# Private Escapes Premiere



## Steamboat Bill (Apr 19, 2007)

We don't really discuss Private Escapes Premiere on TUG, so here is some info:

$105,000 buy-in
Allows unlimited nightly usage
$7,700 yearly dues
$82 per night fee

I really must QUESTION the concept of "UNLIMITED" as this is a major RED FLAG for me and boarders on "overpromise and underdeliver" and may risk the club of becoming the next T&H.

My cost calculation (based on 30 nights) = $5,250 Lost opportunity costs per year + $7,700 yearly dues + $2,460 cleaning fees / 30 nights = $514 per night.

My cost calculation (based on 21 nights) = $5,250 Lost opportunity costs per year + $7,700 yearly dues + $1,722 cleaning fees / 21 nights = $698 per night.

My cost calculation (based on 15 nights) = $5,250 Lost opportunity costs per year + $7,700 yearly dues + $1,230 cleaning fees / 15 nights = $945 per night.

As a joke I ran the numbers with 365 night of use (you are a permanent resident)
$5,250 Lost opportunity costs per year + $7,700 yearly dues + $29,930 cleaning fees / 365 nights = $117 per night. This is $3,524 per months to RENT a $850,000 home forever....this is MUCH cheaper than the going rate for NYC, etc, thus the concept of UNLIMITED is a misleading claim.



Here is an interesting e-mail I received:

As Private Escapes Members enjoy our fourth year of operation, I thought you may enjoy a quick update on the residences.  As of today, Private Escapes has 64 Club residences and a yacht open and/or under contract, in a total of 37 different destinations—more different destinations than any other destination club.  And over the course of 2007, several more locations will open, including Napa, London, Scottsdale, and Breckenridge.

Below, please find a complete list of the current Private Escapes residences, as well as their associated resort locations.  Also included are photos of two of the more popular summer destinations.

PRIVATE ESCAPES CLUB ($850k residences)

•     Kiawah Island, SC – The Night Heron Cottages 
•     New York, NY – The Trump International Hotel & Tower 
•     Beaver Creek, CO – The Charter Resort 
•     Waikoloa, HI – Waikoloa Village 
•     Waikoloa #2, HI – Waikoloa Village 
•     Lake Tahoe, NV – Incline Village 
•     Steamboat Springs, CO – Eagle Ridge Resort 
•     Los Cabos, Mexico – The One&Only Palmilla Resort 
•     Red Feather Lakes, CO – Fox Acres Country Club 
•     Lake Las Vegas, NV – Montelago Village 
•     Stowe, VT – Topnotch Resort 
•     La Quinta, CA – Laguna Residence at La Quinta Resort & Spa  
•     La Quinta, CA – Montana Residence at La Quinta Resort & Spa 
•     Chicago, IL – Lincoln Park 
•     Belize, Central America - Belizean Dreams Estates
•     La Buscadora, British Virgin Islands – 80’ yacht
•     Outer Banks, NC – Currituck Club 
•     Greensboro, GA – Reynolds Plantation Resort 
•     Jackson Hole, WY - Teton Village 
•     Punta Mita, Mexico – La Playa Enclave 
•     Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - Punta Cana Resort & Club 
•     Carlsbad, CA - La Costa Resort 
•     Lake George, NY - Green Harbor Village
•     Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos - The Somerset at Grace Bay
•     Tuscany, Italy – Borgo Dei Vagli
•     Tuscany, Italy – Villa Cassia
•     New York, NY - 1600 Broadway
•     Abaco Island #1, Bahamas – The Abaco Club/Ritz Carlton at Winding Bay 
•     Abaco Island #2, Bahamas – The Abaco Club/Ritz Carlton at Winding Bay 
•     Los Cabos, Mexico – Villas De Oro, Palmilla
•     Seaside, FL - Watercolor Resort
•     Los Cabos, Mexico* – Villas De Oro #2, Palmilla
•     New York, NY* - The Link Tower
•     Cap Cana, Dominican Republic* - Fishing Lodge Waterfront Residence
•     Orlando, FL* - Reunion Resort

* Under contract/construction


----------



## caribbeansun (Apr 20, 2007)

The Ritz Carlton = $850k??????



Steamboat Bill said:


> PRIVATE ESCAPES CLUB ($850k residences)
> •     Abaco Island #1, Bahamas – The Abaco Club/Ritz Carlton at Winding Bay
> •     Abaco Island #2, Bahamas – The Abaco Club/Ritz Carlton at Winding Bay


----------



## Steamboat Bill (Apr 20, 2007)

caribbeansun said:


> The Ritz Carlton = $850k??????



That's funny you also noticed that...unless it is a studio.

I priced the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman about 5 years ago when they were preconstruction and the lowest price was well over $1m.

Here is something from their web site:
The Abaco Club on Winding Bay is not owned or developed by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. The Abaco Club RC, Ltd., in which an affiliate of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. owns an interest, uses the Ritz-Carlton trademarks under a license from The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. which may be terminated or revoked according to its terms.

The prices online are over $2m for the club cottages...perhaps this club is LEASING the properties???


----------



## vineyarder (Apr 21, 2007)

The club definately owns these properties.  They actually own 5 properties at Abaco Ritz Carlton; 2 in Premiere, 2 in Platinum (the more expensive club) and 1 in Pinnacle (the most expensive club).  The two Premiere cottages are 1250 sq ft 2 bedroom 2 bath freestanding cottages, facing the golf course.  I don't know what they paid for them, but they bought the land pre-construction (before the Ritz Carlton took the property management over) and I'm sure that they got a good deal by buying 5 properties.  The Premiere club properties _average_ $850K, but they might have paid $1M for these and less for some other properties...  The Platinum properties at Abaco Ritz-Carlton are 2200 - 2500 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 3 bath; one directly on the Ocean and one on the golf course, and the Pinnacle home is an oceanfront 4 bedroom 4.5 bath house.  They also have a lease on a 650 sq ft 1 bedroom cottage, but that is a short-term (6 month) lease, just to provide additional access to the resort while construction is finished on the newest houses.  Private Escapes does not believe in leasing properties long-term, and is very good about informing members of leased properties, which they only use in 2 circumstances; as a bridge while a property is under construction or to provide extra capacity in a seasonal destination during peak season (such as the Outer Banks in summer).  I've been a member (of platinum) for about 1.5 years, and they are very transparent about finances, etc., and the properties we've been to have been just spectacular!  We had a very dissapointing experience with Four Seasons ownership before joining Private Escapes, and we've been thrilled with PE.


----------



## Steamboat Bill (Apr 21, 2007)

vineyarder said:


> I've been a member (of platinum) for about 1.5 years, and they are very transparent about finances, etc., and the properties we've been to have been just spectacular!  We had a very dissapointing experience with Four Seasons ownership before joining Private Escapes, and we've been thrilled with PE.



Welcom to TUG...we are very interested in your PE experiences as we have about a dozen HCC members here.


----------



## Sherpa (Apr 23, 2007)

The use of "unlimited" is somewhat confusing but quite a few DCs use this. They all have limits on the number of reservations that a member can make at once or the number of days that a member can have reserved at any one time.

The unlimited generally means that there's unlimited use of "space available" time, which is good for short notice vacations. So if a home is empty (unreserved) for say next weekend or next week any member could use it and you can do this an unlimited number of times throughout the year.


----------



## GregGH (Jul 7, 2007)

*new sampler rate ?  for private Escapes*

Hello

dusting off some info on DC's -- came across this on web site --has anyone mentioned this ....  seems kinda similar to the HCC - a 14 night limited usage for Private Escape ...

here is link ....    http://www.privateescapes.com/preview/pe_preview.aspx

Here is what they say ( disclaimer - I do not own nor am affiliated with ANY DC )

quote begins .... "Premiere Preview members pay a one–time, fully refundable membership deposit of $50,000, a fraction of the full membership deposit. You will be allowed to travel 14 nights per year to many of our club destinations and enjoy everything from your own Escape Planner, who assists in planning your vacations, to Local Hosts, who will take care of every one of your needs while you are in residence. Annual dues are $4,600, billed quarterly, and the nightly fee for each residence is $82.

