[2009] The Dawn Beach Resort and Spa [moved]

I saw this resort in II getways for St. Maarten. Is this just a desperate attempt to fill vacancies in starwood hotels? or a place that could have timeshare units at some point?

It looks like it's a hotel - http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1770 but it does look nice!

It definitely is not part of the Starwood Vacation Network (timeshares.)

josh, ... Looks like a pretty nice place in a pretty nice location. Why do you say that running an II getaway is a "desperate attempt?" Couldn't it just be a way to advertise to get more people to come to and tell their friends about a rather new Starwood resort that opened in 2007? Had you even heard of it before you saw the ad for the getaway? I didn't know it existed until I read your post.

As for timeshares, that decision would probably be greatly influenced by how much undeveloped land is still available on site. Even more determinative is how the economy performs. Right now, due to the economy, Starwood is not starting anything new concerning timeshares. Everything new has been put on hold.

I was told at my owners update last month at WKV that Starwood has identified 25 sites for new timeshare resorts once the economy turns around. But right now I'd consider anything on the list (assuming it really exists) to be a pipe dream. ... eom

I've heard the resort is nice and the beach looks beautiful. I'd like to go there one of these days. You can find reviews on flyertalk in the Starwood section.

jarta said:

I was told at my owners update last month at WKV that Starwood has identified 25 sites for new timeshare resorts once the economy turns around. But right now I'd consider anything on the list (assuming it really exists) to be a pipe dream. ... eom

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Did they mention where any of those 25 are ?

josh, ... Only one place was mentioned by name. Turtle Bay on the North Coast of Oahu. It is an old resort with 880 acres and 5 miles of beach. I was told Turtle Bay was considered desirable because the "excess" vacant land offered the opportunity for expansion of the facilities, including possible timeshares.

I was also told that Starwood was evaluating all the present SVO resorts to see if there were any that should be dropped. (Other TUG members have confirmed to me in PMs that they, too, were told the same thing.) There is no guarantee that any resort will forever be in the SVO network. IMO, there is also no guarantee that there will forever be an SVO network. As far as I know, no final decisions have been made or are close to being made.

None of this brain-storming about the future of Starwood should be thought of as engraved in stone. It's just a routine (and probably ongoing) re-evaluation of where Starwood can best expand its efforts. As I said, in this economy, any future expansion should still be considered a pipe dream. ... eom

This development was built with an adjacent building of condominiums, which they were generally unsuccessful in selling. (It turns out recessions are a negative for million $+ discretionary purchases)

Anyway, it sounds like they've decided to convert the condos into a residence club. Their website is here: http://www.stmaartenresidences.com/

Currently it has zero information, but the old website for the condo sales centre redirects there.

Sounds like it'll be an II resort.

Michael

bizaro86 said:

This development was built with an adjacent building of condominiums, which they were generally unsuccessful in selling. (It turns out recessions are a negative for million $+ discretionary purchases)

Anyway, it sounds like they've decided to convert the condos into a residence club. Their website is here: http://www.stmaartenresidences.com/

Currently it has zero information, but the old website for the condo sales centre redirects there.

Sounds like it'll be an II resort.

Michael

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Michael, thank you for the follow up. Ill be interested to see what happens. Only thing I found online was a mention of a company to provide what they are calling timeshare software.

http://www.thetimeshareblog.com/tag/dawn-beach-club/

josh, ... It appears that a company called Babitbay Development is the developer of Dawn Beach Club.

I can find no links to Starwood at all. In fact when it was operating under another name, The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Residences, the development information said it had a license to use the Westin trademarks and tradenames, but the residences "are not owned, developed or sold by" Starwood or Westin. By now this license may have expired or not been renewed.

http://www.stmaartenresidences.com/popup/terms.html

It seems this development went dormant for a while and I don't think this place will be part of SVO if it ever gets up and running. ... eom

Yes, I remember walking by this building when we walked Dawn Beach when we stayed at OBBR last year; it's adjacent to the Westin. We just received an advertising flyer to visit (4 nights at the Westin for $399); we loved St. Maarten and maybe we can swing a getaway without the kids......

Anyway, the flyer describes that the Dawn Beach Club will have use of the Westin facilities, etc. And, yes, it is an II property.

www.dawnbeachclub.com

We've been there

We visited the Westin Dawn Beach shortly after it opened (I think it opened in Nov. and we visited in Feb.). I believe we even used our bonus SPG points from our SVO purchase for our stay as they were having an opening special. They were even still laying out the grass and adding finishing touches while we were there.

It is a beautiful resort on one of the best swimable beaches of the Island. The locals and regulars were pretty annoyed during construction as their private hideaway was being desecrated by a big chain hotel.

If I remember right WDB is a Starwood managed but not Starwood owned resort. They were still working out the kinks in terms of service and the resort was not full when we were there. The restaurant was overpriced but there are so many wonderful eateries on the island that it would be a shame to stay on property anyway. The rooms were spacious and similar in design to the SVO decor we are all familiar with.

They were still in the midst on construction on the adjacent 99 condos. Even then, we were told they were to be privately owned, "lavishly decorated" residences which would have their own facilities not tied to the resort. There was no sales facility on the Resort property and they were not trying to market it in any way while we were there.

Due to the narrow and winding road to access and the fact that the resort itself is squeezed and tucked into a rocky cliff, I can't imagine there would be 1. space for an SVO property anywhere nearby and 2. The accepting climate of the local neighborhood to a project of that scale. The surrounding businesses were also just in the beginning stages of development. I would venture to guess that in the immediate area of the resort there are still many empty condo's and storefronts. I would also predict that they might be quite sour to more development as they were not very happy at all about this project.

Maybe SVO was considering another location on the Island? I know of one great, abandoned, parcel that was once a Radisson but we had heard back then it was already in the early stages of re-development. It was on the French side of the Island on a fantastic beach.

If they haven't already sold the units, I would not be surprised if Starwood spun off the residence project all together due to the current RE market. I could very well be run by a company independent of the Westin Resort. Kind of what Westin did with the Regina properties in Cabo. The Resort is still Westin, there are the Grand Residences and then Raintree took over their adjacent timeshare property. The SVO piece just never materialized.

I would also check out the reviews pf the resort on tripadvisor if you are researching. I don't know why they would post what is obviously a hotel/resort property on RW????? Something sound fishy to me.

mindy35 said:

They were still in the midst on construction on the adjacent 99 condos. Even then, we were told they were to be privately owned, "lavishly decorated" residences which would have their own facilities not tied to the resort. There was no sales facility on the Resort property and they were not trying to market it in any way while we were there.

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These "condos" could be timeshares, fractional ownership, whole ownership, condo/hotel or all of the above.

James1975NY said:

These "condos" could be timeshares, fractional ownership, whole ownership, condo/hotel or all of the above.

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The original plan was whole ownership residences. A new owner could consider TS's but they almost certainly would not be SVO.

Looks like Dawn Beach is going to be run by Cincinnati-based Columbia Sussex (Bill Yung). Yung is a little-known and very private billionaire who owns Columbia Sussex outright. It manages a lot of Marriott hotels and he has previous ties to Starwood.

However, Yung is a notorious cost-cutter. About 4 years ago Yung bought the Tropicana gambling operation to get a foothold in both LV and Atlantic City for his mostly riverboat gaming wing of Columbia Sussex. Yung went into LV and Atlantic City and wielded such a hatchet that he was accused of jeopardizing health standards (probably an exaggeration), the NJ gaming commission yanked the Tropicana's license because of a lack of internal independent financial oversight at Tropicana Enterprises (Yung said it had been set up; the commission said it never was independent of Yung) and he lost the Tropicana operations.

Yung is still obscenely rich. But, beware. He started out as an efficiency expert at Proctor and Gamble and had a spectacular rise and, lately, quite a fall. If he is taking over Dawn Beach, he will have the money to finish it. But, even more than most timeshare developers, he is known for being tight-fisted to a fault. His management company will surely keep MF low, but look out for the quality of the final finishes.

More on Yung and Columbia Sussex:

II says: "Dawn Beach Club marked the entrance of Columbia Sussex Corporation, one of North America’s leading independent owners and operators of resorts and hotels, into the shared ownership industry."

http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=15885

http://www.lvrj.com/business/12456031.html

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/....-1-Columbia-Sussex-tops-list-3-years-running

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/06/09/daily1.html

Westin Dawn Beach is a time share

We bought 2 weeks ago. A 3 bedroom Beach front time share. Gorgeous. Maintenance fee is $1050. Great price we thought

jft310 said:

We bought 2 weeks ago. A 3 bedroom Beach front time share. Gorgeous. Maintenance fee is $1050. Great price we thought

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But, you know it's not part of the Starwood Vacation Network, right?

Westin Dawn Beach St Martin

They state they have 65 timeshares within Westin now and it comes with an Interval Int 3 year paid Gold membership. A 3 bedroom in St Martin in any time share swap Beachfront will get ya anywhere ya want to go. Its a week buy not points. I own an RCI and an Interval membership and they work for me. The Hotel points thing I use infrequently.

jft310 said:

They state they have 65 timeshares within Westin now and it comes with an Interval Int 3 year paid Gold membership. A 3 bedroom in St Martin in any time share swap Beachfront will get ya anywhere ya want to go. Its a week buy not points. I own an RCI and an Interval membership and they work for me. The Hotel points thing I use infrequently.

