Bluegreen Florida timeshares -- which are nicest?

[AwayWeGo]

No Comparative Data But Got Good 1st Impression In St. Augustine.

Our 1st exposure to a BlueGreen timeshare was in Gordonsville VA -- Shenandoah Crossing. We weren't checked in as guests, just rubbernecking as prospects on timeshare tour (for freebies -- call us mooches if you want, but in this case they cold-called us, & we didn't go looking for them). The timeshare was OK, but nothing special (to us) -- neither the resort nor the Virginia countryside location.

Our 1st actual stay in a BlueGreen timeshare was last month in St. Augustine FL -- Resort At Golf World Village. Details are on the TUG Resort Reviews section. Short version = We liked it, good wow factor, had a nice time.

In Orlando FL, BlueGreen has a timeshare resort right across the street from Vistana Villages that looks spectacular from the outside looking in & ditto on the BlueGreen timeshare web site -- The Fountains, I think it is. We would have made a reservation there instead of Wyndham Cypress Palms if we could have snagged it via Last Call or Instant Exchange. (We couldn't so we didn't.)

At the Cypress Palms sales pitch, the Wyndham guy said BlueGreen's biz plan is to buy up troubled resorts & turn'm around & add to them. He said Shenandoah Crossing & Resort At Golf World Village are both examples of that. The BlueGreen timeshare seller at Shenandoah Crossing (when we were there on tour) said just about the same thing about Shenandoah Crossing.

The Wyndham guy said The Fountains was started by a British concern that ran into financial trouble & sold out to BlueGreen. The Wyndham guy said if we ever get a Fountains reservation, we should try to get assigned to a unit in the old section. That's because the Brits were building spacious units at the original resort & BlueGreen since taking over has been building smaller units, he said. (He wouldn't misrepresent another timeshare company's timeshare would he? Na-a-a-a-h! )

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[BocaBum99]

Alan,

All of the resorts you mentioned are "Club" resorts and are managed by Bluegreen. Bluegreen is an excellent management company. They are very good at buying a hotel or motel and converting it into a timeshare resort after stripping it down and building it back up.

 

[theo]

Thanks...

Theo,

Charles is correct. RDI was a point system that aggregated a bunch of inventory at many resorts. When Bluegreen bought them out, they retained usage of those weeks in the RDI system and added them to the Bluegreen Vacation Club.

Suffice it to say that the only role that Bluegreen has in most of its associate resorts is to manage the inventory for reservation purposes only that owners at those resorts converted to RDI and subsequently Bluegreen points.

Bluegreen's main interest is to build out new resorts for new owners.

Jim

Jim:
Thanks for the clarification. As mentioned previously, I knew that neither RDI nor Bluegreen ever owned or managed any of the several facilities with which I am personally familiar by past and/or present ownership. I knew that much from having owned at (and written annual maintenance fee checks to the actual management entities at) several of those facilities for quite a few years, one since its' original construction. Consequently, it was unclear to me how Bluegreen had entered the picture at all in the first place at these particular resorts --- and I'd not before even heard of RDI.

As I now understand the evolution, RDI apparently owned some weeks at these particular facilities --- facilities which RDI (and / or Keith Trowbridge) did not originally develop, or ever own or manage. Those particular weeks evidently went to Bluegreen upon Bluegreens' acquisition of RDI and those weeks remain within Blugreen today for club / points use. This explains the limited, residual Bluegreen presence today in these few particular places. I think I've finally got it straight now in my alleged mind...

Ignorance was bliss, but I guess knowledge is better. Thanks again.

 

[JLB]

You did not disappoint, noticing that your resorts are not on Mr. Trowbridge's list of accomplishments.

However, Surfrider is (as I recall), and it is my assumption that it was RDI's acquisition from Trowbridge which got them involved in SW FL (the majority being resorts along or near Estero/Hickory Blvd.), and, subsequently, in your resorts. In other words, I assume that if RDI had not been drawn to SW FL by the acquisition of Trowbridge's stuff, they never would have been involved in your resorts, however it was that they were involved.

In my search I could not find a link to what resorts RDI was involved with when BG acquired them. Anyone find that list?

How long have you owned whatever you own?

What I find strange about this is how many SW FL resorts went to RDI from Trowbridge, and then on to BG, but BG does not now appear to be involved in them. I could swear that resorts like Bonita Resort and Club and Vanderbilt Beach Club used to be available to rent through BG. I'm feeling that was like 5-7 years ago, maybe more recently.

Cathy's getting a thorough lesson in SW FL resort management, much more than she needs.

RDI apparently owned some weeks at these particular facilities --- facilities which RDI (and / or Keith Trowbridge) did not originally develop, or ever own or manage.

 

[BocaBum99]

In my search I could not find a link to what resorts RDI was involved with when BG acquired them. Anyone find that list?

Bluegreen Acquired RDI in 1997.

Here is a TUG article from 1997 that describes how to use RDI and it includes a list of the original RDI resorts. RDI Vacation Club

Paradise Isle Resort
Shoreline Towers
Via Roma Beach Resort
Beach Dolphin Beach Club
Fantasy Island Resort II
Beach Mariner's Boat House
Tropical Sands Resort
Windward Passage Resort
Gulfstream Manor
Resort 66
Orlando's Sunshine Resort
Outrigger Beach Resort
Landmark Holiday Beach Resort
Ocean Towers Beach Club
Panama City Resort & Club
Big Canoe Petit Crest Villas
Player's Club
Royal Dunes
Shennandoah Crossing Farm & Club
Christmas Mountain Village

 

[BocaBum99]

What I find strange about this is how many SW FL resorts went to RDI from Trowbridge, and then on to BG, but BG does not now appear to be involved in them. I could swear that resorts like Bonita Resort and Club and Vanderbilt Beach Club used to be available to rent through BG. I'm feeling that was like 5-7 years ago, maybe more recently.

Bluegreen is involved in more resorts than just those in the Bluegreen Vacation Club.

So, it wouldn't surprise me if Bluegreen is renting units for resorts not in the Bluegreen Vacation Club.

 

[CharlesS]

As mentioned previously, I knew that neither RDI nor Bluegreen ever owned or managed any of the several facilities with which I am personally familiar by past and/or present ownership.

According to the checkin people at Tropical Sands somewhere around the turn of the century, Bluegreen did manage Tropical Sands. The checkin people were happy that Bluegreen no longer managed Tropical Sands. By the way, those two "ladies" were the rudest timeshare employees that I have encountered in 10 years.

Charles

 

[theo]

I have my doubts....

According to the check in people at Tropical Sands somewhere around the turn of the century, Bluegreen did manage Tropical Sands. The checkin people were happy that Bluegreen no longer managed Tropical Sands. By the way, those two "ladies" were the rudest timeshare employees that I have encountered in 10 years.

Charles

There has been much staff turnover at TSR in recent years (not necessarily representing improvement), but I think the ill mannered ladies you encountered may be mistaken in their stated belief. Moreover, certainly none of the new TSR staff has been there long enough to know anything at all about (or offer an informed viewpoint concerning) any management entity which may have been in place prior to the current one (RAL).

I bought a few consecutive fixed weeks at TSR during its' initial construction in / around the early 1980's, impressed with the quality of construction which I saw in progress and the comfortable size of the units-to-be. I have maintained that ownership continuously since. Unless my memory is really bad (a possibility, I suppose, but one I think unlikley) regarding the payee for my maintenance fee checks, I do not recall ever seeing or reading the word "Bluegeen" in any correspondence or maintenance fee bill at any time in the past 25 or so years since. That said, I have certainly met Bluegreen guests at TSR now and then in recent years who were there by virtue of their Bluegreen points membership.

 

[theo]

Yes and no...

You did not disappoint, noticing that your resorts are not on Mr. Trowbridge's list of accomplishments.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I own one week at each of two different facilities which appear on Trowbridges' curriculum vita. However, both of those purchases occurred after Trowbridge sold to RDI and after RDI sold to Bluegreen. Bluegreen has not managed either of those two facilities during the period of my ownership since then. However, I cannot speak intelligently regarding the few years in between, when Bluegreen may or may not have been managing the facility.

As mentioned in the post directly adjoining this one, replying to Charles, I've owned two other weeks at TSR since its' initial construction. I am quite certain that neither Trowbridge nor RDI nor Bluegreen built (or ever owned) this facility. I am also reasonably sure that Bluegreen has never managed it subsequently, but I'd stand corrected about that belief in the face of hard evidence to the contrary. I simply don't remember ever seeing or hearing the Bluegreen name in any correspondence or maintenance fee bills. Generally, my memory is pretty good when it comes to sending money out the door , but it has now been several decades at this point.....

