vita luxury - relaunched company?

Kagehitokiri · 03-30-2008, 09:16 AM

VITA. A life beyond compare.

ok, didnt this company launch under a different name before, and run into problems or something? thought it came up on tug, but i couldnt find it.

Grand Legacy Club - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

huh, thats all im seeing. i would have sworn there was more...

jam · 03-30-2008, 11:35 AM

Kage: I looked at this website and I don't understand the product. Could others explain?

Kagehitokiri · 03-30-2008, 11:48 AM

its hard to understand because its probably totally bogus

i thought i remembered discussion of them shutting down or something.

they claim to charge $1K > $2K per week, and $1.5K per hour for jets, and they do not appear to own anything. (hard to understand how that adds up)

its like the dead-on-arrival DCs, just organized differently.

Steamboat Bill · 03-30-2008, 12:26 PM

I would urge EXTREME CAUTION to anyone looking at this club.

I accidentally bumped into Grand Legacy Club last year at the Palm Beach Boat show (which is actually going on this weekend, but I am not attending). I was with two friends and they seemed more interested than me as they wanted to use the jet services (based in Boca Raton) and boat services. They even had an impressive mock-up of a private island development they were trying to launch in the Bahamas. The entire operation was like an upscale boiler room operation and I am not sure they sold any memberships.

I recently saw the newly relaunched Vita club that appears to be the same people as they were advertising the same home in Palm Beach, but I never posted it here or on TUG. Their new web site is very slick. Unfortunately, I have to question everything I see, until proven otherwise.

Here are a few interesting links:
Tandem Interactive
Has anyone ever heard of VitaLuxury.com ? - Yahoo! Answers
Luxury Destination Club Jet Share VitaLuxury.com | ExplorerPod.com
Vita Luxury Lifestyle: A Fortunate Life Without the Fortune. La Dolce Vita Luxury
Anyone know of Vita Luxury ? - Yahoo! Answers

YouTube - South Beach Party at Versace's Mansion

Kagehitokiri · 03-30-2008, 01:08 PM

seriously..

some examples of properties they claim to offer >

beverly hills - 42K ft2
park city - 38K ft2
aspen - 30K ft2
miami beach - 25K ft2

and vehicles >

"fleets" of bentleys, ferraris, lamborghinis

2 gulfstreams and 2 lears

TarheelTraveler · 03-30-2008, 03:25 PM

It definitely sounds way too good to be true. The costs of keeping all of this up would be astronomical.

Incidentally, the pictures on their website of Cabo are actually the Four Seasons Punta Mita. I wonder if FS is aware of that.

Kagehitokiri · 03-30-2008, 03:28 PM

they claim to offer a number of hotels/resorts.

IIRC pics from FS punta mita are of arena suite ($7K-$15K/nt rate), also mentioned FS chicago, the phoenician in AZ, and several others.

from someone on flyertalk >

Quote:

I spoke with thier "sales" people... None of my questions were answered directly or clearly. I wasn't impressed with that and as such decided that since my gut feel was bad, I'd steer clear. This just reinforces my feeling about this. Sales guys could not have been more unprofessional...

TarheelTraveler · 03-30-2008, 03:42 PM

I'd be curious to see how they explain the economics of the offering (how they can make it work from their perspective).

Tedpilot · 03-30-2008, 07:49 PM

I don't see how they are doing it either with any sort of profit involved. I did happen to read the disclaimer...I think that about says it. No guarantee of anything. BTW, $1500/hr for a small Lear is not out of the question for fuel...but add in crew, FBO fees, maintenance, and insurance and you've got a negative flow of dollars at those rates.

joncore · 05-20-2008, 11:45 AM

I'm glad someone has brought this company up. I called them and listened to the pitch. Supposedly you pay 150/day for every day you're in the program and you can book on trip at a time.

Here's where everything becomes stupid...they're a "not for profit" organization! The sales guy that kept talking to me was saying that the founders are very wealthy people. One owns a private jet company, the other a boat rental company the other exotic car rental, etc... So they were looking for a way to create a "fun" tax write off! LOL

The guy kept pushing me and pushing me to sign up in advance and give the $500 deposit which made no sense to me. I'd rather wait till the start and hear how well it's doing.

The best part that someone posted the links to the yahoo answers page regarding people that are "using" the service. They haven't started yet!!!! and each of those users had registered recently and only posted one reply.

Scam scam scam scam.....

DC4MS · 10-08-2008, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steamboat Bill

I would urge EXTREME CAUTION to anyone looking at this club.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joncore

Scam scam scam scam.....

I just heard that Vita is no longer in operation and their phones are not answering.

For anyone new to the forums, this is NOT a true Destination Club and never was. DC4MS members have been skeptical of this operation since it was first discovered.

susank · 10-08-2008, 10:09 AM

It's a question. I know Thanos Papalexis -- the person behind all this. I will contact him and ask.

Veras Group Jim · 10-08-2008, 12:45 PM

We posted an article last night on this one of the real estate blogs we keep up. Definitely a scam, and definitely not a true destination club in the first place. Susan, we will be eager to hear what you can find out!

