The Aruban Resort closure.....

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

December 15, 2009

Dear Timeshare Owners,

The Management and Staff of The Aruban Resort & Casino regret to inform you of the immediate closing of the resort, including all Hospitality, Casino and Sales & Marketing operations. Management is endeavoring to relocate, reschedule and/or cancel all reservations for the period of December 14, 2009 - January 31, 2010, to other resorts on Aruba, subject to availability.

Due to the fact that the local utility companies turned off the water and electricity to the Resort this afternoon, no telephone or other communication with the Resort will be possible. Please contact memberrelations@hotmail.com, as The Aruban server is no longer operational. For Reservations, please contact ARCreservations@live.com.

We deeply regret this turn of events and would to assure all of the timeshare owners that Management is working extremely hard and diligently to secure refinancing for the project, despite the resort’s recent financial problems and worldwide financial crisis. Unfortunately, this has not been made any easier by the litigation brought on by a small group of timeshare owners. Regardless, we continue our efforts to complete the recapitalization of the project

Please refer to this web site for updates on a regular basis.

The Aruban Resort & Casino - aruba-owners-corner

Thank you,

KL Resort Development Company N.V.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Get the HECK outta here!

This is the resort behind La Cabanna that used to be loosely connected with La Cabanna?

I am sorry for the owners and the exchangers that planned to spend the winter holiday/break time there....
WoW

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Wow, what a shame.

I hope this is not the beginning of a wave of timeshare failures.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Not the beginning. Lots of money troubles for timeshares in bad economic times- particularly with bad or clueless management. The strong with good management usually find the way to ride out bad times.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Get the HECK outta here!

This is the resort behind La Cabanna that used to be loosely connected with La Cabanna?

I am sorry for the owners and the exchangers that planned to spend the winter holiday/break time there....
WoW

I think that's it. A shame. Recently management was taken over by TPI and they were going to refurbish

[twolvfan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close twolvfan]

Monthly payments??

so with everything happening w/ the Aruban, what are we to do w/ out monthly payments? do we just stop paying? We should not have to pay for something that isn't even open any longer

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I just now received an email asking about this, I have refereed them to look here.

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

I think that's it. A shame. Recently management was taken over by TPI and they were going to refurbish

I think that this didn't fully happen, as TPI has not had any of their weeks available since about September.

[Larry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Larry]

Aruban "tempoarily" closed

This may be wishfull thinking but this is what their website currently says "temprarily closed".

"Resort Temporarily Closed."

December 14, 2009

Dear Timeshare Owners,

The Management and Staff of The Aruban Resort & Casino regret to inform you of the immediate closing of the resort, including all Hospitality, Casino and Sales & Marketing operations. Management is endeavoring to relocate, reschedule and/or cancel all reservations for the period of December 14, 2009 - January 31, 2010, to other resorts on Aruba, subject to availability.

Due to the fact that the local utility companies turned off the water and electricity to the Resort this afternoon, no telephone or other communication with the Resort will be possible. Please contact ARCmembers@live.com, as The Aruban server is no longer operational. For Reservations, please contact ARCreservations@live.com.


We deeply regret this turn of events and would to assure all of the timeshare owners that Management is working extremely hard and diligently to secure refinancing for the project, despite the resort’s recent financial problems and worldwide financial crisis. Unfortunately, this has not been made any easier by the litigation brought on by a small group of timeshare owners. Regardless, we continue our efforts to complete the recapitalization of the project.

Please refer to this web site for updates on a regular basis.

Thank you,

KL Resort Development Company N.V."


I am not very optimistic of them opening after January 31, 2010, but let's hope for the best for all owners at the Aruban Resort.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

BTW this is not the first time this has happened, I think they also closed down about 6 years ago.

[Larry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Larry]

La cabana is fine

Just so no one gets confused with the Aruban which used to be affiliated with LaCabana they are open and doing fine. Here is what is posted on La Cabana website;


IMPORTANT NOTICE
A little over a week ago, the Aruban Resort (formerly known as the Villas) closed its doors pending a possible financial reorganization.
Several individuals, both locally and abroad, that are not familiar with the two properties' separation, have mistakenly confused us with the Aruban Resort causing many of our members to be alarmed about the future of their time share.

Please rest assured that La Cabana is still open with business as usual and the renovation is in full swing!

We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

La Cabana Management Team



I own at La Cabana and will be there in January week 4 so can give everyone a report once I return.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Just so no one gets confused with the Aruban which used to be affiliated with LaCabana they are open and doing fine. Here is what is posted on La Cabana website;


IMPORTANT NOTICE
A little over a week ago, the Aruban Resort (formerly known as the Villas) closed its doors pending a possible financial reorganization.
Several individuals, both locally and abroad, that are not familiar with the two properties' separation, have mistakenly confused us with the Aruban Resort causing many of our members to be alarmed about the future of their time share.

Please rest assured that La Cabana is still open with business as usual and the renovation is in full swing!

We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

La Cabana Management Team



I own at La Cabana and will be there in January week 4 so can give everyone a report once I return.

Actually, your post has given me a bit of a flashback!

We were staying at the Marriott week 52 - check-in Dec 30,2006. My son and friends had a unit at La Cabana the same week. There was a sign posted in La Cabana Lobby when we went to pick him up that stated that as of Jan 4, 2007 the guests at La Cabana Villas (now The Aruban) could no longer use the amenities at La Cabana - meaning the lovely, large pool areas, health club, laundry....and that they could not walk thru the resort to get to the beach - they needed to walk out on the street to reach the public beach.
It was said at the time on the La Cabana owners site that the reason for this was because the Villas had not paid their share/cost of the amenities so could no longer access them.....they were permitted to use the restaurants and shops as this part of the resort was open to the general public.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Just so no one gets confused with the Aruban which used to be affiliated with LaCabana they are open and doing fine. Here is what is posted on La Cabana website;


IMPORTANT NOTICE
A little over a week ago, the Aruban Resort (formerly known as the Villas) closed its doors pending a possible financial reorganization.
Several individuals, both locally and abroad, that are not familiar with the two properties' separation, have mistakenly confused us with the Aruban Resort causing many of our members to be alarmed about the future of their time share.

Please rest assured that La Cabana is still open with business as usual and the renovation is in full swing!

We look forward to welcoming you back soon.

La Cabana Management Team



I own at La Cabana and will be there in January week 4 so can give everyone a report once I return.

OK I was I was referying to the one in your post by La Cabana.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Yes, it sounds like this is indeed the Aruban that used to be the Villas and affiliated with La Cabana, but separated a few years ago.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

A bad situation.... How much money will it take to dig out!

This may be wishfull thinking but this is what their website currently says "temprarily closed".

I am not very optimistic of them opening after January 31, 2010, but let's hope for the best for all owners at the Aruban Resort.

I believe that date coincides with the maintenance fee due date, so I assume they hope to collect 2010 fees and use that money to "reopen".. However, I think it is also safe to assume that this closure will cause many owners to think twice before sending in money, so next year's shortfall in terms of non-payment may be far greater than 2009. A big increase in assessments will also mean a bigger increase in defaults..

Also, just think about the difficulty and costs involved in restaffing, and re-establishing basic services such as power, refuse collection, water, etc. Those accounts appear to have defaulted (based on the statements on the website) to the point where the power and water were actually disconnected, chances are that penalties and deposits will be required. Rumors are that the utility bills alone are currently more than 2 million florins.

Employees had also been striking off and on for the last few months, as company payrolls have been delayed and at last report are still about two months behind.

It's certain the closure has also impacted existing service agreements with many other local providers, who may very likely sue for non-performance.. I'd also expect some more owners to jump on board the lawsuit locomotive that was gaining in momentum last year.. This will require more attorney fees being paid by the resort, which means even more money!

There may also be future problems with exchange affiliation. Interval International will have to locate alternative accommodations for any exchanges they had in the works. They may be gun shy about that risk next year without major changes.

I haven't heard if the property has been able to declare bankruptcy, and if so whether that will clear the books for a new buyer. Perhaps someone who is familiar with the legal system of Aruba can provide some helpful info on how the bankruptcy process will unfold..

K&L Holdings (a casino development group out of Vegas affiliated with the Gillmann Group and American Heritage, Inc) purchased the resort in 2007 at auction for just over 50 million. I believe they had also purchased some additional land adjacent to the property to try and build a new private beach access (which was lost in the fight with La Cabana). There was quite a bit of excitement when they took over, as owners were hoping that some refurbishment and construction would take place. It's hard to believe so much has changed in just a few years!

I personally don't think there is much hope unless a new developer comes in with some really deep pockets.. Unfortunately, those are pretty difficult to find in the current economy!