# Sapphire Beach Club on RCI suspension



## J_Jansen

Hello,
I am new here. I own a week at Sapphire Beach Club in St. Maarten and today received a letter from RCI stating that the resort has been placed on suspension from RCI. I can no longer deposit weeks or exchange. 

Has anyone experienced this? Are these suspensions usually temporary?

I'm feeling lost here. We typically exchange out every year and now are stuck.


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## tschwa2

Well the most recent Trip Advisor review is pretty bad.  

“





> Sapphire placed in RCI suspension status”
> 1 of 5 starsReviewed yesterday NEW
> Sadly; I received an RCI notification letter dated 01/20/2015 announcing Sapphire Beach Club suspension from RCI weeks and RCI Points program. This once outstanding St. Maarten Resort has been neglected by management for several years now and has finally been removed from RCI affiliation by RCI. 2014 was the last visit I had taken to my time-share at SBC.
> Total disappointment. My room smelled of mold. It appeared that it still has the original mattress which was moldy smelly. The bed sheets were so old they had become transparent. The microwave did not work. Only one stove top burner worked. The fridge was rusty. Its freezer compartment completely frozen over. The compressor made such a loud sound it kept everyone awake at night. One of the Aircon units leaked and management placed towels on the floor as a "fix". The furnishings had never been changed since 1994 and it looked it. The toilet never flushed correctly. It took 4 flushes to move toilet paper down and out. The only building elevator quit working after the second day of our vacation forcing everyone to use the stairs with luggage in tow for a day. Workmen arrived and did some repairs to get it working again but the very next day it broke down again and remained down for two more days.
> No wonder RCI is "unable to accept any deposits made by or on behalf of RCI Members from Sapphire Beach Club, or allocating any RCI Points based on an ownership at Sapphire Beach Club.



My guess would be enough exchangers complained about the accommodations and demanded that they be moved and/or exchange refunded that RCI investigated and decided that they would not accept any more deposits.  I would expect a Special Assessment and then the resort will look to see if RCI or another exchange company will accept deposits.


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## schiff1997

My brother was able to give his week back to them


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## J_Jansen

Your brother gave back a week he owned? Or a week he had exchanged for Sapphire?

Thanks for the replies- I don't even know what a Special Assessment is. I last used my week there five years ago and have exchanged ever since.


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## MofCAndJ

*RCI Suspension of Sapphire Beach*

We have been Sapphire Timeshare owners since 1997. The Last time we stayed there was in 2011 and the resort was falling into disrepair. Since then, we've been depositing our week through RCI and vacationing elsewhere. The state of things at the resort and the reviews were becoming worrisome but as long as we could exchange thru RCI, we felt we could live with it. Last year, after making our maintenance fee payment in full and on time as we do every year, they did not release our week to RCI. We tried calling Sapphire but no one at the resort EVER picks up the phone. We called RCI and they were able to send a rep over to the property to get them to release our week. Now after paying our 2015 fee, we get the suspension letter from RCI. We are beyond worried at this point and just want to get out of this contract. The maintenance fees are increasing every year, not to mention the foundation fee of almost $800 that we were billed in 07 and paid and for what? The resort is not being kept up. This French owner is bilking us and we want out at this point. We need to get the owners together and do something about this thievery!


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## MofCAndJ

p.s. A Special Assessment is what they charged us in 2007. They send a bill for $ to make repairs to the property above and beyond the yearly maintenance fee. Many owners did not pay the last assessment and I believe that's where the trouble started.


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## Bucky

It's not the first time RCI has refused to deal with them. Below are a couple of links to conversations over at the TTOL St Maarten forum. Good luck


http://www.traveltalkonline.com/for...Words=Sapphire&topic=&Search=true#Post1627416

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/for...Words=Sapphire&topic=&Search=true#Post1612345


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## schiff1997

J_Jansen said:


> Your brother gave back a week he owned? Or a week he had exchanged for Sapphire?
> 
> Thanks for the replies- I don't even know what a Special Assessment is. I last used my week there five years ago and have exchanged ever since.



A week they owned


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## MofCAndJ

Thank you very much for sharing these links, Bucky! I was able to find some possible solutions to our problem...Feeling somewhat encouraged. Will post again with any developments.


