Kagehitokiri

sales at the RC were doing good, i find it hard to believe they would give any discount. there were originally only 10 ocean cottages planned, from $6.5MM > $8MM.

ER bought 28 units @ kapalua, and many more before that (and presumably after - ill bet there is a long term contract setting estimated amounts) residence prices at kapalua started at $3.9MM more recently, but it might have been lower previously.

re prices i recommend taking a look at what prices/rental rates are like at places like >

altamer (including new villas)
parrot cay
four seasons barbados
st regis anguilla

russ alan prince / elite traveler / etc use "mass affluent" for under $10MM net worth.

edit - additionally, if quintess really got half their inventory, not only might there be upset RC customers that were not yet aware of the villas, and would have wanted one, but RC loses a HUGE amount of (high margin) rental income. clearly RC must be building more, as they had planned 10, and quintess has 5 with option for 5 more, but we have no idea how many are now planned. perhaps quintess is just separated, so now 15>20 total?

DC4MS

Last updated: April 19, 2008 08:30pm

Creating a Resort Within a Resort
By Carl Cronan

Creating a Resort Within a Resort

A luxury destination club is partnering with a hospitality developer on the first of what might become several “resort within a resort” projects, giving buyers access to the same high-class amenities enjoyed by hotel guests. Quintess, which offers its members access to multi-million-dollar residences in international destinations, is working with Gencom Group on a $50-million enclave in West Caicos, a private Caribbean island in the Turks and Caicos. The island, 575 miles south of Miami, is part of Gencom Group’s Molasses Reef, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.

West Caicos represents the beginning of a long-term relationship between Broomfield, CO-based Quintess and Miami-based Gencom Group, which has developed other Ritz-Carlton resorts. Quintess has only one other similar enclave, in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Quintess plans to build five multi-million-dollar residences on West Caicos in the year following Molasses Reef’s planned opening in early 2009, with an option for five more, says Ben Addoms, the company’s founder and EVP. He says Quintess and Gencom Group have worked together since the design phase to keep from imposing on the project as a whole.

“Their reputation as an owner of five-and six-star resorts has been exceptional,” Addoms tells GlobeSt.com. “In our business, you don’t get involved without knowing that the people you’re working with are going to be able to carry something that significant through to completion.”

In turn, Quintess stakes its own reputation. The club’s 425 members are given exclusive use of more than 70 multi-million-dollar residences in at least 30 resorts and cities around the world, with destinations ranging from Aspen, Napa Valley and New York City to Hawaii, London and Paris. Therefore, Addoms stresses the importance of not simply hitching to the strength of the larger resort.

“We’ve had to establish our bona fides as five-star service provider in our own right,” he says. “It’s one thing to say you’re going to have a resort within a resort, and it’s another thing for that resort to feel like your name, reputation and approach to service is going to be consistent with their own philosophy and outlook. You’ve got to make sure everybody is on the same page as to what that means.”

Andy Wimsatt, Gencom Group managing director, says Quintess is a worthy partner in the development of its $400-million West Caicos vacation development. “With their excellent reputation and unparalleled level of luxury service, Quintess is the perfect partner for this and for future Gencom developments.”

Quintess’ four-bedroom villas will offer 5,600 sf of private living space, designed in Caribbean plantation style, situated along 80 feet of ocean beachfront. Members will have access to all Molasses Reef services, including a spa, concierge service and three restaurants created by New York City master chef Gary Kunz.

An adjacent wildlife sanctuary, two national parks, and various archaeological and cultural sites will give the West Caicos development more of an eco-paradise feel, which Addoms believes will appeal to Quintess members who are incorporating green elements into their own primary residences. He notes that Gencom Group is developing only a small portion of the island for Molasses Reef, while Quintess intends to incorporate environmentally friendly design into its members-only villas.

“It’s good business sense and good marketing sense, and our members reward us for it,” he says. “If you’re bringing a new resort out of the ground in this economic climate, it’s very important to show investors and lenders that you have strong demand for your product.”

LTTravel

Apparently, ER looked at this development and decided against it. I haven't inquired into what their reasons were. I would suspect that one is the difficult access to the property. One might think that it was the price point but with ER's buying ability, I don't think that was the problem in this case.

Kagehitokiri

now theyre saying $50MM development. wonder what that means.

i personally thought ER could have bought up some of the 3BR ground floor with pool (similar to some of the RC kapalua properties)

RC palm springs and viceroy snowmass seem like other potentials for major ER buys to me.

DC4MS

I took a tour of the Molasses Reef project with the Ritz-Carlton development under construction. The Ritz brought me over in a 47 foot Intrepid boat with four 250hp engines and I will post a full review in a week or two.

While I was there exploring the area, I found the area where Quintess bought 5-10 homes.

I was told that they bought lots 11-20 on the map.

You can see from the photos, that that area is completely undeveloped. The Ritz is scheduled to open around Feb 2009 and my BEST GUESS is that the first Quintess home on West Caicos will open around December of 2010.

The homes at this location will be very impressive and this entire resort will be awesome, private, and expensive. The only people on the island will be the guests of the resort (and workers of course).

Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

Kagehitokiri

more fantastic pictures. :thumbsup:

looking at the map, and IIRC from details on one of the sites, there are two ocean cottage floorplans. >

smaller = 5-8 15-20 (6 Q)
larger = 1-4 9-14 (4 Q)

its not a private island resort, at least according to the west caicos site. it shows plans for 6 other residential developments - which makes sense considering the island is 11 square miles.

DC4MS

I think Quintess will build both Model A (3,792 indoor sq feet) and Model B (3,460 indoor sq feet). They are both 4 bedroom 4.5 baths stand-alone homes with private pools and over 2,000 sq feet of outdoor space, that is why they advertise a total of 6,782 and 6,610 sq feet space each.

There are plans to develop the coastline (beach areas only) of the entire island, but right now there are ZERO homes built. The first phase is the Ritz-Carlton, then the rest of the Molasses Reef cottages.

The island is pretty private in that there are no commercial flights (yet) and only one marina (with no boat slips or services yet), so non-approved guests will have a hard time visiting, unless they have a parachute or do a beach landing via boat.