raintree vacation club

is anyone a member and what do you think about it? Are you automatically a member if you own at Club regina?

we are members of raintree through our ownership at Whiski Jack in Whistler and also own an every-other year at Club Regina, Los Cabos. I think you are an automatic member when you own at Club Regina, but we had to upgrade our fixed week at Whistler to usage through Raintree. Most resorts are very nice, although the ones at Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Hawaii, and some in Whistler are of marginal quality. The resorts at Jackson Hole, Miner's Club in Utah, and the ones associated with the Westin Hotels are extremely high quality. I really like the variety of locations and flexability in the reservation system, which has improved greatly since the operations have moved to the USA.

I own at the Miner's Club in Park City, Utah. I am automatically a member by owning here. Been to the Miner's Club and Club Regina in Puerto Vallarta last year, and both were extremely nice. Have heard not so great things about the units in Hawaii and Vegas though...

Can anyone else comment on the quality of the units at various resorts?

We own in Cabos, but actually bought while we were visiting in Puerto Vallarta. We've only been to the one resort, but enjoyed it immensely both times. We had a vacation booked in Cancun starting the day before the large hurricane a couple of years ago. The company worked closely with us to help us move the reservation to another location to save our vacation. We bought additional time to allow s to extend our time when we visit or to allow a 2 bedroom instead of a 1 bedroom.

ylmarks wrote:

is anyone a member and what do you think about it? Are you automatically a member if you own at Club regina?

Is Raintree the same company as Club Regina ?

candice49 wrote:

ylmarks wrote:

is anyone a member and what do you think about it? Are you automatically a member if you own at Club regina?

Is Raintree the same company as Club Regina ?

candice49 wrote:

ylmarks wrote:

is anyone a member and what do you think about it? Are you automatically a member if you own at Club regina?

Is Raintree the same company as Club Regina ?

Thanks for the posts ! I love the raintree property Villa Vera on Isla Mujures. I still don't get how many points are needed for an annual stay.. any body ? thanks candice

We just got back from the Kona Resort - not nice - lots of smokers, the room was grimey, no maid service all week - the front office is a mess....

Kona is a beautiful area and that was the saving grace of the trip, that and gree sky miles, but would not recommend this place until they clean things up.

the pool was very nice, and from what i have heard you can request a "nice" room if you insist. This room was updated and pretty, but a funky location (very noisy) and the smoker living downstairs was a distraction; and not having any housekeeping services made staying in the room kind of uncomfortable.

Any other input on the other locations?

we have our membership at Cabo, and have loved that one, but when we stayed at the Westin as hotel guests and our kids just got back from using Cabo timeshare.

Is there any difference to the rooms in the timeshare than the hotel?

lindad240 wrote:

We just got back from the Kona Resort - not nice - lots of smokers, the room was grimey, no maid service all week - the front office is a mess....

Kona is a beautiful area and that was the saving grace of the trip, that and gree sky miles, but would not recommend this place until they clean things up.

the pool was very nice, and from what i have heard you can request a "nice" room if you insist. This room was updated and pretty, but a funky location (very noisy) and the smoker living downstairs was a distraction; and not having any housekeeping services made staying in the room kind of uncomfortable.

Any other input on the other locations?

we have our membership at Cabo, and have loved that one, but when we stayed at the Westin as hotel guests and our kids just got back from using Cabo timeshare.

Is there any difference to the rooms in the timeshare than the hotel?

Have been to the one in Puerto Vallarta. Rooms were spacious. I think the rooms in the Westin are a little more modern or updated

We are also old Whiski Jack owners (Cascade Lodge 630) and just upgraded to the Vacation Club. I am looking forward to the additional flexibility. We just stayed at the new Sand Castle in Birch Bay Washington on our way home from Whistler. Beautiful room (2 bdr, 3 bth) overlooking the bay for $75 a night on bonus time. What a deal

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rhagemeier wrote:

we are members of raintree through our ownership at Whiski Jack in Whistler and also own an every-other year at Club Regina, Los Cabos. I think you are an automatic member when you own at Club Regina, but we had to upgrade our fixed week at Whistler to usage through Raintree. Most resorts are very nice, although the ones at Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Hawaii, and some in Whistler are of marginal quality. The resorts at Jackson Hole, Miner's Club in Utah, and the ones associated with the Westin Hotels are extremely high quality. I really like the variety of locations and flexability in the reservation system, which has improved greatly since the operations have moved to the USA.

are you still happy that they sent a huge bill? Come join the complaints board to unite and possibly start sending them a message...

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/trying-to-charge-a-quotspecial-assessmentquot-c210535/page/3.html#c338927

I am considering purchasing at the raintree regina club in Cabo - through Redweek. In my google search, I saw a lot of complaints - especially concerning a special assessment. Are you happy with the company? If you had it to do over again would you purchase a raintree membership?

We are happy with our membership. The maintenance is a little high and I am not particularly happy about the special assessment, but we knew from the beginning that they would remodel periodically and that would require a special assessment. If I were buying again it would be through Redweek rather than Raintree, but I would still buy. We are considering additional points in the future.

If unhappy with the SA, you should come and join us - many of us don't have anything in our contracts stating we're obligated to pay and no one has voted on this or received this mysterious survey.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/trying-to-charge-a-quotspecial-assessm entquot-c210535/page/3.html#c338927

Thanks - I have found a week at club regina in Cancun at a good price, but plan to use the Los Cabos location mostly. Also plan to upgrade to prime season and the ability to use other the Raintree North American resorts as well. Does anyone have general info of ease or cost of upgrades?

Hi, I have been learning about Raintree for the last six months. Purchased three units. All resale of course. Raintree Vacation Club, Club Regina and Whiski Jack are all different, yet the same... Huh? Club Regina was purchased by Raintree a number of years ago. I THINK that if you buy a Club Regina unit you get the Raintree Club membership as well. Whiski Jack is "associated" with Raintree. Not sure of exact relationship?? I do know that Whiski Jack owners will not be getting the special assesment that has all the other owners are. I KNOW that you can buy a Whiski Jack unit with, or without, a RVC membership. If you buy a Whiski Jack unit without a RVC membership, they will ask you for $6,000 to "upgrade it". Unless you want to go to Whistler, make sure it has a RVC membership. Whiski Jack MF's are considerably lower than any of the Mexican locations. You can trade internally at no charge for Mexico. Bottom line is that if you want to go to a Mexican Raintree resort the best value by far is a Whiski Jack ownership. A "Platinum" level membership gives you 80,000 annual RVC points. Club Regina P Vallarta in the Week 1-17 timeframe is 30,000 pts a week for a one bedroom, 50,000 for a two and 80,000 for a three. You can buy a platinum membership, deeded Whiski Jack unit for under $3,000. MF's approx $700 Canadian. Hope this helps ?

In case anyone may be interested in Raintree, be aware that they just charged every member a "special assessment" equal to double their maintenance fee mid year in addition to the regular fee.

0 Votes I was just as angry as everyone on this board when I received my "special assessment". I wrote twice to the address on the letter and received form letter replies. I would prefer not to pay the assessment as all of you would but I fear that is never going to happen. I filed my complaint with the FTC. I filed with the Houston BBB. Their response says they send a letter and if Raintree is not a member (which it is not) they cannot do anything but compile the list of complaints. While this will not do Raintree any good, I doubt it will hurt them that much either. A class action lawsuit is a viable option but while it is going on, which can take years, and your maintenance fees are not paid, I doubt you would be able to use the resort or exchange. I am not an apologist for Raintree. I don't like this any more than the next person, and if there is a way to get the fees rescinded, go for it.

So what I did was send an email to Doug Bech. It was kind of a proposed compromise. He answered me almost immediately and has followed up several times since I sent it yesterday. Assuming they will not rescind, I wanted to be sure that it will not happen regularly, nor would they be able to raise the regular maintenance fees beyond reason. Here is the note I wrote Doug and his response this morning. I know it is not what you all want, but it is a compromise. As I said, if you can do better, go for it!

Please read the thread of messages from the bottom and see what you think.

From: Bech, Doug [mailto:dybech@raintreeresorts.com] Sent: Monday, June 22, 2009 10:51 AM To: Joel J Smiler DVM Cc: Berger, John; Deuschle, Christy; Flory, Mike; Pollard, Cheryn; Stamm, Garry; Thomas, Myron; Tucker, Brian; Walters, Kristin Subject: FW: RVC Special Assessment

Joel, Thank you again for making a constructive proposal.

RVC will agree and take steps to formalize an agreement with RVC members that there will be no additional Special Assessment for 10 years and, thereafter, no more often than five years, with the sole exception for force majeur, such as a catastrophe or other natural disaster, and then solely for that purpose. No Special Assessment will exceed 50% of the annual Maintenance Fees then in effect.

Annual Maintenance Fees will not be increased more than the amount set forth in the RVC Members' Contracts.

Over the 12 years that Raintree has owned Club Regina and started Raintree Vacation Club, prior to this Special Assessment, there has only been one special Assessment in 2002 for the beach recovery in Puerto Vallarta as a result of a hurricane in 2001. After Hurrican Wilma in 2005, which substantially destroyed Cancun, RVC used insurance and reserve funds to rebuild Club Regina.

We will agree to a six month payment plan for you and we will commit to work with members who may require a longer payment plan. We would appreciate you posting this on the various web-sites or otherwise circulating this e-mail in order to get this agreement to as many members as quickly as possible . We will send another letter out within a few days. One letter with additional information is already in process so the letter agreeing to the foregoing will be the third letter and will go as soon as we can process this. Thank you, Joel and please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Best regards, Doug

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From: Bech, Doug Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:52 PM To: Bech, Doug; 'Joel J Smiler DVM'

Joel, Let me add that I very much appreciate your constructive approach. Generally, this approach seems workable but I do want to let the team debate any area of possible concern. The one area that comes to mind is the possiblity of a catastrophe---hurricane or fire where insurance is insufficient or wasn't available, particularly in Mexico. Over the 12 years we have been in this business, we have had a number of hurricanes with some damge---the loss of the beach at Puerto Vallarta was one where we had a small assessment; and then Hurrican Wilma which was covered out of the reserves but did deplete a substantial portion of those reserves. So, if we limited Special Assessments as you propose and for these "Acts of God" this should be fine--again, I would like our team to discuss. In this market, gettting financing for a catastrophe would be very difficult but we all hope that we won't see this type of recession again.

Thank you again, Doug

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From: Bech, Doug Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 12:39 PM To: Joel J Smiler DVM Cc: Berger, John; Tucker, Brian; Stamm, Garry; Thomas, Myron; Flory, Mike; Pollard, Cheryn; Deuschle, Christy; Walters, Kristin Subject: RE: Re[4]: Member ID 1-145362

Thank Joel----I will discuss the merits of your proposal with our Team and determine if these are guidelines or rules that are appropriate, prudent, and desirable. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for our members to have memorable vacation experiences and have quality resort properties as part of their membgership.

Your ideas are much appreciated and we will be back in touch very soon. Thank you, Doug

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From: Joel J Smiler DVM [mailto:jsmiler@together.net] Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 1:35 PM

OK Doug,

If you will allow me to pay the assessment over a six month period, issue a document that the annual maintenance fee will not increase more than 10% per year, and also issue a document that there will be no more “supplemental” maintenance fees any more often than every five years and then no more than half the normal maintenance fee, I will be happy to pay the fee and post on all the complaint boards and timeshare bulletin boards where this is being discussed the contents of this communication.

I am sure you are aware of the organization of a class action suit, threats to cause disruptions at your resort sales offices, and complaints being lodged with various Profeco and US government and private agencies. I actually have never had bad experiences either in the ability to make reservations, trade, or at the resorts. I have real fear that whether I personally pay the fee or not that this is going to somehow end badly for the company, resulting in the end of Raintree. I really don’t care about my original or upgrade investments. These are long ago and forgotten. I have real concern about throwing “good money after bad” and future constant requests for money, since I am sure your ongoing sales and upgrades are suffering from the economy. .

You need to do something to address these complaints that are multiplying online, and soon, before it is really out of control. . I’ll bet you hate the internet.

Thanks for responding so quickly,

Joel

Joel J Smiler, DVM Lakeville, MI or Marana, AZ “Strive to be the person your dog thinks you are”

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From: Bech, Doug [mailto:dybech@raintreeresorts.com]

Joel, Thank you for your e-mail. We do appreciate hearing from our members and we do realize that we made a mistake by not providing more notice and some additional information. Also, we will reserve a decision as to what action we should take with respect to those who do not pay. In the meantime, I will address a couple of points briefly. The RVC properties are subject to the full use by all of its members and the members would be entitled to all sale proceeds if the various trusts in which all the properties are placed were to be terminated. This means that the Members have the beneficial ownership of these properties subject to the rules of usage and Raintree's responsibility for managing and operating these properties and maintaining them. This expense, however, is the expense of the beneficial owners---the RVC members, including Club Regina members.

The annual fees cover the operating and normal maintenance expense, insurance, energy costs and taxes and typically a reserve for capital expenditures. These costs have risen over the years and the properties require scheduled maintenance as well as upgrades from time to time. We spent approximately $6 million of the reserve funds in 2007 and 2008 on the three Club Regina properties in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos and incurred signicant expenditures to rebuild Club Regina in Cancun after Hurrican Wilma a couple of years ago. In 2002 we had a special assessment for beach recovery in Puerto Vallarta following a hurricane there. The three Club Reginas, which are the three major properties, were built in the early 1990's and still need significant capital replacements, refurbishments and renovvations as well as certain of the other properties. The numbber of complaints had risen significantly but the annual fees were insufficient for both annual operations and these capital expenditures.

It is the mandate of RVC to maintain all the resort properties for all the members and this special assessment is for that purpose. We are willing to discuss with you a longer payment term and otherwise demonstrate that RVC properties will be of the quality that its beneficial owners desire. Best regards, Doug ________________________________

-----Original Message----- From: Joel J Smiler DVM jsmiler@together.net Dear Raintree Vacation Club,

I would suggest that the ”administrator of Raintree Vacation Club” do some serious re-thinking of this action. From everything I have read there are complaints to the FTC, TX AG, BBB, threats to begin a class action lawsuit, threats to protest or hand out information cards at your resort sales offices, and endless litigation. I see this as the beginning of the end of your company. This is really a shame, as unlike some, I have had nothing but positive experiences at the resorts. Even if I wanted to pay the assessment or my maintenance fee, I would fear doing so now until these rumblings have ended. I would feel that if you are headed for bankruptcy, I should cut my losses.

Best of luck,

J Smiler

My real concern is how much profit Raintree made last year and up to mid-year 2009. Have they mismanaged our maintenance fees?

I'm a Club Regina P.V. every other year member; not a Raintree upgrade. My 2009 special assessment is $724, whereas a friend owns every year at Club Regina Los Cabos and her assessment is $666. If the assessments are valid, why wouldn't my assessment be half of $724 for every other year usage? Since I joined Club Regina in 1996, the maintenance fees have gone up beyond normal when Raintree took over. Consider we may be paying for Raintree's marketing expenses.

I'm not willing to negotiate with Mr. Bech, CEO, like Joel Smiler DVM. My friend and I sent Mr. Bech a certified letter and we sent copies to the Houston BBB; Texas Attorney General; and, FTC, Texas Office. You can Google "How to report fraud in Texas" and these addresses are listed. We will join a class action suit, if necessary.

MMF