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## pcloverva

*Sapphire Owners Need To Unite and Consider A Class Action LawSuit*

We have owned here since 1998. Since that time the Timeshare has gone south in almost every regard. From the front desk to the property itself maintenance has been neglected and the rating went from Gold or Platinum RCI Rating to a non rated resort.

There have been two costly assessments and the management doesn't seem to care about keeping the property up to the standards that once existed.

This latest suspension means that it has no trade value....PERIOD. We rarely stayed there and traded our weeks/points for other destinations. 

After our last stay we decided to only use our property for trades. Over the years we met other owners who told us about their experiences which were not encouraging. Now the suspension renders the value of the timeshare for trading purpose worthless.


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## J_Jansen

schiff1997 said:


> A week they owned



Thank you for the info. I am going to pursue giving back my week. The problem is that no one there answers their phones, they don't return voicemails, and e-mails come back undeliverable. The actual email address they gave to send credit card info to for maintenance fees got returned as undeliverable. I suppose I'll have a hell of a time returning my week if I can't get ahold of them.


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## pcloverva

*Sapphire Beach Resort*

The latest notice from RCI suspending trading potential for Sapphire Beach is not really a surprise. 

The resort has gone down hill since 1998 when we bought there because it had a Gold or Platinum RCI rating. 

It is currently unrated and hasn't held the rating for many years. We loved the property and went there many times until it started its decline in the early 2000's. We decided to use the trading feature with RCI and go elsewhere. Now even that option is gone. It is up to the current owners to take action to protect their investment.


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## J_Jansen

Does anyone have any recent contact info for anyone at Sapphire? Anything at all that will work?

Every e-mail I have is returned as undeliverable.


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## schiff1997

J_Jansen said:


> Does anyone have any recent contact info for anyone at Sapphire? Anything at all that will work?
> 
> Every e-mail I have is returned as undeliverable.



I'll see if I can get some info from my brother for you


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## JudyH

This is from Jeff's  JMB St. Martin newsletter:

 4. Yet Another SXM Timeshare Mess: Sapphire & RCI Part Company, Leaving Many In The Lurch

Sapphire resort timeshare owners late in January received an unexpected letter from RCI stating that Sapphire and Resort Condominiums International, the world's largest timeshare registration and trading organization, had parted company. The letter characterized the split as a "suspension."

It is not yet known whether the suspension was initiated by RCI because of some recent negative publicity regarding Sapphire, or whether Sapphire initiated it in relation to rumored acquisition of the property by a new owner.

The key question for timeshare owners — who witnessed a timeshare owner-be-damned takeover at nearby Caravanserai beach resort — is how this affects them.

First, this appears to have no similarity whatsoever to the situation at Caravanserai/Alegria. Nobody is expected to lose their timeshares.

Second, Sapphire resort is not being taken over at this moment, as far as we know, and there appears to be no immediate interest by a new, professional operator for the resort.

If you have already banked weeks or points into RCI, see RCI's letter to Sapphire owners for specific guidance.

If you were planning to trade into Sapphire from another resort or from using points, you may have a problem. Consult RCI directly for guidance. If you were planning to deposit a week or points, you aren't likely to be able to do that through RCI.

We sent e-mails and made telephone calls to both RCI and Sapphire on Sunday but no one responded. We will continue to try to find out what is going on, how long it will last, and what effects it may have on Sapphire timeshare owners both in the short and long range.

 5. Sapphire Sale Imminent?
Rumors begin easily in St. Maarten, and have a life of their own regardless of whether they're based in fact.

One of the latest rumors here is that Sapphire beach club is about to be sold, and that's why the relationship between RCI and Sapphire has been suspended.

Both Sapphire beach club and RCI have been remarkably silent about who initiated the split between these entities, why it was initiated, how long it will last, and whether there will be any changes after this has been resolved. Bottom line, people within each organization who know the answers to any of these questions aren't talking. So the fact is nobody else knows.

That also goes for the potential sale of the resort, which has been the subject of an unending train of rumors for several years.

It would not surprise us at all to see Philippe and Jean Verdier sell Sapphire at some point. The resort can use an overhaul. There was a time when the resort seemed to be improving, but positive reports now have become hard-to-find. We hope the sale is coming — we hope it is not remotely similar to the sale at Caravanserai — and we hope it comes soon from someone who cares about running a quality resort, unlike the Verdiers.

As always, we'll do our best to keep you posted.