 

[tombo]

VRI ( http://www.vriresorts.com/Destinations.html ), not Bluegreen, currently manages many of the resorts listed on the RDI list that Bluegreen acquired. I own at at couple of VRI resorts. Bluegreen (from my understanding) used to manage a couple of the resorts (before VRI), and had a deal where upon paying fees, owners could turn their weeks into Bluegreen weeks. Also Bluegreen allegedly bought a lot the repo's when they were on site. Many of these Blugreen affiliated resorts are simply resorts where Blugreen has access to very limited inventory and usually the inventory is not prime weeks. Bluegreen to the best of my knowledge has no tie to any of these resorts other than having control over the weeks turned into Bluegreen weeks.

One of my good friends is a Bluegreen owner and has tried (in vain) for 2 years to book the same summer week as me at Landmark Holiday beach resort with no success. I asked at the desk if Bluegreen had a lot of summer weeks at the resort and was told that the percentage of weeks at the resort owned by Bluegreen was very small, and that they had almost no summer weeks, so that was why my friends could never book a week there through Bluegreen.

P.S. The office people at Landmark are also thrilled that Bluegreen is gone from their building. I know for sure that this resort was built and sold out by an individual, and all long before Bluegreen ever appeared on the scene.

 

[BocaBum99]

The Bluegreen Vacation Club owns 676 intervals in Landmark Holiday Beach Resort spread out across 95 different units.

If my math is correct, Landmark has 145 units or 7395 total intervals, excluding maintenance weeks.

So, the Bluegreen Vacation Club owns about 9% of the resort.

 

[tombo]

Using your figures, 9% of the weeks are owned by Bluegreen, which means that 91% of the weeks are owned by non Bluegreen owners. I believe the front desk's response that Bluegreen owns a small per cent of the weeks is accurate with these percentages.

The summer weeks at Landmark are fixed. Do you have any idea of the number of summer weeks owned by Bluegreen at Landmark? I do not know the figure, but I do know that my friend has been unable to reserve a summer week there for 2 years in a row, and he is VIP with Bluegreen.

 

[JLB]

Really!? I thought the two at Tropic Sun Towers II were the rudest. it was a few years ago and when we arrived, late, and I was walking to the office, they were standing outside smoking cigarettes and staring at me. When they saw my RCI envelope they had a big belly-laugh and one said, "See I told you, RCI." I guess the joke was on me because they didn't let me in on it.

Then, there was another one lately, but I have a gentleman's agreement not to talk about it on the Internet.

By the way, those two "ladies" were the rudest timeshare employees that I have encountered in 10 years.

Charles

 

[JLB]

As I suspected, the resorts in question do appear on RDI's list, provided by Mr. Bum, and that is how Bluegreen got involved with them.

Now, confusingly, resorts which I assumed would be on it, are not.

The resports on BG reminds me of the sign I see in some businesses, "Everyone makes this place brighter and happier. Some when they arrrive. Some when they leave."

 

[rapmarks]

When we were in Florida in 1993, RDI did have an association with Tropical Sands and Windward Passage, as we were allowed day use at those resorts with our RDI VIP card. WEe had exchange into the Bonita Golf Resort.
In Feb 2003, I used two nights of bonus time from bluegreen at Tropical Sands and encountered one of the rude front desk people that charles mentioned. My ownership was the same as 1993, but had passed from RDI to Bluegreen.
I booked and paid bluegreen for the two nights. I called the resort. She had no record of the booking, she said to call Bluegreen and have them fax our reservation. She said they had nothing to do with Bluegreen, good riddance. After I called bluegreen to fax the info, I called the resort again. This time she had the reservation, but told me you are not checking in early. I said i am actually calling to see what happens if I am late. She calmed down and told me. when i arrived, I got an earful about Bluegreeen. We wer no longer allowed day use either, and were disappointed as we wanted to spend a couple of hours at the resort before dring back to northern Florida.

However, on this trip we discovered the wonderful difference between the weather in Ocala and the wether in SW Floria and came back the following fall and looked for a home, staying until we found one.

RDI wasd owned at first by Ken Keim and he died of a sudden heart attack in the nineties. he had already sold Christmas Mountain to his sons and Dave Bidgood when he died, but I am tryin to remember if he still owned RDI, I think he did.