Jim

P.S. here is the link: http://www.theverasgroup.com/index.p...on_Club_Closes

DC4MS · 10-08-2008, 03:17 PM

Here are some links for Thanos Papalexis

Thanos Papalexis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sisemen Corporation CEO Profile - Thanos Papalexis

ComPilots Aviation News Portal - Lawsuit against Jet 1 alleges fraud

BILL CLINTON PAL IN LANDLORD ROW- New York Post

Sisemen CEO Profile | Condo Resort Network

susank · 10-09-2008, 05:54 PM

I wrote Thanos the night before last -- he answered me yesterday -- nothing earth shattering -- he said the caprice of the economy has made him rethink the relaunch of Vita and has been put on hold. I met Thanos at one of those chartreuse Maserati/purple margarita events held a couple of years ago at the International Polo Tournament in West Palm Beach. It was a terribly noisy event where his club was called The Grand Legacy Club. I never did exactly understand the model he was working from or in or on. Needed more information that was not provided, so I never wrote about it.

03-30-2008, 09:16 AM	#1
Kagehitokiri Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,397	vita luxury - relaunched company? VITA. A life beyond compare. ok, didnt this company launch under a different name before, and run into problems or something? thought it came up on tug, but i couldnt find it. Grand Legacy Club - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums huh, thats all im seeing. i would have sworn there was more... Last edited by Kagehitokiri; 03-30-2008 at 10:25 AM.

03-30-2008, 11:35 AM	#2
jam Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 56 Club: Ultimate Elite	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? Kage: I looked at this website and I don't understand the product. Could others explain?

03-30-2008, 11:48 AM	#3
Kagehitokiri Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,397	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? its hard to understand because its probably totally bogus i thought i remembered discussion of them shutting down or something. they claim to charge $1K > $2K per week, and $1.5K per hour for jets, and they do not appear to own anything. (hard to understand how that adds up) its like the dead-on-arrival DCs, just organized differently.

03-30-2008, 01:08 PM	#5
Kagehitokiri Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 1,397	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? seriously.. some examples of properties they claim to offer > beverly hills - 42K ft2 park city - 38K ft2 aspen - 30K ft2 miami beach - 25K ft2 and vehicles > "fleets" of bentleys, ferraris, lamborghinis 2 gulfstreams and 2 lears

03-30-2008, 03:25 PM	#6
TarheelTraveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 404 Club: A&K Residence Club	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? It definitely sounds way too good to be true. The costs of keeping all of this up would be astronomical. Incidentally, the pictures on their website of Cabo are actually the Four Seasons Punta Mita. I wonder if FS is aware of that.

03-30-2008, 03:42 PM	#8
TarheelTraveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 404 Club: A&K Residence Club	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? I'd be curious to see how they explain the economics of the offering (how they can make it work from their perspective).

03-30-2008, 07:49 PM	#9
Tedpilot Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 263 Club: HCC	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? I don't see how they are doing it either with any sort of profit involved. I did happen to read the disclaimer...I think that about says it. No guarantee of anything. BTW, $1500/hr for a small Lear is not out of the question for fuel...but add in crew, FBO fees, maintenance, and insurance and you've got a negative flow of dollars at those rates.

05-20-2008, 11:45 AM	#10
joncore Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? I'm glad someone has brought this company up. I called them and listened to the pitch. Supposedly you pay 150/day for every day you're in the program and you can book on trip at a time. Here's where everything becomes stupid...they're a "not for profit" organization! The sales guy that kept talking to me was saying that the founders are very wealthy people. One owns a private jet company, the other a boat rental company the other exotic car rental, etc... So they were looking for a way to create a "fun" tax write off! LOL The guy kept pushing me and pushing me to sign up in advance and give the $500 deposit which made no sense to me. I'd rather wait till the start and hear how well it's doing. The best part that someone posted the links to the yahoo answers page regarding people that are "using" the service. They haven't started yet!!!! and each of those users had registered recently and only posted one reply. Scam scam scam scam.....

10-08-2008, 10:09 AM	#12
susank Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 22 Club: susankime.com	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? It's a question. I know Thanos Papalexis -- the person behind all this. I will contact him and ask.

10-08-2008, 12:45 PM	#13
Veras Group Jim Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado Posts: 72 Club: The Veras Group, LLC	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? We posted an article last night on this one of the real estate blogs we keep up. Definitely a scam, and definitely not a true destination club in the first place. Susan, we will be eager to hear what you can find out! Jim P.S. here is the link: http://www.theverasgroup.com/index.p...on_Club_Closes __________________ Jim Pippin Co-Founder & Managing Partner The Veras Group, LLC Last edited by Veras Group Jim; 10-08-2008 at 01:22 PM. Reason: added link

10-08-2008, 03:17 PM	#14
DC4MS Administrator Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: USA Posts: 1,504 Club: DC4MS.com	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? Here are some links for Thanos Papalexis Thanos Papalexis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sisemen Corporation CEO Profile - Thanos Papalexis ComPilots Aviation News Portal - Lawsuit against Jet 1 alleges fraud BILL CLINTON PAL IN LANDLORD ROW- New York Post Sisemen CEO Profile \| Condo Resort Network

10-09-2008, 05:54 PM	#15
susank Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 22 Club: susankime.com	Re: vita luxury - relaunched company? I wrote Thanos the night before last -- he answered me yesterday -- nothing earth shattering -- he said the caprice of the economy has made him rethink the relaunch of Vita and has been put on hold. I met Thanos at one of those chartreuse Maserati/purple margarita events held a couple of years ago at the International Polo Tournament in West Palm Beach. It was a terribly noisy event where his club was called The Grand Legacy Club. I never did exactly understand the model he was working from or in or on. Needed more information that was not provided, so I never wrote about it.

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