komosatp
TUG Member
I posted this message on another thread, but that discussion has veered away from the subject of that thread. I'm now posting this in it's own thread in the hopes that people will comment on what I say.
The issues that threatens the value of our investment is that Atlantis is not officially granting us owners (and our guests) access to two new pool areas near The Cove and Reef. Given the contract that we all made with Starwood & Atlantis when we purchased our units, we should have access to these pools. If we allow Atlantis to unilaterally alter Harborside's access agreement with Atlantis, then the value of our units is significantly diminished.
How do I come to this conclusion? Based on our original access deed, Harborside guests should be classified as if they are guest of The Cove or Reef, not in the Royal towers.
The Background:
Before The Cove was built, all guests in Atlantis’ hotel rooms were in the same class. Yes, the Royal Towers were the nicest rooms, but there was no differentiation amongst guests based on what tower they were staying in.
But now Atlantis has made some things exclusive to guests in The Cove and Reef. Ergo, Atlantis is now classifying guests based on which tower they stay in. What’s wrong with that you ask? Doesn’t Atlantis Have the right to run its business as it sees fit? Absolutely, yes it does.
But it also made a promise to us Harborside owners. It promised us that Harborside owners will always be considered to be the same as guests in “the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms".
Section 1.1.4 of the original access deed (dated January 27, 2000) addressed the possibility that Atlantis might build something better than the Royal Towers and assures Harborside owners that their access will always be a premier level of access. It says that Harborside guests will be treated as if they are “occupying hotel rooms at the Royal Towers at Atlantis or any such other Hotel Rooms as may be intended to replace the Royal Towers Rooms as the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms”
So last year I contacted Starwood and Harborside to raise this issue. The bottom line is that Atlantis is maintaining that The Cove is not “the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms” despite the fact that The Cove has the highest starting rates, the largest standard rooms, the most luxurious in-room amenities, and access to exclusive pool areas.
Why Should We Care:
The spirit of the agreement we all made with Atlantis assured us that we‘d always be treated just like the typical guest in the nicest tower at Atlantis. The addition of The Cove was the first time that this promise has been tested since Harborside was started. And Atlantis has decided to find a way out of its promise, and come up with a contrived technicality to deny us something we are entitled to.
Additionally, the capitulation by Starwood and our board really disappointed me. The people that are supposed to be representing you and me (the directors of our vacation clubs and condominiums) decided that Atlantis’ position on this was reasonable and acceptable. A lawyer at Starwood responded to the issues I raised, summarizing the position of the board and from that letter it was clear to me that our board of directors was not looking out for the owners’ best interests, but Starwood’s business relationship with Atlantis (the President of our condo and vacation club board, Thorp Thomas, is an officer in Starwood’s vacation ownership company).
From a financial perspective, another important issue is Atlantis’ position on this matter, and Starwood’s/our club’s directors acceptance of it, threatens the value of our investment. I’m sure most of us bought at Harborside because of its relationship with Atlantis. If Atlantis is allowed to unilaterally decide where Harborside owners may and may not go on property, then what is our investment really worth? And what does the future hold if we don’t assert our rights now?
So if this is just the first of many additions to come to Atlantis, shouldn’t we set the precedent now that Harborside owners are not a bunch of chumps who Atlantis can treat in any way it wants? If we don’t, I worry that the next fantastic addition to Atlantis will be off-limits to us lowly timeshare owners.
Personally, I'm not that interested in accessing these two new pools. But Atlantis should either be granting us access or we should be re-negotiating an access agreement and new (lower) annual access fees that reflect the fact that were not getting access to the entirety of Atlantis.
What I’ve Done:
Last year I signed a retainer with a class action lawyer to represent our interest. He was successful at getting Atlantis to own up to its mistakes in the past, but it’s become clear to me that he’s not interested in moving forward.
I’ve been slow in prodding him to move, and I hadn’t posted on this board in deference to him devising a legal strategy. But now it seems we’re on our own again and I’d like to get some measurement of how interested other people are in this issue. So if you care, or think this is dumb, please post here so I can decide how much time to dedicate to this issue.
Thanks for reading this far.
The issues that threatens the value of our investment is that Atlantis is not officially granting us owners (and our guests) access to two new pool areas near The Cove and Reef. Given the contract that we all made with Starwood & Atlantis when we purchased our units, we should have access to these pools. If we allow Atlantis to unilaterally alter Harborside's access agreement with Atlantis, then the value of our units is significantly diminished.
How do I come to this conclusion? Based on our original access deed, Harborside guests should be classified as if they are guest of The Cove or Reef, not in the Royal towers.
The Background:
Before The Cove was built, all guests in Atlantis’ hotel rooms were in the same class. Yes, the Royal Towers were the nicest rooms, but there was no differentiation amongst guests based on what tower they were staying in.
But now Atlantis has made some things exclusive to guests in The Cove and Reef. Ergo, Atlantis is now classifying guests based on which tower they stay in. What’s wrong with that you ask? Doesn’t Atlantis Have the right to run its business as it sees fit? Absolutely, yes it does.
But it also made a promise to us Harborside owners. It promised us that Harborside owners will always be considered to be the same as guests in “the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms".
Section 1.1.4 of the original access deed (dated January 27, 2000) addressed the possibility that Atlantis might build something better than the Royal Towers and assures Harborside owners that their access will always be a premier level of access. It says that Harborside guests will be treated as if they are “occupying hotel rooms at the Royal Towers at Atlantis or any such other Hotel Rooms as may be intended to replace the Royal Towers Rooms as the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms”
So last year I contacted Starwood and Harborside to raise this issue. The bottom line is that Atlantis is maintaining that The Cove is not “the Atlantis Resorts’ premier luxury Hotel Rooms” despite the fact that The Cove has the highest starting rates, the largest standard rooms, the most luxurious in-room amenities, and access to exclusive pool areas.
Why Should We Care:
The spirit of the agreement we all made with Atlantis assured us that we‘d always be treated just like the typical guest in the nicest tower at Atlantis. The addition of The Cove was the first time that this promise has been tested since Harborside was started. And Atlantis has decided to find a way out of its promise, and come up with a contrived technicality to deny us something we are entitled to.
Additionally, the capitulation by Starwood and our board really disappointed me. The people that are supposed to be representing you and me (the directors of our vacation clubs and condominiums) decided that Atlantis’ position on this was reasonable and acceptable. A lawyer at Starwood responded to the issues I raised, summarizing the position of the board and from that letter it was clear to me that our board of directors was not looking out for the owners’ best interests, but Starwood’s business relationship with Atlantis (the President of our condo and vacation club board, Thorp Thomas, is an officer in Starwood’s vacation ownership company).
From a financial perspective, another important issue is Atlantis’ position on this matter, and Starwood’s/our club’s directors acceptance of it, threatens the value of our investment. I’m sure most of us bought at Harborside because of its relationship with Atlantis. If Atlantis is allowed to unilaterally decide where Harborside owners may and may not go on property, then what is our investment really worth? And what does the future hold if we don’t assert our rights now?
So if this is just the first of many additions to come to Atlantis, shouldn’t we set the precedent now that Harborside owners are not a bunch of chumps who Atlantis can treat in any way it wants? If we don’t, I worry that the next fantastic addition to Atlantis will be off-limits to us lowly timeshare owners.
Personally, I'm not that interested in accessing these two new pools. But Atlantis should either be granting us access or we should be re-negotiating an access agreement and new (lower) annual access fees that reflect the fact that were not getting access to the entirety of Atlantis.
What I’ve Done:
Last year I signed a retainer with a class action lawyer to represent our interest. He was successful at getting Atlantis to own up to its mistakes in the past, but it’s become clear to me that he’s not interested in moving forward.
I’ve been slow in prodding him to move, and I hadn’t posted on this board in deference to him devising a legal strategy. But now it seems we’re on our own again and I’d like to get some measurement of how interested other people are in this issue. So if you care, or think this is dumb, please post here so I can decide how much time to dedicate to this issue.
Thanks for reading this far.