Casa Dorado closed for hurricane damage

Casa Dorada is closed until July 2015 for hurricane damage. The Administrator GBS International in Miami is still demanding the maintenance fees to be paid.

If timeshare owners can't use the resort then there should be no maintenance fees charged.

Anyone interested to file a class action lawsuit against GBS International?

The timeshare owners are the owners. It still needs to be maintained and if insurance wasn't adequate you may have to pay more to fix it up. If your house has a fire and is burnt to the point that it is uninhabitable for several weeks or months while they repair it, do you get to stop paying all your bills?

This is the Casa Dorada Spa and Beach correct? The one in Los Cabos? There are multiple ones, I own Medano Beach which is fine.

casa dorada...Q? update

Has a class action lawsuit been started?
I too have been asked to pay my maintenance fees and I am not happy with the full amount and limited months available.

I see a couple of mentions upthread of 'owners' and their responsibility. Unless I am mistaken, Mexican resorts are Right To Use- though I have no personal knowledge of this one. People who paid to use those weeks are NOT owners. The developers OWN the whole deal. That they didn't have the necessary insurance to repair the damage in a timely manner is just one more reason to be VERY careful and VERY pointed questions as to the viability of any Mexican timeshare they consider contracting with.

I would probably pay my MF bill contingent with the home resort arranging use at another comparable resort.

Jim

Thank you for your suggestion. I am realizing being a timeshare "user" NOT owner is totally different from what is sold at the presentation of a timeshare.

We were in Cabo in January and attended a presentation at Casa Dorado Medano beach. All the properties are still owned by Questro which is the Navaro family -owners of the airport, new toll road and most of the land on the corridor. Questro has lots of money having just sold Corona breweries etc.

Dreams is being totally rehabbed as it was getting run down and the hurricane just made it a good time to refurbish the entire resort. They are also refurbishing one of the other 5 Questro properties now. Perhaps they will let you book into one of their other properties like Casa Dorado Medano beach on a one time basis as Dreams looks like it will be a long time in refurbishment- very little job-site activity when we drove by Dreams last January.

Thank you for the Jan. update--does anyone one have a more current update--Estimated re-open is July 2015

GBS nightmare

I unfortunately have a "right to use" also managed by GBS - Hyatt Ziva - and would love any advice and/or to join any kind of class action suit against them.

First they repeatedly rejected my (5) attempts to bank my 2014 week with II. Each time II would submit the usual request to add this resort to my account and GBS would reject it. I would call and alternatively be told to 'just try again,' all records "have been shredded," the problem must be with II (it was not), etc...is seemed like a deliberate attempt to wear an owner down so that they would give up on trying to bank their week and just lose it.

In the midst of all this, the hurricane hit and I was told the resort was closed indefinitely such that I would not receive a 2014 week. No maintenance fee refund. No replacement week. Nothing.

I had also (pre hurricane) unfortunately paid my 2015 maintenance fee early in order to reserve a 2015 use week. GBS cancelled the reservation due to the "hurricane damage" and again refused to refund the maintenance fee corresponding to it. Since then they have provided absolutely no information as to if and when the resort will be up and running and open for reservations.

So they have fees for me from both 2014 and 2015 and I have received no use weeks on top of their active blocking of my long pre hurricane attempts to simply bank a 2014 week with the advertised exchange company. To add insult to injury they are now chasing me for additional 2015 maintenance and levying increasing "late fees" as apparently the amount they charged me for it when making the now cancelled reservation did not include some 5% increase that was later applied.

All requests for written confirmation of the status of my 2014 and 2015 usage rights have been ignored - as have my written requests to cancel the contract (and simply cut my losses) as denied banking ability and one going on two years of 'unavailable' use would seem to be in violation of any 'rights to use' contract I can think of.

I'm not sure if I should just ignore their threats to collect more money now or keep fighting - any advice?

I can't offer any advise on what to do next other than calling Casa Dorado Medano beach reservations and trying to get your weeks either banked or reserved there. In January Dreams looked abandoned and the damage was severe like most of the properties on the corridor.
I can say there are no class action suits in Mexico and any relief through the courts would be nearly impossible as Questro is a big fish in a little pond. You might try calling PROFECO in Mexico City and talking to one of their English speaking attorneys at 52 55 5211 1723. Questro can certainly stonewall PROFECO but perhaps it is considered a political embarrassment and they might be able to help. At least you will get an idea if it's worth pursuing.

Has anyone called GBS to get an update on the progress of the possible re-open date?
Or should my question be: Who is in charge of the remodel--Casa Dorada; GBS or AMResorts?

Special assessment fee notices have been emailed to owners of Casa Dorada -Dreams/
Does anyone know the amount allowed for the maximum fees to be charged???