kim said:
But it wasn't that he took the money - the insurance was received and the owners and land owners couldn't come to an agreement as to how it would be rebuilt. Luis didn't leave the resort destroyed, it was the storm after that caused most of the destruction. Don't get me wrong - lots of shady stuff with The landowner. If I read and understand the article correctly, each owner was "bought out" so to say. That was my understanding from the info I was given from the GM of The Towers many years ago.
Regarding Dawn Beach, over the years we, too, heard many stories as to how the insurance agency took off with the insurance policy purchase funds but we weren't as closely attuned to that situation beyond knowing what a gorgeous place it once was and feeling the sadness at its loss.
But with regard to Mullet Bay Resort, it's sad to think back to what was arguably once, in its day, the most beautiful resort on the island but at least we can still revisit the wonderful memories we had from so many trips there prior to 1995.
As we were told, Kim is correct about the original hurricane damage at Mullet Bay - the resort could have been salvaged after the first storm IF the land owner/insurance policy holder had been of a mind to but it was fairly easy to see that wasn't his game plan. We were scheduled to visit there in late November of '95 and had to change our plans at the last minute due to the storm damage that had ravaged most of the island, but we did get back in April of '96 and we saw a damaged property there but one which could have been rehabilitated but that just wasn't in the cards.
Thus it ended up in litigation for years and while the individual unit owners did ultimately reach a court settlement with the Ansary family and all its shadow corporations, they had lost at least ten or more years of their property usage along with amassing a huge debt to their lawyers to get to the point of a settlement. I cringe every time I think of how very close we came to being among those disgruntled owners.
It's pretty sad when you stop to realize how many shady developers over the years have managed to screw so many would-be island dream owners. Mullet Bay Resort is but one of many properties and the Ansary family but one of the many names of unscrupulous developers who have taken advantage of people on this island and there will probably be more still to come down the road since history so often has a way of repeating itself.
"Has anyone read the new time share owner protections that have been promised almost forever?" she asks with tongue firmly planted in cheek? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />
