TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Atrium hit owners with a special assessment

Just got letters for all of our 3 weeks for a special assessment at the Atrium.
Have a feeling that they are trying to get rid of the owners.
We have had our units for 30 years and will be hard to pay on fixed income.

How much was the assessment per week?

$1566.88 I believe, I got the letter but I only have an every other year 15 - 50 floating unit so basing that amount on my $783.44 invoice. The last AMF I paid was in 2023 which was $956.63.

Not sure if we are going to pay or walk, leaning towards walking. We were considering walking before so this probably sealed the deal. We will miss the place, and the staff.

We gave our unit back to the Atrium last spring. Owned for 20 years but time to get out. Easier to find another place to stay.

Yes that is the cost for the 2 bedroom units.
Not sure what we are going to do.
So many friends that we have made over the last 30 years.
Both on island and couples that are there the same time as us.
Still feels like going home when we arrive.
Undecided………

Wow that's pretty close to our 1600 MF for our 2bed at Flamingo without a special assessment.

It's difficult to consider walking but once you do you'll be able to find other places you'll like. Plus you'll be free to try them all. Coming back to the island you can still meet up with old friends and make new ones along the way.

I probably wouldn't consider another time share unless it was La Vista. Read a lot of good things about that place. GaKay (posts here) loves it there.

I just took the time to go over the letter and on page 2 there is a key statement that confirms that we are walking away or at least not paying the special assessment. We are lucky that we have an every other year unit so don't have any AMF's paid for this year so we will ride out what ends up happening. If we did pay AMF's with the way that letter is worded, we would still walk.

"There will be a special assessment each year to fund these renovations. Attached is your invoice for this year". Then it list what they will do over the three years which does not come close to the amount that they would receive.

That is insane, and there is nothing that states how much the two future special assessments are going to be. This is a money grab, makes it worse than paying Flamingo rates.

As stated by RonDon, La Vista is a great place if you are looking to buy. We see our travel plans changing a lot in the next few years so we ended up selling our La Vista units through the resort and got full retail value minus their commission, we actually made money on the buy/sell there. Royal Islander is another place that seems to hold value. Key for us is never finance a time share, buy foreign only and don't give your SS# when you do buy no matter how many times they ask for it, do your research and know that at some point you may be walking away with nothing but memories.

When looking for a new timeshare, check out resales.

We purchased ours for $1000.00. about 75% less than what our resort offers.

Definitely would recommend Royal Islander.

Didn't have to pay yearly dues during covid year and don't ever recall any other payments.

Yearly do not go up much from year to year and property is well kept with a wonderful staff.

Atrium is probably wanting to fix it up at the owners expense so they can unload it to some conglomerate like Diamond did at the Flamingo, Now The Hilton.

Atrium is now a Ramada Resort so this new assessment is done by them!

If you were able to buy it long ago or at a good price and use it , its probably still a good deal. Hotel prices have been going up a lot also and about everything cost more and more.

Have owned at the RI for 25 years and never had a special assessment. And twice when the resort was shut down because of storm damage the annual maintenance fee was waived.

If I am correct, Festiva is associated with Ramada (Wyndham) but not owned by Ramada. Festiva is owned by Zealandia Capital. Not sure if Zealandia or Wyndham has a worse reputation, I think they compete for that title. I think other Festiva properties are under Wyndham and others but not going to research that. Then add the association to La Tour, it is a mess of companies.

I can't recall ever getting a special assessment at Flamingo in the 25 years of ownership. We did have to pay a partial MF during Covid and during the rebuild but was given additional weeks to use in addition to our regular weeks through Destination Exchange for any Diamond property that is now Hilton. I'm using 2 of those weeks next month in SXM in addition to my normal July week as I did for our last stay in May/June.

Mort, how did you return your unit?
That is what we are thinking we are going to do.

We called Latour asking for paperwork to return the unit. Paper work sent and we were charged 1 weeks maintenance fee. Took maybe a month to complete but all went smoothly .

We pay our fees to Festiva, but the Atrium is now called a Ramada Resort. It does sound very complicated and not the same resort as when it was owned by Pelican over 30 years ago when we first purchased there. It was then called the Atrium Pelican Resort and was amazing! So many changes over the years.

