought at C&C and have not contacted PapaBearAB, please send him or me, pittle a PM on TUG. Whomever you contact will respond.

trying for a refund

we bought oct.2008 if they used contract numbers in order we would one of the first 80 to buy at c&c we are trying to get a refund with our ii visa if anybody that has succeeded in getting a refund please let us know what we need to do. the new owners say we will need sign a new contract has anybody else seen the new contract. we bought two weeks ,yahat club, golf,hsi, ii memberships paid in ful with card.

Refund

rickey92 said:

we bought oct.2008 if they used contract numbers in order we would one of the first 80 to buy at c&c we are trying to get a refund with our ii visa if anybody that has succeeded in getting a refund please let us know what we need to do. the new owners say we will need sign a new contract has anybody else seen the new contract. we bought two weeks ,yahat club, golf,hsi, ii memberships paid in ful with card.

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I'm in the same boat as you- I was one of the first purchasers last year (exact package as yours, it sounds like). I'm in Canada and have tried three times to get a refund from Citi MasterCard and they will not help. I put the down payment on the card and paid the remainder via a wire transfer. I haven't seen the revised contract yet, the last email I've seen from Amanda was the one with some pics. I think Joe (PapaBear) will be sending the owners on his contact list an email with a link the a private c&c website that a member or two on here are creating. I haven't seen it yet, but suspect it will be ready soon.

owners website

If you haven't received an email for the owners website, then you should contact PapaBearAB with your info. His email address is joefaubert at shaw.ca
just replace the 'at' with '@' for the address and no spaces. The website is up and running with several members already
Thanks to Bob & Pittle
Jean

Refund from Visa

Back in August I began working with the fraud division of my Visa credit card as recommended by Keith Thompson. I am happy to report that as of last Friday, Visa has credited my account for all monies paid to Castles and Condos.
Please call your credit card company and see what is required by them when you have paid using their credit card and feel you were the victim of fraud.I have sent an e-mail to Amanda at Mondavi Resorts ,formerly Castle and Condos,and informed her that we are no longer members and wish to be removed from their member list.

Smart move CC6031

I think that unfortunately, that's probably a smart move on your part. I've been back at my house since about the beginning of September and absolutely nothing has been happening there. These reports of construction starting up are based on I don't know what. They do have electricity now and there is 24 hour guards. At a dinner party the other night, I was told that Busby's son is only allowed limited access to the property during the day and the father is still not in Mexico. And that the Mexican partners, or investors are strictly limiting his access. It looks messy and its hard to see how this thing is going to be able to be finished without a massive injection of capital, and where is that going to come from without cramming down the current equity owners? And there still isn't any sewer or water hook up. I know... I see the trucks pumping everything out every couple of days.

Castles & Condos

Finally contacted my credit card company B of A Interval International and they have investigated and refunded all monies paid to C & C back to me I was one of the early birds #063 but done and out of the headache. Good luck to the rest of you

#ICC0029 Sept 2008

I am also a fully paid member of C&C. I purchased a 1BR during the summer season with no bonus weeks. I've had some medical issues, so I haven't been keeping up on what was going on at C&C. I received the letter and email last summer but I haven't received anything since. During my trip this past Labor Day, I met a woman at La Palapa that claimed to be a former sales rep for C&C. She assured me that construction had started again and that we would probably need new contracts (possibly additional capital), but that we would lose some of the perks that were promised when we purchased. She provided 2 email addresses (I sent emails to her from my blackberry as I chatted with her and one bounced back immediately). She promised to get in touch with me so that we could hang out sometime during my trip and go see the property, but I never heard from her (after having one email bounce, I was suspicious anyway). I have used the yacht club membership during my visit last Memorial Day 2009. I tried to book a reservation believing that my 2009 dues were paid, but they were not. I paid about $250 for the 2009 membership dues and then additional amount for gas. I rented the motorized sailboat for about 3-4 hours for a private tour of the bay (we snorkeled). Drinks and snacks were provided. I received notification from Dreamyactclub again for this years dues, which I will pay tomorrow. I also had my II membership for the first year included.

WE went by there today and it has a new name in front. It is now the Mondavi and they are doing timeshare presentations. We may go to one and check it out

What are others doing in response to the demand for MORE money up front?

I am anxious to read what other former Castles and Condos owners are doing and/or saying about being asked to pay this new "Mondavi" development group more money for an "annual membership fee" prior to the end of February . . . and certainly prior to any accommodations being available to us in the building in which we all originally invested.