 6. What To Do If You Have Incoming RCI Trade Reservations to Sapphire -- Or "Points" Through RCI
If you have traded and have received a confirmed reservation to go to Sapphire resort via RCI, chances are your confirmed reservation is worthless, since RCI and Sapphire are no longer associated with each other.

Our first suggestion is that you call RCI directly to confirm your situation — and armed with that information, you will probably have to work with RCI to make alternative arrangements. You may still be able to make a change, but it may well not be to Sapphire -- or even to St. Maarten.


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## J_Jansen

schiff1997 said:


> I'll see if I can get some info from my brother for you



That would be so helpful and I really appreciate you asking your brother for contact info.


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## JudyH

We walked over to the bar in Dec 2014 and talked to a few vacationers and the lovely friendly barkeeper Jeffrey.  A new sushi restaurant was empty.  The bar food was excellent.  The vacationers were miserable.  Bedbugs, mold, non working appliances, and service only when they bribed the front desk.  A vacation from hell.


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## frank77

J_Jansen said:


> Does anyone have any recent contact info for anyone at Sapphire? Anything at all that will work?
> 
> Every e-mail I have is returned as undeliverable.



Between February 1-13, 2015
Only the Reservation Department replied.<resats@sbcwi.com>

e-mails repeatedly delivered (not returned as undeliverable) but no reply from
<pmt@sbcwi.com><maintfees@sbcwi.com><collection@sbcwi.com>


Waiting for now,...might try FAX or TEL.
Will post when anything worked


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## J_Jansen

frank77 said:


> Between February 1-13, 2015
> Only the Reservation Department replied.<resats@sbcwi.com>
> 
> e-mails repeatedly delivered (not returned as undeliverable) but no reply from
> <pmt@sbcwi.com><maintfees@sbcwi.com><collection@sbcwi.com>
> 
> 
> Waiting for now,...might try FAX or TEL.
> Will post when anything worked



Thank you!
 I did email all of those except the reservation department and for once they weren't returned as undeliverable (like in the past). But it's been about 2 weeks with no reply. Very disappointing. We had a small family crisis here with our dog that has gotten me off track but I'll be back on this soon.


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## frank77

frank77 said:


> Between February 1-13, 2015
> Only the Reservation Department replied.<resats@sbcwi.com>
> 
> e-mails repeatedly delivered (not returned as undeliverable) but no reply from
> <pmt@sbcwi.com><maintfees@sbcwi.com><collection@sbcwi.com>
> 
> 
> Waiting for now,...might try FAX or TEL.
> Will post when anything worked



No need to FAX or TEL
Finally after eight (8) weeks, the payment by Credit Card processed.


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## J_Jansen

Success!!! I sent an email a month ago that I pretty much just forwarded to every working email address I had at Sapphire. I got no response or phone call (not surprised) but today I received an email document stating that my request to cancel my contract has been processed! I am officially done with the headache of Sapphire Beach Club! What a relief! I am sad to lose my timeshare however I will purchase another.


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## MofCAndJ

*Good news!! I was able to deed our timeshare back to sapphire today!!*



After much patience and some sleuthing I made contact with a very helpful Sapphire Rep through the resort's Facebook page. Through FB Messenger they provided me with the following contact info:

Eunice Bentinck
Account Administrator
Email: ebentinck@sbcwi.com
Tel #: 721.545.2179 x501

After receiving a few bad email addresses, I was finally given Eunice's. I emailed her our written request and waited and waited.(btw...I kept the request positive and didn't complain about the deterioration of the resort. I used the loss of the RCI affiliation and our financial concerns as our reason.)  After not hearing from her for several weeks, I followed up with the FB contact, they must have nudged her because I heard from her today. It would have been nice if RCI had done this in Sept. and not right after we paid our 2015 maintenance fee but we are just relieved to get this monkey off our backs before they assess another grounds upgrade fee.

I will miss owning a timeshare. We've had some great trips over the past 15 years but enough was enough!!

Good luck to all you (former) fellow owners!!


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## Squan66

So glad it worked out for you guys.  Now if we can only convince you guys to join us in Aruba next year!!


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## J_Jansen

*RCI reinstated*

I know this is an old thread. But I received a notice from RCI that Sapphire Beach Club was reinstated with RCI.

I was successful in giving back my week last year. But it still shows up in my RCI account. 

I thought it was interesting to see that RCI was allowing banking of SBC weeks again. Has the resort shaped up?


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