# New timeshare to open in Williamsburg area



## Brett (Jan 9, 2008)

Timeshare development to open in Williamsburg area

http://www.dailypress.com/business/...109jan09,0,5204107.story?coll=hr_tab03_layout


Parkside Resort officials say the complex will appeal to baby boomers and golfers.
YORK - — A Bermuda-style and golf-oriented resort under construction next to the Williamsburg Country Club is set to welcome its first guests in June — more than three years after York County officials approved the project.
The development will eventually include 784 condolike time-share units in the Parkside Resort, in addition to more than 40 stand-alone buildings — with shared ownership — in the Parkside Golf Villas. The project is being constructed in a highly visible 64-acre area along Merrimac Trail that is adjacent to the Williamsburg Country Club and the Interstate 64 interchange that serves as the entrance to Busch Gardens.
Dan Carter, vice president of sales and marketing for Parkside Resort, said the Landmark Resort Properties of Virginia development's amenities — including guaranteed when-in-residence country club privileges for golf villa owners and a limited number of based-on-availability passes for time-share patrons — would appeal to baby boomers and avid golfers.
Carter said a key feature is the resort's proximity to Busch Gardens.
"You can sit in the villas and look out the back over a huge lake and the 17th green. With the front view, you are looking at the Griffon and Apollo's Chariot. It's incredible," he said.
A first phase of construction to include 36 time-share units and a pool, with a water-jet propelled current, will be ready for guests in June. A clubhouse with restaurant, day spa and adults-only billiards and reading rooms is slated to open in September.
Susan McGowan, a Registry Collection spokeswoman, said the Parkside Golf Villas are slated to become the first Virginia listing in the luxury resort network that includes properties throughout the United States and such foreign locales as Spain's Canary Islands and Tuscany, Italy.
The time-share portion of the Parkside development is affiliated with Group RCI, where it is listed as a Gold Crown Resort based on proposed amenities and service standards, according to the vacation exchange network's Web site.
The York County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a rezoning in April 2005 to allow the project.
Developers were required to perform roadway improvements on Merrimac Trail — also known as Route 143 — and be served by sanitary sewer and public water connections as conditions of approval.
As part of the deal with the Williamsburg Country Club, Parkside developers constructed about $1 million in site enhancements there, including parking lot refurbishments and construction of a new maintenance building to conform to Parkside design elements, Carter said.
The project cost at least $135 million. The figure could grow substantially if proposed future construction, which includes additional outdoor pools and an indoor water park, takes place, Carter said.
Architecture throughout the resort will have a distinct Caribbean flavor with vivid pastel colors modeled after the company's Bermuda Bay resort design.
The two-story Parkside Golf Villas will measure at least 1,800 square feet and cost between $75,000 and $500,000, Carter said. Pricing for the Parkside Resort time-share units, which have one to three bedrooms, will begin at about $9,000, he said.
"The developer's concept is that they really wanted to be totally different than any other project in Williamsburg," Carter said. "Our goal is to be the No. 1 product in this Williamsburg market."


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## borntotravel (Jan 9, 2008)

It sounds like it will be very nice, but I can't believe there is another timeshare going up in Williamsburg.  It already seems like Williamsburg has too many now, but then again, look at Orlando.

I can't wait to see it when it's finished.


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## Carolinian (Jan 9, 2008)

. . . and the overbuilt areas, keep getting more overbuilt!


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## Blondie (Jan 9, 2008)

Geez- just what they need there


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## london (Jan 9, 2008)

*Williamsburg Timeshares*

Timeshare saturation has taken place in this area.

Some of the older timeshares are in need to major renovations and upgrades.

The new kid on the block will use a skilled marketing plan to sell the resort out in a year or two.

Just like Orlando....

If I were trading to Orlando, only about five or six timeshares would appeal to me based on quality factors.

Most of the others have seen their heyday.


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## AKE (Jan 9, 2008)

Why would anyone want to look at Busch Gardens?  All I can associate with this is noise and pollution from the thousands of cars whizzing by... no thanks!


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## Carolinian (Jan 11, 2008)

Actually, my wife and I really like Colonial Williamsburg, and Busch Gardens is a change of pace for a day.  For the inbound exchanger or renter it is not bad to have too much timeshare in a nice place to go.  It is just that the outbound exchangers are walloped by an unfavorable supply over demand curve.

Nice place to go but a bad place to own.


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## musical2 (Jan 11, 2008)

Actually my family likes to go to Colonial Williamsburg too.  We even like the Busch Gardens park.  Busch Gardens is very nice inside, IMHO.  

We also own Marriott Manor Club there.  It is a great place to own.  We were able to trade for the Marriott Ko Olina.  That was a great trade.  

Yes it does get crowded there on occasion, but we know how to get around there.


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## sfsailors (Jan 11, 2008)

Carolinian said:


> . . . and the overbuilt areas, keep getting more overbuilt!




It's easier to build and sell in these area. The industry is already existed.


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## jasenj1 (Jun 22, 2008)

*Went to a sales pitch there*

We went to a sales presentation for Parkside this past weekend. (The carrot was two free airline tickets and $300 gas rebates.)

Bottom line: They offered us 64,000 RCI "global points" EOY for $8400 plus a free year in RCI and their travel service (more on that below). After the first year RCI would be $124/yr and their travel service would run $150/yr. Maintenance fee was $460.

Phase 1 is scheduled to open in July - i.e. it's not finished yet.  The sales guy talked up their (planned) indoor and outdoor waterpark.  He also touted their Tommy Bahama furniture - real wood, not particle board; flat screen TVs in all the rooms, stainless steel appliances, and - the pièce de résistance - a coffee grinder in every unit! (Really, the guy kept mentioning the coffee grinder; we didn't have the heart to tell him we don't drink coffee.)