No new paperwork has come our way. Mondavi's agents don't even pretend to make "promises" that can be checked out to ascertain whether they can or will be honored, matter of fact, and instead claim they cannot send anything written to anyone outside of Mexico--so no paperwork and no plans or specifications on the new units.

Okay, so we sent a friend, who just happened to be a retired FBI agent, on site to retrieve whatever he could get. Amanda and Keith were at the new "Mondavi," but they sure wouldn't provide ANYTHING in print. This new group says it has no responsibility to honor promises that were made by Busby and/or Mamann, so why should we believe Mondavi or its agents can be held responsible for anything we are promised today?

Isn't sending in more money, especially with nothing even "quasi-official" on paper, just throwing it down a black hole? How do others in our situation plan to respond?

As point of reference, last February (2009) my husband and I "purchased" a 1/12th interest in one of the two penthouse units on the 6th floor that included private roof terraces on the 7th floor accessible only to us (The penthouses are no longer being built as promised and instead are supposedly being replaced with public features, including a restaurant and spa). Unfortunately, we paid ALL CASH in return for a small discount. That proved to be the stupidest move we'll ever make, as now there is no credit card company to rescue us from our own idiocy.

I sure don't want to pour more money down a rat hole and very much resent the current developer's threat/promise to "drop our membership" unless more blood money is paid up front prior to the end of next month.

Can any TUG contributor put me in touch with other owners facing this same dilemma? I would love to know how to reach the owners' private website for former C&C victims of the Mamann/Busby scam!!

Castles and Condos in Puerto Vallarta, MX

This is all a scam. My husband and I purchased one week at Castles and Condos in Nov 2008 because the salesmen were very believable. We were promised so much including the guarentee that they would rent our unit for the first two years. Well it is over a year later and we've realized EVERYTHING was a lie and it was a scam. They still haven't finished the units, there has been NO rental income, the yearly dues with the new company that took over from M hotels after the company ran off with all of the money are $750 year. My husband and I are out $19,000 dollars and would like to warn people that you will not get rental money from these ownerships. All the other perks that were promised golf, yachts, private beach, free driver to take you around, ability to use any of the Royal Resorts etc. is false information. We have registered with many places such as timeshare.com for $500 and we still have not been able to rent or sell our unit so we've found that not only is the ownership a BAD decision but also registering with all the different companies that are supposed to rent for you. What ever you do, DO NOT buy in mexico. Learn from our big mistake. Lastly, we have learned that all we needed to do to get into the big resorts and a discount is register with either HSI (holiday systems international) or Interval International. For $69 year to get access to all the units that owners are unable to use and you don't even need to be an owner.

Saying DO NOT BUY IN MEXICO is quite harsh.

There are many people on this board who have made great purchases and are quite happy with what we have. Do a search, when you are a member, on the Royal Resorts in Cancun. You will not see any complaints there.

Also, you will learn here that giving upfront money to either sell or rent out your unit is a great big mistake.

the street venders are saying the sales office is closed due to sewer problems. I hope they get their act together.

Nosy Neighbor...

Sorry for being a 'nosy neighbor', as I am not an owner at this property, or have any allegiance to anyone in particular. I live in the area, well own nearby, and I am down from the Northeast enjoying the weather for a few months with family. I do own a timeshare, and have so for about 17 years, in the Orlando area. Haven't been to the property in 6 years, since we bought here in PV, and it is rented out by the resort in Orlando when we don't use it, so no loss on that end.

Except for worrying about the weather damaging the property in Florida, which we are insured for, we have a deed...which is the part of Mexican timeshare I don't understand...why would an American, or a Canadian or anyone really buy anything without a deed or at the very least a guarantee of occupancy? I sure wouldn't. Our family has two fixed weeks in Orlando, and if we don't go or rent it out...it sits empty! We OWN a 2/50 share of that condo (50 weeks were sold in each apartment...)

One of my neighbors came by the other day for a sundowner, and she and her husband are involved, and are still involved in shutting the 'M' property down all together! Apparantly it does not have correct permits to build nor function as a hotel, it is illegal still to this day.

The Conchas Chinas Residents Association - CCRA is in the process of pursuing this and if I was an owner at this property I would contact them to see if your issues can be addressed as well. Maybe a representative of your ownership should call them and then disseminate the information out to the membership.

