stevenhcc

I'm currently a member of another DC and satisfied. However, I am interested in moving 'up the scale' a bit in property value/size/location. Each of these, Exclusive and Quintess are running promotions to basically sample their clubs -- 10 days of use. The deal is a little better with Quintess as far as the deposit, though Exclusive offsets that a bit by allowing you to defer the biggest part of their deposit until the end of the year. In addition, the annual is a bit lower with Quintess.

I am reviewing and trying hard to decide which way to go. I'd like to ask any opinions in particular comparisons between the two. I do like the greater number of destinations that Exclusive has - that has appeal but do wonder about availability compared to Quintess. In addition, I wonder about these "enclaves" if they will get a bit mass market since Exclusive seems to have to acquire quite a few homes to make an area worth developing, etc...

There are definite pros and cons but it's a big decision and I'm sure there are others out there who went through the same evaluation so I'm curious to get some feedback and opinion. Either way I don't see going wrong, but it's one or the other so best to be right!

Thanks.

NeilGoBlue

I don't have any inside access.. I can't speak for doc language, etc.. but all things being equal.. I'd take Quintess in a heartbeat over ER..

Bourne

In the same boat as you...

Same club...same reason...same shortlist...

Wake up every day and ask myself...why am I not popping in the red pill...

stevenhcc

Neil -- any specific reasons that standout to you since you feel fairly definitive between them?

Bourne -- usually these things are easy right?!?

Steamboat Bill

One HUGE factor to consider is the refundable portion of your membership deposit. The new Exclusive Resorts refund policy is pretty tough if you ever decide to resign.

NeilGoBlue

This is going to sound funky.. but I don't like ER's attitude. I didn't like the sales process and the arrogance of my rep. They occur to me as 'big company that squeezes everything they can out of the customer'... an example of that is resets on yearly dues etc.. I also like to belong to a smaller club where I have some input and i'm valued as a customer.

Someone on this forum has a signature..'boutique is better' and I couldn't agree more...

CAVEAT: I stopped comparing clubs a long time ago when I joined AK (formerly BH). I can't compare houses, plans, prices, etc.. My concern is the Macro side of it.. Quintess just feels better..

ER Traveler

I think for starters you should look beyond just the "sampler" memberships and look at the membership level you would eventually, ideally prefer. Then make the comparisons. I can't speak for what the sales reps are like these days at ER, it's been a long time since I joined and my sales rep was outstanding and easy to work with. I happen to really like ER's holiday booking process - first come first serve and availability has never been a problem for me. The enclaves do tend to feel slightly monotonous but they aren't all huge. ER still has the smaller enclaves such as Abaco (total beachfront, by the way), Little Dix Bay, Pauoa Beach, Grand Cayman, etc. Customer service is great and the club is constantly evolving and looking for new ways to make members happy. Annual dues increases have seemed reasonable so far.

rwhaugan

I have not pulled the trigger on a club yet, but my short list was ER, Quintess and AK. I was on a trip to Maui and had a chance to look at the ER and Quintess properties in Maui (my review is posted in the forums, and I think it provides a good comparison of the two clubs for that specific location). I liked the Quintess property much better, and when I combined the quality of the property with the fact that a large chunk of my deposit wasn't refundable with ER I personally would choose Quintess.

sercano

But ER new units in kapalua are going to be very tough to beat.

I agree completely with ER traveler,so for me ER offers way more than the other clubs offer

ASIADCMEMBER

I cannot comment on Exclusive--because after I decided to pass on them in 2005, I haven't investigated their plans recently.

With respect to Quintess, at the stage where this firm is now, it is still very collegial. You can still access the founders and executive team.

Also, the executive team takes a personal interest in the member's needs. I was an early advocate of Asia properties and they delivered. Although, they may have less than 2% members in Asia--they found a creative way to create a Leading Experience (Bali and Koh Samui) that will be fantastic for our group of friends and hopefully the membership in general. They listen to their members and take member feeback seriously.

So if you notice, Ben Addoms--always states--we don't want to be the biggest, we want to be the best. That is an attitude that I believe is pervasive in the firm. The reason that there is a Robb Report reward for medium sized destination club--is because Quintess's vision is not to be the biggest. Like Solstice, I believe they are looking for likeminded people and create a club of "Best experiences". As mentioned elsewhere, a large number of members--separately invested in the firm because they believe in the firm---we didn't not because we don't love the product-but because the real estate cycle left me beliving that there were better places to put investment funds. But the fact that this is a non-equity club that is an equity club because so many members are also shareholders says something about loyalty.
Also, I think you may notice that very few Quintess members are in this community, but in the Helium Report reviews, it has the highest number of "open" reviews--so rather than hiding behind an online name--if you look carefully, most people have put their names and email addresses on the web.

As a person who is carefully tracking the merger between UE and PE--I feel much better because I think the Quintess merger went so smoothly because the Quintess management team wanted to leave the best of feelings with the new members--they gave us an additional 28 days based upon the old LRW reservation policy--so rather than making the original LRW members feel torn between signing up or resigning--they put a sweetner on the table that really said, "you joined LRW because of their terms--we can't give you the same terms because we want memberships moving forward to be straight forward--but we can add a two year sweetner." That again is forward thinkging.

So between getting favorable terms for a short period after merger, asking and getting opportunities to use nights in Asia, and fixing up a messed up reservation because of utility problem, I can say that this club delivers on what members want and ask for.

LTTravel

I can't speak for Quintess, but we have loved our membership in ER. Quintess appears to have excellent homes and by comments by members, excellent service and certainly, the membership deposit refund is better for Quintess. However, to answer your two questions.
1. Availability
It's is funny how everyone complains about availability for ER. First, availability is much better than those comments justify. When you have 39+ destinations, there will always be a few destinations that are difficult to get. So because there is difficulty in getting 3 or 4 destinations out of 39 or more, availability is not good? Yes, it is difficult to get Tuscany, Kiawah or the Montage in the summer. but there are at least a dozen destinations you can get almost anytime, and at least another dozen you can get most of the time. They have been addressing this problem but it is impossible to correct completely. Costa Rica and Grand Cayman were two destinations that were difficult to get but with the addition of more homes, they are relatively easy. Cabo and Real del Mar, which were difficult in the beginning are now almost always available, these are just a few examples. Though there are 7 homes in Kiawah, they have been difficult to get in the summer, however, the addition of 24 homes in Sea Island Georgia at the Cloisters will easily decompress that strain when they come on line. The homes in Little Dix Bay are difficult to get some times but there will be 11 new homes coming on line for Anguilla. So they are addressing the problems. I would also think that with 450 members and only two homes in Tuscany, it would be difficult to get Tuscany for Quintess members. Also, If you look at alot of the Quintess destinations, they may have only one or two homes. Though availability in general may be OK, if you are set on a specific destination, you could have trouble with Quintess also.
The second reason for the abberation in availability for ER is that ER allows you to book so many of your days in advance. For example, if you joined at the 10 day level, you could book all of them immediately. If you are in the 45 day plan, you could theoretically have 98 days booked at any one time. I currently have 69 days booked for 11 vacations for the next two years. You cannot do that with Quintess, so availability may appear better with Quintess because of that. I have vacations in Real del Mar during New Years, Costa Rica for next New Years, Deer Valley during the Sundance Film Festival, Kiawah over Easter(which I recently cancelled), Tuscany in the Summer, Kiawah in the summer, The Arrabelle in Vail in March and several others booked. I can't complain about that. I have been able to get Kiawah, Chicago, New York and others with short term reservations.
2. Enclaves
We have found the enclaves to be a plus rather than a minus. We recently returned from a Seabourne cruise on the Mediteranean with ER. ER chartered 5 Seabourne cruises that were filled with ER members. It was the most memorable vacation we have had. It was fun meeting all the other members with like interests in travelling and experiences with ER. When we go to an ER enclave, they often have cocktail parties on the Monday night of the week to meet other members. It is one of the highlights of the vacation. The homes in the enclaves have been terrific. It is not unusual to be vacationing with a professional athlete or a celebrity, or just a wonderful family in the home next to you.

ER management has also been very approachable. Brent Handler was on the cruise and was very personable. I even have a video of him doing Karaoke with other ER members (a great rendition of "I'm too **** for my shirt") He even sent a personal email to my son which he will always remember.

Hope this was helpful. Just tired of the bashing of the Goliath.

TravelGuy

StevenHCC,

Since you're familiar with DCs already, why not start with location evaluation and work backward toward a decision on ER or Q.

What are your desired travel locations and seasons? It seems that this would make a more personalized DC decision based upon the properties of ER and Q and how they fit into your property preferences.

Also, are you keeping your HCC membership and just adding another DC? If so, you should consider which new DC properties would be a good supplement to current HCC properties.

DCTraveler

Let me take a completely different perspective -- something that I have been trying to consider with my two DC memberships.

You are looking at a membership with $100,000 deposit and $12,000 annual dues for 7 days of usage (assume you would go as one week) with less than 6months reservation timeframe and 3 "extra" days you get to use on short-term basis. So you really get one good trip a year, but with the second class booking status you may have a tough time getting your #1, #2 or #3 choices if they are during highly desirable periods. So in all likelihood you are getting a $4 million dollar home in a shoulder season or a home further down your list during a desirable time. The added bonus is that if after a few years using the places you really aren't thrilled with what you end up with the club keeps $25,000 of your money.

Let's try scenario #2. You decide which 2-3 places are really luring you to a high end club that would perfectly complement your current HCC portfolio. In conjunction with your current HCC reservations, look at when you would want to go to one of those top destinations. Find a really great house or two that is exactly what you want (e.g., beach front, perfect room configurations for the party size and specific group that you plan to bring). Rent it for the exact week that you want. Voila! Forgetting about the fact that you might lose your $25,000 in the other scenario or get merged and have to take less favorable terms or just want to get your money back and be waiting on a list -- just take into consideration a basic 5% interest on your money. You now have $17,000 per one week trip to spend to get exactly what you want when you want it. You can get a lot of house for $2,500 - $3,000 per night! Again, plus it's exactly what you want when you want it. Many homes at this level are even nicer than the $2-4 million dollar DC homes and you can get a fully staffed house. Choose an 9 bedroom home for one trip (bigger than any DC home) and you and your spouse spend a week in your bungalo with all meals on a private island and for Thanksgiving spend a week in a Scottish castle for $4,000. Here are a but a few options:

www.suenos.net
.::. Bon Vivant Barbados .::.
Cayo Espanto :: a private island
Celtic Castles - Castle Hotels - Stay in a Castle Hotel Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales and France.
Villa 5 at Villa Paradiso Nevis

Be sure to compare rates. For example, at Villa Paradiso in Nevis you pay $14,000 for Christmas or New Years, $12,500 for peak months and $6,500 for off-peak months. Interesting how much of a premium the DC's put on Christmas and New Years where for $2,000 more than the annual dues in your scenario, you could be at a home for Christmas. Alternatively, if you decide Nevis is quite nice any time of the year (it is) you could go for 2 weeks in a row for the same price. With DC's you need to look at the value of the weeks you actually get to make a fair comparison. As far a the extras, like grocery shopping, housekeeping, etc., I'll wager that anything that a DC provides can be obtained in conjunction with your luxury rental, plus you can pay to get exactly what you want -- mid-week extra housekeeping, a chef for a night or two and a limo to/from airport versus gatorade and frozen pizza and monogrammed towels.

I know, you are going to complain about the "unknown" factor of rentals. While that was true in the past, with the power of the internet, I'm not sure it applies anymore. You can find the "best of the best" and confirm almost every single details between photos, floorplans, talking to references, looking at Trip Advisor and other tools. I have trouble trying to get this info from the DC's before I go on a trip -- many times because your planner has never actually been there in the first place and it trying to get answers. Plus, even if your planner has been to a specific home do you really think they would have the same standards as a member (I don't mean this in a bad way -- just that they haven't experienced the number of high-end vacations and homes and don't have the same expectations). Maybe talking to the owner and/or property manager and confirming with other methods you really do know more in the end.

I think this is worth consideration as an alternative or as a complement to your HCC membership.

willmyclubmakeit

Villa 5 looks like the UE Elite Villas at Nevis. However note the prices were for 2005 so I do not know if they are accurate or even availalbe or if this is now the UE conclave.

willmyclubmakeit

I would also recommend trying to lock up your specific reservation (place and week) before joining. It worked for me.

DCTraveler

It is the one unit that the owner/developer maintained. There is not much closer of a comparison you can make with a DC home. Same staff, same housekeeping, same hostess, same chef, same furnishings -- everything. Current rates are shown on Caribbean Way's rental site: Caribbean Villas: Nevis Villas: Villa Paradiso #5 - Vacation Rentals by CaribbeanWay