Luxury timeshares under construction on Tropicana

A Las Vegas company that has focused its timeshare development business on seven resorts on the Hawaiian Islands has begun selling its first mainland property, a luxury project on Tropicana Avenue 2 miles west of the Strip.

Consolidated Resorts Inc., a 15-year-old privately held subsidiary of The ASNY Corp., is building the $10 million 86-suite Club de Soleil at the southeast corner of Tropicana Avenue and Lindell Road. It's the company's first entry in the growing Southern Nevada timeshare market.

The project, under construction for about six months, is expected to be completed by Aug. 31. It includes 53 two-bedroom units of about 1,050 square feet and 33 one-bedroom suites of about 710 square feet.

All include a gas fireplace, a master bath with dual vanities and Jacuzzi tub, a washer-dryer, a stereo, a complete kitchen with microwave, refrigerator and dishwasher and a separate dining area. The single-bedroom units have two televisions while the two-bedroom suites have three. The larger suites also have a kitchenette in one of the bedrooms, a separate entry and an additional dining table.

The resort, which has a French Mediterranean theme with a large circular driveway, wrought-iron terraces, awnings and neutral colors, includes a swimming pool and Jacuzzi, an exercise center with a sauna and on-site masseuse, lighted tennis courts and a concierge and activity coordinator.

Angelo Infante, project director for Club de Soleil, said the company has no intention of offering gaming on the property and will be content with shuttling timeshare owners between the 5-acre resort and the Strip.

Timeshare resorts offer ownership of units for an interval of time, usually in weekly increments. Club de Soleil will offer units ranging from $10,000 a week for a one-bedroom unit to $14,000 for two bedrooms.

Another selling point of the timeshare is the ability to trade weeks at other resorts worldwide. Club de Soleil will be affiliated with Interval International to negotiate exchanges. Interval, which has designated all of CRI's resorts as five-star properties, maintains a network of about 1,700 resorts in 65 countries.

CRI President Michael Kaplan, a licensed real estate broker in Hawaii and Nevada, also is licensed to practice law in four states and was a former deputy attorney general in Nevada. The Valley High School graduate linked up with CRI chief executive officer Arthur Spector, who founded the company in Hawaii in 1982.

The headquarters of ASNY, a diversified investment company, and CRI eventually were moved to Las Vegas, but their projects were developed in Hawaii, with five resorts on Maui and one each on Oahu and the big island. The seven Hawaiian properties include more than 300 timeshare units.

The company has an undisclosed number of new resorts on the drawing board in Hawaii and is evaluating development opportunities in Southern California, Arizona, Mexico, the Caribbean, near ski resorts in Colorado and Utah, and in Vancouver, British Columbia.

CRI joins a growing timeshare marketplace in Southern Nevada, which has more than 60,000 unit weeks available.

The largest market share in the Southern Nevada timeshare industry is held by WorldStar Resorts, owners of the Jockey Club and the Polo Towers. WorldStar plans to add a 24-story structure at Polo Towers.

Hilton Hotels Corp. operates Hilton Grand Vacations Club, a 200-unit timeshare property nestled among the rooms of the Flamingo Hilton. In addition, Hilton plans a 232-unit timeshare project on the northeast corner of the Las Vegas Hilton property.

Other players in the Southern Nevada market are Preferred Equities, which operates the Ramada Vacation Suites; the Carriage House; and the Royal Aloha Vegas and Royal Vacation Suites. The Debbie Reynolds Resort Club, another timeshare property, was part of property auctioned to the World Wrestling Federation, which will continue to honor its timeshare property obligations.

The gaming industry has a generally favorable relationship with timeshare owners because the level of disposable income they bring to the casino is generally higher than than of the average visitor.

A study commissioned by the American Resort Development Association says timeshare owners gamble longer, have bigger casino budgets and are almost guaranteed to make return visits.

The ARDA study says in 1996, timeshare visitors averaged 3.8 hours per day gambling, stayed seven nights in the city, and spent $1,080 per trip including $585 per trip gambling.

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