Anyone who is thinking of giving this "M" outfit a dime had better think carefully about their decision. I don't know much about all that is written here in particular, but it isn't hard to find out a few things by asking around the area.

What I do know is that one of the members of the CCRA is a local lawyer and they are investigating the whole operation, including the latest sales activity, as apparently there are already issues your new sales contractor Keith Thompson.

Is it just me, but where I am from, if a business hires a sub-contractor (sales company...) to work on behalf of the business, doesn't the business have liability for the actions of the sub-contractor? I have no idea how Mexican law operates in regards to this, but I think this is the question someone needs to ask.

There are no 'sewer problems', I walked by and asked the security guard at the "M" property, there are people staying onsite apparently, who own outright. I then walked to the 'Miramar' right next door, and was told by a salesperson there that the salesroom at "M" had shut down repeatedly as they weren't selling and ran out of money for marketing.

I was told and read online that Miramar is a shady game as well...connected to the Bel Air project in the Marina area - search it here for more information - that has had so many problems and the salesperson at Miramar told me that Keith Thompson used to be a timeshare salesman there at Bel Air, and that he and Amanda have a long history at Mayan Palaces all over Mexico.

One last thing, if someone buys from this new sales outfit run by Keith Thomson, or upgrades their membership with him, and then his company does, or has gone under, are you out as an owner again? Who is your new contract with, and what if that company changes hands or names or re-structures the ownership or ???

Worth thinking about and this is just what I have come up with sitting here after asking a few questions.

I hope for all of you this turns out well.

Don't let this "M" outfit and their latest 'front man' rip you off again.

And please don't let this experience affect your view of Mexico. After my husband passed away this year, the PV community has been amazing in supporting me and our family. We love PV, and the heart and soul of the community...some of the most wonderful and incredibly generous and decent people I have ever met, the local Mexicans!

[Deleted - duplicate]

[Duplicate post deleted - DeniseM Moderator]

KWH - did you see the info. in post #214?

Reply to Denise M

Yes I saw it but looking for more info and specifics. Thanks.

KWH said:

Yes I saw it but looking for more info and specifics. Thanks.

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You can click on the poster's blue user name and contact them directly. They only have one post here, so they may or may not be back.

M Hotel (Castles & Condo's

My husband and I bought a penthouse unit, week 8, for $50,000 cash on Nov. 6th 2008; We were in PVR in April of 2009 and stopped in to see if it was finished. It was in the same stage of completion as before but a lot less sales activity going on. We started to get nervous, but was assured that in spite of some delays, the project would be completed by November of that year. In November 2009 we spent 2 weeks in PVR at our regular time share (Lindo Mar) in Conchas Chinas and again went up to the project. This time it was locked up and had security guards.

We went to Donald Busbys home and finagled our way inside and confronted the little squeak!! He fidgeted and explained that Daniel Mammon had ripped him off and a bunch of other BS. We called him a crook for taking our money, in spite of his hand shake when we first bought the unit assuring us he had the money to finish the project by himself. We were asked to leave.

We just returned from a week in PVR. We met with Adrian Tocca and Amanda LaRosee at the so called Mondavi Spa & Wellness center. There was no sales activity going on, there were workman on the 7th floor building the restaurant and swimming pool for everyones use. (which should have been the penthouse's private lanai). There will be no penthouse! Only a narrow one bedroom unit with three lock off studios comprise the so called 4 bedroom extravaganza they are now offering us. In Short, Adrian and Amanda lie through their teeth. "WE" will not sign a new contract; as doing so would be sending good money after bad. They gave us a copy of the new contract Issued by, M & DB Paradise S. A. de C.V. Although they claim that Donald Busby has nothing to do with this development and cannot be held accountable, what do you think DB in the fore mentioned company stands for? I wonder.

We would be willing to work any way possible to bring these crooks to justice.

more of the same

FYI

I called Amanda at 1-866-978-8147 (also Adrian's number) several times over the past several days and left numerous messages. I called again yesterday (06/01) and spoke with an Iris who informed me that Amanda no longer worked there.

Not that I trusted Amanda much anyway, it just seems that we have a pattern here... The salespeople tell you what you want to hear until their conscience can bear no more then they're gone!!! As for Danny and Donny - it seems that they stuck it to each other, Danny skips town - now Donny's trying to stick it to us.

Don't be fooled, Donny has EVERYTHING to do with this development. I'll never forget the way he toured the property during the open house in where my wife and I purchased weeks, his arrogance was repulsive. As it was when we stayed at their "sister resort".

