Bel Aire vs. Belair
I would like to correct and hopefully clarify a post above. We have been members of the Playa del Sol Club for a number of years. Until late 2010, and slightly into 2011, Playa del Sol Club was owned/managed by Ken Molinaro who allowed the resort to seriously degrade in quality, and successfully "ripped off" many members by an "extraordianry fee" that he assessed. Mr. Molinaro sold his interest to a small chain of hotel resorts called the "Belair Collection....." Please note that this Belair is completely unrelated to the Bel Aire resort located in the marina area of Puerto Vallarta, which was a very bad operation operated by a fellow named Antonio, which bilked many people out of millions of dollars. That site and operation now appears to have morphed into "U Resorts", but appears to be virtually the same in operation to the previous Bel Aire.
My wife and I are currently staying at the Belair Collection Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, which is located between the new RIU Palace, and the Villa del Palmar Flamingos (not the one in Puerto Vallarta). The Belair Collection has made som very nice updates to the property, its building infrastructure, and its service offerings. They continue to honor the contracts of holders of the Playa del Sol memberships, but also have numerous guests that patronize the resort as a result of their own marketing. Belair dismissed all the former timeshare sales people including the women who worked at the concierge desk. That dismissal happened about a year ago, and they have had no sales operation on site since. I'm told that Belair may initiate a sales operation in the coming year to be located in the former Italian restaurant on site. The room where the old sales operation was located is now used as a conference room and for weddings.
In short, it is at least incorrect to call the current Belair Collection operation in Nuevo Vallarta a "rip off to be avoided like the plague". The developments of the past year have demonstrated what I see as a significant enhancement to the value of our ownership (actually membership) at the facility. Like almost all Mexsican timeshare operations, that may change for the worse, but as of now, I believe it is best to speak of them and treat them fairly and give them an opportunity to operate in such a way that benefits those of us who have retained and maintained our membership.
I invite Belair members to write me for furter information while I'm here through January 2012. I'll attempt to clarify or correct other points of interest.
Respectful regards,
Bill Rademacher