I was told that Randy Keim purchased the unsold inventory at all the RDI resorts and started the RDI points system, which he later sold along with Christmas Mountain and Shenendoah Crossing to Bluegreen. The unsold inventory of course would not be the prime weeks.inventory

Ken Keim, Randy Keim, and David Bidgod all owned homes at christmas Mountain Village at one time and they were our neighbors.

 

[theo]

Just to add to the confusion....

What I find strange about this is how many SW FL resorts went to RDI from Trowbridge, and then on to BG, but BG does not now appear to be involved in them. I could swear that resorts like Bonita Resort and Club and Vanderbilt Beach Club used to be available to rent through BG. I'm feeling that was like 5-7 years ago, maybe more recently.

Your recollection may be correct and, if so, I have a (factually deficient, but still viable) theory as to how / why it may no longer be so.....

I have periodically received unsolicited contacts in recent years from Pinnacle Vacations, an entity which has some sort of resale arrangement / affiliation with Bluegreen. The actual details of that affiliation are neither known nor of interest to me. These contacts have been on behalf of private folks (legitimately, definitely not "scammers") looking to buy one or two of my specific, owned fixed weeks (which have been neither for sale nor advertised anywhere at any time, past or present).

Extrapolating from this, I'm theorizing that Pinnacle Vacations (whoever they are) is directly involved with resales of Bluegreen owned weeks at various SW FL facilities. If so, when such weeks (which are certainly very few in number at some smaller SW FL resorts to begin with) are sold via Pinnacle Vacations to private individuals via the resale market, such sold weeks would at that point disappear forever from Bluegreen ownership and / or any future ability to use in the Bluegreen points system, rent out directly by Bluegreen, etc. In short, each such resale would permanently "delete" that week / unit from the Bluegreen inventory picture upon conclusion of transfer from Bluegreen to the new private owner. That may explain the disappearance of Bonita Resort weeks from Bluegreen today.

Again, I offer this just as a theory --- not as a claim, statement of fact, or proclamation of any kind.

 

[theo]

Another possibility?

When we were in Florida in 1993, RDI did have an association with Tropical Sands and Windward Passage, as we were allowed day use at those resorts with our RDI VIP card. We had exchange into the Bonita Resort.

No argument intended, but I'm not convinced that the "shared use" arrangement you experienced in the 1990's reflected actual RDI management at either Tropical Sands or Windward Passage. Having owned at TSR since it was first being built, just for example, I've never once even heard mention of RDI at TSR before this week (and only right here on this bbs). My memory can't be that bad (...can it?).

Is it not instead possible that the "shared use" arrangement was merely the result of RDI owning some weeks at each one of these other two FMB facilities (as opposed to being either the actual facility owner or management entity for either one of them?). I'm not arguing, just wondering --- it's certainly an academic point 15 years later anyhow...

I also wonder (but certainly do not claim to know) how, in the developer / ownership / management evolution discussed, each of these assorted FMB resorts came to be under the aegis of their current respective management companies. Of those resorts at FMB which I personally know at least a bit about, here is the roster as it exists today:

VRI:
Windward Passage, Bonita Resort & Club, Caribbean Beach Club, Mariner's Boathouse, Beach Club I

RAL:
Estero Island Beach Club, Kahlua Beach Club, Tropical Sands Resort

BLUEGREEN:
Maybe NO resorts actually under Bluegreen management at FMB anymore? (...but Bluegreen or its' Vacation Club still own some weeks at Mariner's Boathouse, Windward Passage and Tropical Sands).

There may be other FMB facilities in any or all of the above three groups. I've merely identified those I know about directly and personally.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Memory & Age.

My memory can't be that bad (can it?).

As I get older, I find that my memory is improving -- a phenomenon remarked upon by Mark Twain, who said the same thing happened to him.

My memory is so good now that I can remember things even if they never actually happened.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[BocaBum99]

Your recollection may be correct and, if so, I have a (factually deficient, but still viable) theory as to how / why it may no longer be so.....

I have periodically received unsolicited contacts in recent years from Pinnacle Vacations, an entity which has some sort of resale arrangement / affiliation with Bluegeen, the actual details of which affiliation are neither known nor of interest to me. These contacts have been on behalf of private folks (legitimately, definitely not "scammers") looking to buy one or two of my specific, owned fixed weeks (which have been neither for sale nor advertised anywhere at any time, past or present).

Extrapolating from this, I'm theorizing that Pinnacle Vacations (whoever they are) is directly involved with resales of Bluegreen owned weeks at various SW FL facilities. If so, when such weeks (which are certainly very few in number at some smaller SW FL resorts to begin with) are sold via Pinnacle Vacations to private individuals via the resale market, such sold weeks would at that point disappear forever from Bluegreen ownership and / or any future ability to use in the Bluegreen points system, rent out directly by Bluegreen, etc. In short, each such resale would permanently "delete" that week / unit from the Bluegreen inventory picture upon conclusion of transfer from Bluegreen to the new private owner.

Again, I offer this just as a theory --- not as a claim, statement of fact, or proclamation of any kind.

There is no need to theorize about Pinnacle Vacations. Pinnacle Vacations is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bluegreen Corporation and they are fully licensed Real Estate Brokers in Florida. So, they are squeaky clean. They were originally part of RDI and Bluegreen kept them once they were acquired.

Pinnacle Vacations helps Bluegreen owners sell their units when they don't want them anymore as you would expect from a resale company. That is their primary role. I find it very refreshing that a resort developer actually has a resale organization to help owners sell their weeks. Their fees are right in line with the market for resale companies.

 

[BocaBum99]

I forgot to mention. Inventory in Pinnacle Vacations is owner inventory. For every piece of inventory they have, there is an owner who wants to sell it who is NOT affiliated with Bluegreen Corp. That owner pays a commission to Pinnacle Vacations for finding a buyer when the deal closes.

The Bluegreen Vacation Club inventory is inventory owned by Bluegreen Vacation Club owners, NOT Bluegreen. So, Bluegreen does not sell that inventory except when listed through Pinnacle Vacations. That means the 600+ intervals in the Bluegreen Vacation Club held at Landmark are owned by individuals, NOT Bluegreen.

As you might imagine, Pinnacle Vacations also gets requests from owners who want to add to their portfolio. If they know you have fixed weeks, they contact you to see if you are interested in selling as any broker would do.

Developer inventory (i.e. inventory owned by Bluegreen) is held by the Resorts and Sales Centers. They sell that inventory at Retail rates of between $1.25-2.00 per point. Bluegreen takes trade ins and converts fixed weeks to points. That, too, is developer inventory sold at Retail.

 

[theo]

Clarification

There is no need to theorize about Pinnacle Vacations. Pinnacle Vacations is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bluegreen Corporation and they are fully licensed Real Estate Brokers in Florida. So, they are squeaky clean. They were originally part of RDI and Bluegreen kept them once they were acquired.

Jim:
I did not / do not question the legitimacy of Pinnacle Vacations.

The only "theory" part of my reply to JLB was in offering a possible explanation (theory) regarding where reportedly formerly available weeks at Bonita Resort may have gone. No more, no less, no aspersions cast.

 

[BocaBum99]

Jim:
I did not / do not question the legitimacy of Pinnacle Vacations.

The only "theory" part of my reply to JLB was in offering a possible explanation (theory) regarding where reportedly formerly available weeks at Bonita Resort may have gone. No more, no less, no aspersions cast.

I never thought you were casting aspersions. I just wanted to help you turn theory into fact by providing you additional information that you may not have had.

 

[JLB]

I knew it wasn't what I was smoking!

http://www.myresortnetwork.com/resorts/Bluegreen.asp

 

[rapmarks]

I exchanged into Bonita Golf Resort through RCI. It had nothing to do with RDI. On that trip we went to Panama City Beach at a RDI resort through bonus time with RDI and did day use at Windward Passage while we were in Bonita Springs through RDI. We used day use because the resort in Bonita had a pool heated to 60 degrees and no hot tub and no beach. I can't find it in the RCI book any longer, but people say it is still in RCI.
I don't excactly what the relationship was between RDI and those resorts, I just know we were told we could get bonus time and day use at Windward Passage through our ownership at Christmas Mountain.
I do recall the woman at Tropical Sands saying they got rid of Bluegreen, but I can remember owners there saying they never heard of Bluegreen.

The Bonita Resort and Club never had anything to do with Bluegreen or RDI that I know of. A friend of mine bought at the Bonita Resort and club on Little Hickory in 1991. He mentioned that RDI tried to get management there but they didn't accept them. He was on the board at that time, and is on the board now. I don't believe RDI or Bluegreen ever had anything to do with the Bonita Resort on LIttle Hickory Island.

 

[london]

Blugreen

Hammocks in Marathon Key would be a fine choice. The keys are a great place to visit.