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Regardless - it is not an SVO (or SVN) resort. I hope you understand (on paper - and not verbally) exactly what you bought (vs what they told you...)
Westin (SVO/SVN) does not have 65 timeshares... It sounds as if you can use II to get into Westin/SVN timeshares (plus others as normal), but that is not the same thing.

Most Timeshares (if not all?) have access to II and/or RCI.

How can you tell if a TS salesperson is lying?
{their lips are moving...}

As David said, Westin may be the Mgmt. company, but the timeshare isn't in the Starwood Vacation Network, so you will not have Staroptions, or be able to trade in the SVN.

DeniseM said:

But, you know it's not part of the Starwood Vacation Network, right?

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How does that work that there are Westin TS that are not part of SVN. What is the back story there? If you know!

Westin Dawn Beach

I have owned time shares since 82. Know the system well. Yes the Westin has 65 Westin's with time shares now. If you have not checked recently then how would you know???? I bought use for 99 years at this resort.One can switch within the the Westin network see their website for time share Westin owners.
I am not familiar with what you own.
Bought my Mayan Palace Puerta Vallarta for $7,000 for a two bedroom on the beach from them in 93 . Two weeks use for that price. I only buy deals.

jft310 said:

I have owned time shares since 82. Know the system well. Yes the Westin has 65 Westin's with time shares now. If you have not checked recently then how would you know???? I bought use for 99 years at this resort.One can switch within the the Westin network see their website for time share Westin owners.
I am not familiar with what you own.
Bought my Mayan Palace Puerta Vallarta for $7,000 for a two bedroom on the beach from them in 93 . Two weeks use for that price. I only buy deals.

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I was going to be sarcastic, but thought better...

Again, SVO/SVN does not have 65 TSs - I cannot speak to what you brought, but it is not within the SVN system. Did you notice that this is a SVO forum?
We own 4 Westin/SVO resorts (as it states to the left)

Westin Dawn Beach is part of Starwood Hotels (SPG) - of which there are many (many) branded Starwood hotels (Westin, W, Aloft, Sheraton, FourPoints, etc.) - HOWEVER, as you may see from the top of this forum - this is a SVO (Starwood Vacation Ownership) forum. Perhaps, you should go to the Flyertalk/SPG forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-preferred-guest-429/) and brag about your great deal there BECAUSE your Westin Dawn Beach is not part of the SVO system, but is part of SPG.

best of luck.
(ps - this is also an old thread - 2009 with the last post before yours in 2010)

From MyStarCentral (today) - the SVO Resorts are:
Sheraton Broadway Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC
Sheraton Desert Oasis, Scottsdale, AZ
Sheraton Mountain Vista, Avon, CO
Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort, Port St. Lucie, FL
Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas, Steamboat Springs, CO
Sheraton Vistana Resort, Orlando, FL
Sheraton Vistana Villages, Orlando, FL
The Westin Desert Willow Villas, Palm Desert, CA
The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas, Maui, HI
The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas North, Maui, HI
The Westin Kierland Villas, Scottsdale, AZ
The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort, Cancun, Mexico
The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Villas, Rancho Mirage, CA
The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas, Kaua‘i, HI
The Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas, Avon, CO
The Westin St. John Resort & Villas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Harborside Resort at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Lakeside Terrace, Avon, CO
Vistana's Beach Club, Jensen Beach, FL

If you have not checked recently then how would you know????

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1) Here is the sniff test - How many Staroptions is your timeshare worth?

2) Here is Starwood's website with all SVN resorts - please tell me what number your timeshare is on the list?

http://www.starwoodvacationnetwork.com/villa-collection/?IM=SVOREDIRECT_201302_SVN_RESORTS

3) What is the url of the website you are looking at for internal Starwood exchanges?

Oops...I think this guy got duped!

DeniseM said:

Oops...I think this guy got duped!

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I think they are just confused about what they own, but for some reason thinks that we do not know...
(another 32,813 posts by them and they will have caught up to you... )

this is what they probably own - and they have not noticed (yet) that it is not actually part of SVO/SVN/or SPG...
{other than what a TS salesperson just lied to them about...}

http://www.dawnbeachclub.com/
Notice that no where on this site is the word 'Westin' used - it is adjacent to the Westin Dawn Beach hotel.
SPG points cannot be used to stay at the Dawn Beach Club - only the hotel.