Your Preview Membership will offer you a plethora of options. If you discover that the benefits and amenities at your disposal fit well with your travel plans, you can upgrade your membership and partake in all the additional benefits that full members enjoy. If 14 nights of usage per year are enough, simply continue on as a Preview Member and enjoy year after year of world class service at world class destinations. If the Private Escapes model doesn’t work for you, you can resign your membership and receive 100% of your membership deposit back." ....end of  quote

Love to hear any comments from others --  since you can continue with this limited membership

82 x 14 = 1148  
+ 4600 
+ 5% of 50k 
= 8248 / 14 = $589/night

Regards

Greg  H


----------



## GregGH (Jul 7, 2007)

*whoops*

Darn - thought I found something new --now I see it was mentioned in HCC link

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47657&highlight=special+high+country

Any other club offering 'limited' time - like 14 days  ' beginner memberships ??

Regards

Greg H


----------



## NeilGoBlue (Jul 7, 2007)

GregGH said:


> Darn - thought I found something new --now I see it was mentioned in HCC link
> 
> http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47657&highlight=special+high+country
> 
> ...



Bellehavens has the Traveler membership.. that's the one that I joined..


----------



## Sherpa (Jul 10, 2007)

GregGH said:


> Darn - thought I found something new --now I see it was mentioned in HCC link
> 
> http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47657&highlight=special+high+country
> 
> ...



Here's a list of clubs with either 14 or 15 night memberships:

Ultimate
Solstice
Exclusive
Quintess
BelleHavens
Private Escapes
High Country

Pros: Lower upfront $ and may better match limited travel plans
Cons: Higher effective cost per night and usually less flexibility in making reservations


----------



## GregGH (Jul 10, 2007)

Sherpa said:


> Here's a list of clubs with either 14 or 15 night memberships:
> 
> Ultimate
> Solstice
> ...



Hope I don't sound TOO lazy - but -- sure love it if someone could do a comparison on the 14 day options.  A nice table of summary facts would be oh so nice ...

Regards

GregH
ps - golf season sure cuts into spare time


----------



## TarheelTraveler (Jul 10, 2007)

Crescendo has an 18 day plan (based on high season usage), $13,500 in dues, 200K or 225K investment (can't remember which).


----------



## TarheelTraveler (Jul 10, 2007)

One additional point, with Crescendo's reduced use plan, there are no reservation limitations or restrictions.


----------



## travelguy (Jul 11, 2007)

GregGH said:


> Hope I don't sound TOO lazy - but -- sure love it if someone could do a comparison on the 14 day options.  A nice table of summary facts would be oh so nice ...



This seems like something that Helium or Sherpa should have on their site (or maybe already exists on their site)?


----------



## TarheelTraveler (Jul 11, 2007)

I know the Helium Report only includes each DC's highest level plan.  I also don't remember seeing anything like that on the SherpaReport site showing the various plans of each DC.


----------



## Sherpa (Jul 18, 2007)

GregGH said:


> Hope I don't sound TOO lazy - but -- sure love it if someone could do a comparison on the 14 day options.  A nice table of summary facts would be oh so nice ...
> 
> Regards
> 
> GregH



Greg, A good suggestion, so here goes with the comparison of 14 and 15 night destination club membership plans.

I've included details on the reservation policies that apply to each of these plans, since they vary quite a bit from one club to another.

Cheers


----------



## Steamboat Bill (Jul 18, 2007)

Sherpa said:


> Greg, A good suggestion, so here goes with the comparison of 14 and 15 night destination club membership plans.
> 
> I've included details on the reservation policies that apply to each of these plans, since they vary quite a bit from one club to another.
> 
> Cheers



This is such a good chart I am starting a new thread. Please go to that one.


----------



## GregGH (Jul 18, 2007)

*Thanks Sherpa*

Hello Sherpa

Thanks - Great job

-and Thanks to Bill for the new tread --let the fun begin - looking for more input.

Regards

Greg  H


----------

