By LEDEDRA MARCHE

Senior FN Reporter

lededra@nasguard.com

The principles of the Royal Oasis were in talks Monday on the future of the now closed resort property, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe revealed yesterday.

"The Royal Oasis is being discussed today as I sit here," he said. "We're hoping to complete that very shortly and an announcement, we hope, will be made soon."

He was a guest on the talk show, Immediate Re-sponse, with host Darold Miller which is simulcast daily.

The Tourism Minister, who also has responsibility for the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, was responding to a question from a caller about the state of the Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at Royal Oasis.

The resort property, which includes the towers, country club and casino, is the second largest resort in Grand Bahama and was closed down after Hurricane Frances in September of 2004.

Driftwood Freeport Limited, owners of the resort, disclosed that the closure and lay off of over 1,200 employees were due to the heavy losses.

The Royal Oasis houses 965 rooms and 98 timeshare units which accounted for more than a third of the overall inventory off the market.

There have been several talks and bids between potential buyers and government for sometime.

The last word from Prime Minister Perry Christie early this month was that he was set to meet with resort owners and have "meaningful talks" on who will purchase the property.

The sale was long said to be imminent, but government remains tight-lipped on negotiations.

Meanwhile, timeshare owners at that property are talking to a law firm about representing them in a class-action suit.

Several timeshare owners are optimistic about the sale which could mean the redemption of their "points" that were said to be frozen not long after the closure of the resort and their return to their preferred vacation spot in Grand Bahama.

Some fear, however, if they remain silent and information about the sale or state of the property remains stifled, they will lose their timeshare – which, for many, calculates to much of their life's savings.

Many of the timeshare owners had only purchased their timeshare weeks before the closure of the resort property and, while they understand the circumstances as a result of the hurricanes were unforeseen, they are very disappointed about the way they were handled.

Some owners even took out loans to buy their timeshare, while others were making monthly installments until they received a letter from RCI stating that there was a hold on their timeshare points.

A number of owners continued with their monthly payments out of fear they would lose their points.

After months, and now more than a year after hearing nothing from the resort owners and fearing their money is lost, a number of timeshare owners are banding together in their fight for justice with a class-action lawsuit.

Those expected to be named in the suit are resort owner Driftwood Freeport, David Buddeyemer, president of Driftwood Freeport Limited, and Lehman Brothers.

Minister Wilchcombe had confirm months ago that government was in negotiation with new players and that the new group has an international reputation.

He told The Freeport News that government was looking for players with "stickability" and one who could build Grand Bahama much like Atlantis did for Paradise Island.

There were reports that Westgate Resorts, the third-largest timeshare company in the world, and Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino were two of the key players in the sale and the intent.

The last reported proposed offer for the sale of the resort property was said to be $25 million, but the asking price was $29 million.

Yesterday, while on the topic on the talk show, Minister Wilchcombe would only say that the meeting was taking place right then.

UP FOR DISCUSSION — The Crowne Plaza Golf Resort and Casino at Royal Oasis, inclusive of the towers, country club and casino, is up for sale and principles met yesterday to discuss its future. (File photo)