This whole thing stinks to the high heavens. ALL of them are crooks.

Just adding myself to the list

My husband and I purchsed in October 2008. After reading the previous posts, I actually feel pretty lucky that we only invested $14,000.

I basically just wanted to join in the conversation here so we can be in the loop as things progress.

I sent you an email about an owner'f forum.

A neighbor's observation

Some of you may remember that I've been following this for over a year and informed you of the lack of water and sewer connections etc. since I live in very close proximity. My household help know what is going on from the help working on the site and I continue to have a pretty acurate view of the situation. Busby is very much involved in the new, reconstituted Mondavi 'Resort' and to think otherwise is self-decption. From my window, I'm looking at him sitting on a ledge, lowering an electrical hose to somebody below and ordering people around right now as I write this.

This building is totally outside of any regulations, building codes and has no construction permit for what they are doing. The Conchas Chinas Homeowners Association would love to take this guy down. The issue is that to do so, a financial bond would have to be posted to take Busby to court and shut the project down (the construction is frequently shut down by the city because there are no permits and, contrary to what I have seen written in this thread, there still is no sewer - but it starts back up after a few days or weeks). The Association doesn't have the funds required to post the bond. If any of you are inclined to raise the funds for the bond, I think the Association would be motivated to lead the charge.

Alternatively, if criminal charges were to be filed against Busby and/or Mondavi etc. no bond needs to be posted. Furthermore, Busby would land in jail VERY QUICKLY if you have an attorney who knows what he is doing, and all of this before any trial. Pursuing a criminal charge is the most effective way to get something done in Mexico because NOBODY wants to be in a Mexican jail. The Association can only pursue civil charges because he's only violated building codes which is covered under civil law. All of you have been defrauded and can pursue criminal charges for fraud which is covered under criminal law. Once he's sitting in jail, you would be in a position to get the building back as he will want to find a settlement to have charges withdrawn and get out of jail. He will not want this to go to court.

Pursuing a line of attack similiar to what I have outlined above are really the only way that any of you will get anybody to listen to you. No matter what anybody associated with this project will tell you, talking to any of them will never lead to any result. They are only motivated to make new sales for new cash and will tell you whatever they think you need to hear to go away for a few more months. Sadly, this is not a 'new' story, but a rerun that I have seen again and again here in Puerto Vallarta. Sorry to always be a bearer of inconvenient truths, but I think you would rather know the truth and what the only real options available are.

Gustavo - I have a friend who went to check on this resort just a few weeks ago and took quite a few pictures of the progress being made. She has shown these to me and there were a lot of workers on site and several units are near completion.

My husband and I are not interested in contributing to the Homeowner Association lawsuit and do not think that many others who have purchased into the membership of this resort will either.

Since originally responding to this yesterday, I have been in contact with my friend that took the photos. She in turn, contacted the resort and has been assured that Mondavi has all the permits that it needs and "The city (PV) here has a regulations department that comes every week to make sure that you are building according to the plans provided to the city. If we did not have permits, we would not have workers building and we would have a big old CALUSURADO (CLOSED) sign in the doorway which would not allow anyone into the building until the permits were issued. Secondly, I was there 2 weeks ago when Seapal (Water Dept) sent their crew to connect the sewer line to city sewer and connect the city water to the building. We no longer are trucking water and sewer. We have assurance with the city planning dept that as long as we build according to plan the Conchas Chinas Homeowners Association cannot deny our acceptance into the association."

Frank Fernandez said to "Tell him that my number is 322-101-1158 and I will gladly meet him there anytime between 9 am and 5 pm Monday thru Friday. "

So, please do not continue to slander the Mondavi Resort. From your posts, I can tell that you are not happy to have this small 16 unit resort in your neighborhood, but I would think you would prefer that it gets completed rather than to have an incomplete eyesore there.

I have been in contact with quite a few Mondavi owners who are looking forward to completion of the building.

Pittle,

It is June 12, 2011 and I wonder what has changed since your July post of 2010. My wife and I were duped by the sales staff that Mondavi disavows any association with. It seems to me that Donald Busby and Silvia Hernandez have been involved in somewhat similar questionable dealings before. We were lied to and stalled and now told that we need to pay another $17,000.00. As I untangle this web of lies the one thing that is consistent is the players. These guys are good. It seems there are many kinds of crooks in Mexico and not all of them are drug dealers.

Michael:annoyed: