Things are bad hope they don't get worse

I have read some of your recent comments about the resort and am glad someone is out there to moan to !

I agree that the resort has been well behind schedule and this has made holiday lettings almost impossible.

I am joint owner of a villa on phase 1 with my parents ( thankfully not mortgaged but we have pretty much written off the £300000 we paid for the place now ! ). I also half own a Coral on phase 3 ( mortgaged and very expensive ! ).

The costs of running these places just for the service charge and council tax / wealth tax is incredible and that doesn't take into account the awful exchange rate. The cost of pool maintenance and cleaning / gardening is also incredibly expensive not to mention water which is like liquid gold.

The signs are not good when we are entering a recession.

The resort is not an attractive place compared to La Manga. I am going there for my summer holidays but would prefer to go somewhere more pleasant. It is just that I can't afford to go somewhere nice any more. Vale de Lobo or Quinta de Lago are just a pipe dream now !

The clubhouse is beautiful and I am sure the hotel will be very nice but it is obvious Armilar ( do they still own the place or is it Caixa Catalunya now ? ) cannot afford to finish the dream. The landscaping is terrible with large barren patches of desert. There is no phone system to the resort. The motorway slip road is blocked with a pile of earth ( or it was when I last went ). The monthly magazine has been shelved.

No person in their right mind would come here on holiday when La Manga is just down the road.

I also have tales of woe of disappearing tenants and being ripped off by Sue Gardner so long term rentals are not the answer either.

I have just about given up on the place too now, I am going out in a few weeks just to sort out the ongoing maintenance problems with my properties.

The worst case scenario is that the resort will go bust ( I've heard the bank might already own it ), the golf course will shut and Melia will pull out of the hotel lease. Second golf course ?? Ever ?

Sorry to paint such a bleak picture . My only optimistic thought is that I am told that La Manga was just like this shortly after it opened and look at it now !

Armilar have been a shambles from start to finish and they might take all of us with them in the end.

I am very sorry to hear the pessimistic content of your post. 

I visted the resort last October and saw that a considerable amount of work had been done since my previous visit.  I am going out again next week so will see what has progressed since then. 

My impressions on my last visit was that the development was progressing according to the time schedules that we had been told, when we purchased in November 2007.  The resort appeared to be well maintained, although the gardens of some of the finished villas looked in need of some attention, which I assumed was due to the owners not maintaining them, rather than the management of the resort.  The access road off the motorway was clear of any obstruction in October which made the resort extremely well placed for easy access to the motorway network, but I'll find out if that is still the case next week.

I am buying my property with the intention of using it for family and friends and not wishing to rely on rental, so my perception of things may be somewhat different to yours, but I do hope that your concerns about the viability of the resort prove to be mistaken.  I will see whether I can get some "honest" opinions from the staff at Hacienda when I'm out there and hopefully provide some reassuring noises on my return.  Having looked around many different resorts in the area before deciding on Hacienda del Alamo, I was convinced that this was the premier resort in the area.  I suppose that the sense of fear  about the current financial climate that the media has helped to exploit, is uppermost in most of our minds but I am remaining optimistic that the thoughts I had prior to buying were correct and that this resort will turn out to be one of the very best in the area.

Keep thinking positively!!

drbenbag

I too am an owner on phase 1, purchased frontline at the very begining 'off plan'.. in the doomiest of days I love and still love my villa.

please dont look too deep into the appearance of the resort.. remember a lot of owners arent living there to see how their villa looks.. some of the property companys managingn the gardens tend to neglect their customers and only step up nearer to the time of 'arrival'... that happens all the time on many resorts.     My hubby spends hours doing the garden following our arrival. He moans but gets a wonderfull tan but on the whole enjoys it.  sometimes the weeds etc seem to have taken vitamins and steroids as they are en mass and quite tall and the hedge sprouts in all directions.  As for our tree on the front, well, we dis connected the irregation and it still grew like billio! we go often throughout the year.  in fact we spent 'this' new year in the clubhouce and had a fabulous time ( great turn out too).  The winds dont help, it blows dust of the edges of the golfcourse everywhere making everywhere look like it needs a good hose down.

We holidayed at the 'Hyatt' in La Manga Club' every summer until we found Hacienda & now we have the best of both worlds.  We go to La Manga for a night which is now way too expensive but still lovely.  BUT, at Hacienda its lovely getting on a bike peddling alongside my daughter & hubby waving to familiar faces, stopping to pick oranges off the trees as we did only a couple of weeks ago.  My daughter plays tennis, basketball, rides her bike all over the resort, takes her lap top to the clubhouse free of charge, i know she is happy sat on the sofa & safe alone or mostly with friends. We enjoy the clubhouse mingling (on the terrace weather permitting) knowing we dont have to worry about our daughter . Being welcomed by staff who never fail to remember your name is a rarerity these days...  its just not La Manga.. thank heavens!

We have made cut backs to compensate for the extra needed every month in our Spanish bank.

I dont want to turn grey in my early fourties, Hacienda is a safe haven which offers 'fun' if  you want it or 'picturesque peace & quiet if  you dont..  thats undeniably quality living ....PRICELESS

debbie.