Just a suggestion.
IF your original timeshare lease agreement is based in the Netherland Antilles and does not contain terms or fees for termination, you may end your agreement by simply stopping maitenance payments. Too many people pay exit or penalty fees that are invalid if not part of your original agreement.

That’s $4700.00 for our 3 weeks and the way I understand the letter it will be the same for the next 3 years.
That with the regular maintenance fees is a lot.
We bought 30 years ago and have enjoyed the time there but……..

I would not bet on it being the same amount each year, it may be but more likely it will be more. The lack of actually stating that the amount would be the same the next two times makes me think it will be more, once they have you hooked on the first one. This sucks for all those that have already paid their AMF's for this year. I also feel that they did their best to not make it obvious that there will be two more years of it.

I would look at Royal Islander on their resales, www.royal-islander.org and see if you find something you like. Probably could get two weeks back to back for $3k or so, similar AMF's each year and it also is nice location. We like the kitchen at Atrium more but we like the location of Royal Islander.

Scoob - At Flamingo you shouldn't need any special assessments noting you pay approx 50% more per week in AMF's compared to La Vista, Atrium or Royal Islander.

Looked back noting islandgem's comment on ownership.
Ramada does not own Atrium, the current owner or group would have an operating agreement with Ramada to use their name in return for the benefits associated. 99% sure on this, I had the less than any pleasure to have business dealings with a hotel owner that has a Ramada, Sheraton and an Aloft which puts him in Wyndham and Marriott groups.

Over the years it is almost hilarious who all I have paid for our "Atrium" unit.
Back in 2017 I paid Atrium Resorts Investments, and with the special assessment the letter was from: Atrium Resort c/o Zealandia Capital, Inc.
2020 it was back to paying Pelican Resort Atrium NV.
2022 I paid Festiva.
2024 Special [censored] Fee Invoice is from Pelican Resort Atrium NV. This will go unpaid.

Then you read that Mort dealt with Latour Group to get out, I pretty much thought they were just another name that they associate with like Ramada or Festiva that they are part of.

I wish all the other Atrium owners luck in dealing with this, it is insane what they are asking in my not so humble opinion.

Can't really compare Lavista with Flamingo MFs when you factor in the amenities. Gym, BBQ area, tennis court, on property restaurant for breakfast lunch dinner, game room along with 2 swim able beaches with umbrellas and comfortable loungers. Shuffle board, chess table, corn hole area, 2 spas and various pool activities. Handicap lifts for pool and spa access. All these take funds to support.

I don't have a dog in this timeshare mess, other than I have stayed at Atrium the past several years, but I did find a connection between Latour Properties, Zealandia and Atrium.

LINK

I have had Oyster Bay since 2001 and maintenance fees are much more now than the beginning but we like where we stay so it’s worth it to us. If they start doing what Atrium owners are going thru things could change. Just hope everyone gets what they want.

We were in the original litigation when Festiva first bought Artium from Simon, at the time we had a court ruling that only 1 assessment could be made as per the original agreement. That appears not to be the case anymore, many of the owners at the time just did not pay the assessment and monthly dues, the units were just abandoned and there were no repercussions. Units were resold. Not sure what any new contract says but remember you are dealing with a corrupt system in a corrupt country, no real Timeshare laws exist.

So we ve been owners for over 25 years, have paid two S A s and won t pay another...at least not in the way of a double maintenance fee for at least the next 3 years. We re just standing mute for now...we re just not handing them back our rooms...theyve stated no fees if we hand them over per our friends that asked questions...they re waiting for that..owners, some have 100 year contracts and contracts signed in Antilles that say only one SA is allowed...and only cost of living increases each year reflected in the M F....that rule has been broken several times since Festiva purchased the Atrium so we ll just wait and see what s going to happen next. Between our S Aa and MF, the rooms are more than a quality room per night, of course everyone wants to run...but waiting can t hurt.

Best wishes. What t/s companies do to t/s owners in SXM is criminal, or WOULD be, if SXM had any timeshare legislation.

I would wait it out but I think you will see a MASS EXODUS.

I am hearing on the FB sites that people are not being asked to pay an exit fee, which I would not anyway but it does make the exit easier. I have begun the exit process so will see.