As mentioned, it is across the way from Busch Gardens, but it is not close enough to worry about noise or traffic.  You might be able to see fireworks when BG has them.  They (plan) to have a shuttle to run people to and from BG, Water Country, and maybe Colonial Willamsburg.

It is to be a "Registry" resort which he said means it will be one of the top 100 resorts in the world.  They will have "fractional villas" as well as standard timeshare condo units.

In short it WILL be a very nice place - in the future.  I'd be concerned about the construction over the next 5-10 years or however long it takes them to build out.

The sales guy talked about the fact that the developer is one of the Andersens of Pella and Andersen Window fame - I forget his first name.  The sales guy made kind of a big deal about this; how Andersen went around to other timeshare places, took notes, and then built better places.  How Mr. Andersen is a good, upstanding business man, etc.

They were also offering a membership into their travel club thingy - I forget the name - for $1495 + $150/yr.  This offered very cheap airfare, cruises, restaurant discounts, and other stuff.  He essentially said with this program you could get things below "wholesale" cost.  He showed us the website and a number of very good looking deals.

When we didn't buy, they offered us a standalone membership in this travel club with day usage rights to the resort.  This was presented as a way to get people to the resort since it is so new.  This didn't sound like a bad deal - maybe.

This is the first exposure to a points based system that we have had.  For the type of travel we do this sounded like a system that may work for us.  We are local and would never stay at this resort, but we would possibly use the facilities from time to time.

Opinions?  Feedback?  Questions?

- Jasen.


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## pedro47 (Jun 23, 2008)

AKE said:


> Why would anyone want to look at Busch Gardens?  All I can associate with this is noise and pollution from the thousands of cars whizzing by... no thanks!



Busch Gardens is only open 6 months in a year.


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## Jeni (Jun 23, 2008)

AKE said:


> Why would anyone want to look at Busch Gardens?  All I can associate with this is noise and pollution from the thousands of cars whizzing by... no thanks!



Have you visited BG? It's not something you look at (as in gardens) but a theme park. It was just voted "Most Beautiful Theme Park" for the 17th consecutive year, and once you are in the park, you are very much removed from any traffic on Rt. 60.

Jeni


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## beejaybeeohio (Jun 23, 2008)

"We went to a sales presentation for Parkside this past weekend. (The carrot was two free airline tickets and $300 gas rebates.)"

Jasen- How did you get this promo?  DH & I would be interested for next April, so if you could let me know how to sign up, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,


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## dougp26364 (Jun 23, 2008)

jasenj1 said:


> Opinions?  Feedback?  Questions?
> 
> - Jasen.



"travel clubs" are notorious rip offs. Generally speaking, all they can give you is the same "lowest" price that you can find on your own anywhere else. The is no "wholesale" cost for airline tickets that I'm aware of.

Buying into a resort that is not built and has no amenities can be risky. Mr. Anderson of Pella and Anderson window fame is more interested in making money and cutting his losses if sales and profits aren't what he expects. Claiming to be a "registry" resort sounds like a lot of hot air to me. 

I'd be looking hard for the track record of this company to see what other resorts they've developed and if they're truely top 100 quality resorts. 

The general rule of thumb is, if the salesmans lips are moving, then he's lying. It really sounds to me like this guy is pitching you a lot of heat. At this point in my life my opinion is I wouldn't be biting on this one.


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## CMF (Jun 23, 2008)

*Williamsburg is not overbuilt.*

If Williamsburg was overbuilt I would be able to find a two bedroom for the first week of August during flexchange.  There can't be too many resorts in the places I like to visit.


Charles


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## jasenj1 (Jun 23, 2008)

beejaybeeohio said:


> "We went to a sales presentation for Parkside this past weekend. (The carrot was two free airline tickets and $300 gas rebates.)"
> 
> Jasen- How did you get this promo?  DH & I would be interested for next April, so if you could let me know how to sign up, I'd appreciate it!



We don't know.  We got a postcard with the offer.  We were told it was a referral - we have no idea who referred us.

- Jasen.


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## Bill4728 (Jun 23, 2008)

jasenj1 said:


> ...
> ...
> 
> This is the first exposure to a points based system that we have had.  For the type of travel we do this sounded like a system that may work for us.  We are local and would never stay at this resort, but we would possibly use the facilities from time to time.
> ...


It sounds like the resort will be in RCI points. If you'd like more info about RCI points feel free to post a question on the "points" board. But in general with RCI points " points are points" so it best to buy the points as cheap as you can at a resort with low MFs. In general that means buy resale at a completed resort. Don't buy at a brand new resort where it will cost a lot of money just because it so new.

You can also look into a RCI point lease talked about in this post.


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## jasenj1 (Jun 23, 2008)

dougp26364 said:


> Buying into a resort that is not built and has no amenities can be risky. Mr. Anderson of Pella and Anderson window fame is more interested in making money and cutting his losses if sales and profits aren't what he expects. Claiming to be a "registry" resort sounds like a lot of hot air to me.



That's my opinion as well.  It's nice to know what their plans _are_ and what their RCI rating is based on _planned_ development.  But if the local government turns over and decides to raise taxes or somesuch, things could halt quickly.



> I'd be looking hard for the track record of this company to see what other resorts they've developed and if they're truely top 100 quality resorts.



I believe the salesguy mentioned some resorts they'd built in NC, but I didn't pay close enough attention to all the properties they've built or who the umbrella parent corporation is.



> The general rule of thumb is, if the salesmans lips are moving, then he's lying. It really sounds to me like this guy is pitching you a lot of heat. At this point in my life my opinion is I wouldn't be biting on this one.



We have no intention of biting.  Just thought I'd share our sales pitch experience.  This was the first points pitch we'd been to and I enjoyed the education about points.

- Jasen.


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