Grand Pacific Resort Management Wins TripAdvisor ® Awards of Excellence

Grand Pacific Resort Management (GPRM), one of the oldest and largest vacation ownership companies based in California, has been recognized for its service culture and excellence in resort management. 

TripAdvisor® honored ten GPRM managed resorts with Certificates of Excellence.

To receive the awards, properties must consistently receive 4 and 5 stars (indicating a high level of satisfaction with the resort, with five being the highest) by customers who have experienced the resort and express their opinions and ratings on TripAdvisor’s website.

“We are extremely proud that our vibrant and consistent Service Culture has prevailed in showcasing our passion for excellence to our guests,” said Nigel Lobo, COO of GPRM.

“This recognition endorses the guest-centric experiences our associates take pride in delivering while creating memorable vacations for our timeshare owners and as well as those who visit our resorts as exchangers or as traditional transient guests,” Lobo said.

Comments praising GPRM resorts were enthusiastic on the popular travel website. A sample of them include:

  • Carlsbad Seapointe Resort: “The best place to be when the sun goes down over the Pacific Ocean.“
  • Carlsbad Inn: “a fantastic resort to vacation at."
  • MarBrisa: “Perfect Get Away! Wow!“
  • Red Wolf Lodge: “Rocks!" 
  • Alii Kai: “I loved this condo and can’t wait to return.” 

The resorts recognized with the Certificates of Excellence are: Alli Kai II Resort, Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort, Coronado Beach Resort, Carlsbad Seapointe Resort, Hilton Grand Vacation Club at MarBrisa, Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel, Hanalei Bay Resort, RiverPointe Napa Valley, Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge, and Red Wolf Lodge at Squaw Valley.

Now in its third year, the award celebrates hospitality excellence and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

Winners of the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website. Only the top 10 percent receive the prestigious award.

Award-winning Grand Pacific Resort Management (Carlsbad, California) currently serves over 60,000 owner-families every year at resorts ranging in size from under 50 units to over 300 units in the United States and Canada.

Interval International Adds Encontro Das Aguas Thermas Resort in Central Brazil

Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating business of Interval Leisure Group, announced the affiliation of Encontro Das Águas Thermas Resort, in Caldas Novas, Goiás.

The city is home to one of the largest hot-spring aquifers in the world, making it a very popular destination in central Brazil.

“We’re excited to enter the shared ownership industry and collaborate with Interval, a company known for its quality network and consumer benefits,” said Ricardo Assuncao, partner in RMEX Construtora e Incorporadora Ltda., developer of the resort.

“Our objective is to make our resort one of the area’s finest and we look forward to hosting Interval members who will be able to enjoy the many treasures of Caldas Novas,” Assuncao said.

Encontro Das Águas is currently under construction and expected to be completed early next year. Plans call for the resort to include 384 one- and two-bedroom units in three buildings. Each will feature elegant modern décor, contemporary furnishings, fully equipped kitchen, and high-end electronics.

“It’s a great pleasure to be working with Ricardo and his partners who have been active in real estate in Goiás for many years,” said Marcos Agostini, Interval’s senior vice president of resort sales and business development for Latin America.

“We welcome them to shared ownership, which is playing an increasingly important role in resort development in Brazil,” Agostini said.

Among the wide range of amenities and services the resort will offer are a gourmet restaurant, 24-hour room service, spa and sauna, fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and cinema.

Activities available nearby include boating, jet skiing, and hiking.

Notable attractions in Caldas Novas are a Japanese Garden built in the Buddhist tradition, the 47 square-mile Serra de Caldas Novas State Park, and the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, which dates from 1850 and is one of the oldest buildings in Caldas.

Interval International operates membership programs for vacationers and provides value-added services to its developer clients worldwide. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has been a pioneer and innovator in serving the vacation ownership market since 1976.

Sinkhole at Florida's Summer Bay Resort

Engineers on Monday were trying to determine the extent of the damage after luxury resort condominiums crumbled into a massive sinkhole a few miles from Disney World.

Dozens of guests at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, FL, had only 10 to 15 minutes to escape the cracking building late Sunday. No injuries were reported, but many fleeing guests left behind all their belongings.

About 30% of the three-story structure collapsed hours later, around 3 a.m. Monday.

"My heart sunk. I was sick to my stomach," said resort president Paul Caldwell after getting a call about 11 p.m. Sunday that the 15-year-old building full of guests was splintering.

"No doubt there would've been injuries if they hadn't gotten the building evacuated," Caldwell said.

Security guard Richard Shanley ran through the building waking up guests.

"While you are running by, pieces of the building are falling down behind you," he said. "So you just do what you can and get out.”

That section of the villa housed 24 units. The building was sheared nearly in half.

Paul Caldwell said one building was destroyed and 105 people were evacuated. Two other adjacent buildings were evacuated. Displaced guests were relocated to other buildings.

Caldwell said geologists on Monday estimated the sinkhole was about 100 feet in diameter. "On a preliminary basis, they do not have a concern that it is growing or will grow," Caldwell said.

"Whether or not we will be able to build those units there in that sinkhole is another question. We will replace those 24 units - we have a couple of hundred acres left for development," he said.

Caldwell said he will ask his insurance company for guidance on the clean up. 

Source: Orlando Sentinal

Wyndham Vacation Ownership Awards Tennessee Family with New Wheels in Second Drawing of the Accelerate into the Fast Lane Sweepstakes

Wyndham Vacation Ownership (WVO), the world’s largest vacation ownership company and a member of the Wyndham Worldwide family of companies, awarded a brand new luxury car to the Todd family during the second drawing in the Company’s Accelerate into the Fast Lane Sweepstakes.

In an event at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, company executives presented Chris and Melissa Todd, joined by two of their three children, of Humboldt, TN, with a 2013 Infiniti M.

“I did not believe in a million years that we would win a sweepstakes like this. It has been such a wonderful experience that just keeps getting better, and has truly been a blessing,” said Melissa Todd.

“You never hear of anyone who has won something like this, you see a name on a list and that’s about all. To come to Orlando and see the car has been overwhelming. This experience has really been unbelievable,” added Chris Todd.

Chris and Melissa have been CLUB WYNDHAM® owners since 2001 and travel frequently with their ownership.

In April 2013, during a stay at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Great Smokies Lodge, the Todds were entered into the sweepstakes for a chance to win the luxury car.

Their name was randomly drawn from more than 74,000 entries.

“The Todds are an example of a family that uses their vacation ownership to its full potential — spending time together and making memories at some of their favorite resorts across the country,” said Jeff Myers, Wyndham Vacation Ownership’s chief sales and marketing officer.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership is the world’s largest vacation ownership business, as measured by the number of vacation ownership resorts, individual vacation ownership units and owners of vacation ownership interests.