Who can tell me about....

I have received details of the Nicklaus Trail offer whereby the full price of 30k euros is reduced to 19.2k euros if bought before 31 March. Has anyone else looked into this deal and have any views about the merits of joining this scheme rather than the annual membership?

Cheers
Chris

Have recieved the offer but what they do not make plain is a €500 per annum maintenance fee on top, this is not fixed for the duration but subject to change. Also after the first 2 years green fees are payable at whatever they decide. Without inflation on the maintenance fee that adds up to €31,700 minimum plus whatever green fees they wish. Once they have your money can they guarantee no mater what that it will be fully safeguarded over the 25 years ??. Unless you play very regularily 52 weeks of the year this is very expensive golf, in my opinion not much of an offer.  ( Note this is for a single user not a Family). 

Chris....there is only one offer now...the 25 year one...there is no longer an annual membership available...thats the problem. There are 5 or 10 round books of tickets available which give discounted priced golf, but no annual membership any more. It finished late last year and will not be renewed for those who have one which ends this year. 

Dont know anyone who is taking up the new offer...25 years is a long time ...who know what will have happenned in that time.

Most ex-annual members are going to join courses elsewhere where there is and annual one available...PW's loss.!

 .

This message was last edited by ColatLT on 2/20/2008.

Know of one gent who is contemplating taking up the offer.  He's on Condado and the membership won't start until he's in residence.

Got an email address from 'the other' forum for addressing any complaints to.  It is as follows:

Georges Courte

I've sent him an email and I strongly advise all others not happy with the way PW have morally and ethically gone back on a 'promised' deal to do the same.

If you do, suggest you post on here to say you have done just so that we know he's getting complaints.

It would be my guess that they will start including the 25 years membership in the sale price as a way of reducing the apparent purchase cost. Some other developers do this. It would help their sales during this flat period.

Personally, if I had this sort of cash I would invest it and use the interest to pay for my golf.. It would go a long way.

Hi ColatLT,

That's a real shock about the annual membership - I thought it was a choice between those 2 options but I hadn't realised they were no longer going to have an annual membership. Are you 100% sure this is the case as my view that the 25 year deal sucked was tempered by the fact that I could still get an annual deal and no one at La Torre referred to its cancellation?

Its all true!

I urge everyone to send Georges an email letting him kow how you feel.

I've sent an email and will let you know what the response is.

Chris

Reply from Georges....

Dear Mr. Smith,

 

Thank you for your e-mail. We do not sell any more annual fees since 1^st of January 2008. As you have seen we offer the possibility to join the “NICKLAUS GOLF TRAIL” with 4 courses finished already. As you also have seen the price before the 31^st of March 2008 for an individual golf right is 19.200 €.

 

These are the main benefits of the “Nicklaus Golf Trail”:

 

• Joining before 31^st March 20% off price of right to play
• Free Green Fees for the first 2 years (after you never will pay more than 10% of the regular green-fee price)
• 10 free GF´s per year for guest during the first 5 years for individual titleholders and 15 for family titleholders
• Free beginners or improvers courses
• One maintenance payment for all the courses
• Booking preference on the 9 “Nicklaus Golf Trail” courses
• Transferable right to play
• Polaris World Club membership with exclusive offers and discounts
• Free services:

                                    Car Park

                                    Driving Range

                                    Golf club storage

                                    Manual trolleys

 

 

Concerning the 19.200 € we can offer you a loan through ADQUIERA (part of Banco de Valencia) were you can pay the amount from 290 € monthly.

 

I enclose you a copy of the contract, which probably will answer all your questions.

 

Maintenance Fee covers all courses ok, but I notice the value is missing in their reply or any guarantees as to future cost. Based on recent  price hikes the sky's the limit.

Although they now address the green fee percentage which at the current value would be about €10 per round, add your anticipated usage on top of the cost I posted earlier and without inflation it still gets even more outrageous. If you still decide it is for you, how is the money safeguarded ??

If nobody takes up this offer they may use common sense and come up with realistic resident golf fees as was always implied if indeed not stated in the resorts sales hype.

Chris,

Was your email a complaint or did you ask for clarification on fees and details of the offer.

My email was a definite complaint and as yet, I haven't had any response.

As it was my initial contact I wrote it as a clarifier - I will now complain accordingly and see what reply I receive.

Cheers
Chris

I have sent the email below to "georgescourte@polarisworld" and would urge fellow owners to register their views to him on this subject.

Georges,

I write to express my disgust at the attitude of Polaris World regarding Golf Club membership.

When discussing the postion of property owners on Hacienda Riquelme and membership,at head office, when I was contemplating purchase of a property, I was informed annual membership would be available.

Now I find annual membership has been scrapped and the only membership package available is for 25 years at a cost of 20,000 euros before March 31st and 30,000 euros after that date.

This is not good enough, I will, like many other residents, find a club which does offer annual subscription and play my golf elsewhere and will advise other players to do so.

I have recently completed on the purchase of my property. What is missing from the advertised facilities given to me by your representatives head office ?.

When I visited last year I was told the show penthouse at La Torre would include the features I would have in my property at Hacienda. What did I find when inspecting my property in January this year, no electric blinds at the doors to the terrace, though they were in the penthouse at La Torre. No explanation, no reason, no apology. Great start to the inspection !

Additional promises broken:-

             1. Golf Club annual membership...scrapped
             2. Golf course............................ not available...............later this year ?
             3. Shops...................................   not available..............unknown date
             4. Gym.....................................    not available..............unknown date
             5. Restaurants.........................  not available..............unknown date
           
I have paid my money, I expect answers to the above, by return please.

Would I recommend Polaris World to my friends, take a guess !

 

Have just received this rather brief and unhelpful reply to my complaint concerning the disbanding of annual membership.- looks like we take it or leave it - I'LL CERTAINLY BE LEAVING IT!!

Dear Mr. Smith,

 

I am sorry that you don’t like the offer for a golf right at Polaris. I personally believe that it is a great deal and I am sure that nowhere else you can play on 9 golf courses (4 opened in May) under these conditions.

 

Concerning the information, I know that our Call Center send the information to all our residents by post and the only explication I have is that probably your address could be incorrect.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 Georges Courte

Director División de Golf

Georges is missing the point.

The golf trail offer is attractive for someone who is resident full time in Spain, has retired at the age of 40 and all he/she wants to do is play golf.  I'd go for it but a) I'm not and b) I don't.  There are other things in life.

For the vast majority of PW owners, theirs will be a property they visit throughout the year and it was the 3 / 6 / and 12 monthly options that made buying on PW an attractive offer and were what we signed up for.

Fair enough, if they want to change the rules for all new  purchasers, put the prices up by 20.000 and include the right to play.  But PW shouldn't penalise those owners who bought into the 'PW Dream' on the understanding of having a flexible golf membership package.

C'mon PW, we don't want the PW Dream to turn into the PW Nightmare, and I'm sure you don't want that either.

Well hopefully they will get such a poor take-up of the 25 year deal that they might reconsider their stance. Meanwhile I urge as many complaints as possible although I do expect that there will not be a change of policy at this point in time.