Bahamas Relaxing COVID Restrictions and More Timeshare Information

The government of the Bahamas has announced a phased relaxing of its COVID-related travel restrictions with the goal of phasing out quarantine requirements by November 1. Until then, all visitors, including Bahamas timeshare owners, are required to “vacation in place”, meaning they are subject to quarantining at their resort for 14 days, or the duration of their stay if less than 14 days.

The Bahamas tourism sector is set to reopen on October 15, meaning that tourism-related businesses and amenities will reopen. On November 1, vacation in place will be removed, allowing visitors to leave their resort without quarantine.

The caveat is that all incoming visitors will be required to take a COVID test within seven days of arrival to prove they are negative, then take a rapid antigen test upon arrival and again four days after arrival to prove they are still COVID negative. Visitors will also need to apply for a Bahamas Health Travel Visa before arrival.     

Even as the country progresses toward removing quarantine restrictions, major resorts such as Atlantis and Baha Mar have not yet announced a reopening date. Harborside at Atlantis timeshares have been open to owners and exchangers, so Bahamas timeshare owners are asked to contact their individual resorts for their latest resort update.   

More Tropical Destinations Opening Up

The Caribbean islands of St Kitts and Nevis will reopen to visitors at the end of October, as the CDC has recently given the islands a very low risk level to travel. There are no reported active COVID cases on the islands and no virus-related deaths have been reported.

Costa Rica has announced that the country will be open to U.S. residents of all 50 states as of November 1. The country has been reopening to the U.S. in stages on a state-by-state basis, with 20 states currently on its acceptance list. On October 15, Texas, Florida and Georgia will be added to the list with residents of the remaining states open to travel to Costa Rica on November 1. Negative COVID tests and travel insurance will be required upon entry.

Is Hawaii’s Reopening at Risk?

There appears to be some dissention in the ranks when it comes to Hawaii’s much-anticipated reopening to visitors on October 15. The state’s plan to relax quarantine requirements for visitors who produce a negative COVID test has met with some opposition from state and local government officials who are concerned that the protocols don’t do enough to monitor the possible spread of the virus.

Those officials sent a letter to Governor David Ige asking for a six day quarantine to be implemented for visitors along with a second test to be administered at the six day mark.

To date, the Governor’s office has not announced any changes to the planned pre-testing requirements and relaxing of the current 14-day quarantine requirement. Officials cite the need to restart the state’s decimated tourism industry that has been dormant for the past seven months.

This is worth monitoring, especially if local governments on the individual islands plan to require any additional testing or quarantine steps. The latest information can be seen at https://www.gohawaii.com/safe-travels.

Timeshare Resort Openings

A major hurricane, Hurricane Delta, is set to impact the resort communities of Cancun and the Riviera Maya along the Mexico Caribbean coastline early Wednesday morning before making its way into the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico timeshare owners who own in these communities are asked to contact their resorts directly once the storm passes and reviews are conducted for damage assessments.  

The hurricane is then expected to impact Louisiana on Saturday morning, so New Orleans timeshare owners and others owning in the state should monitor the storm’s movements and contact your resorts as well.

Timeshare owners looking for a status update on their favorite brand can do so below:

Bluegreen Vacations – Shoreline Towers in Gulf Shores, AL will be closed until October 17 due to the effects of Hurricane Sally. Pono Kai Resort is still on schedule to reopen on October 14 prior to the easing of COVID quarantine restrictions in Hawaii. The remaining Bluegreen resorts are open, so please click on https://www.bluegreenowner.com/featured/travel-advisory-resort-status for further details.

Capital Vacations – Capital has added two resorts to its network, Magic Tree Resort and Sea Club IV, expanding its network to 68 resorts in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Grand Cayman is now open to international visitors, but Coral Sands resort is still listed as closed on the Capital Vacations website. A similar situation regards Sea Palace, which is showing as closed even though St. Maarten has been open to visitors for weeks. Owners are encouraged to contact Capital directly for the latest status of their resorts.

All US-based Capital Vacations timeshare resorts remain open, so for more information please go to https://www.capitalvacations.com/covid.php.

Club Wyndham – Wyndham San Francisco resorts are now open and Wyndham timeshares in Hawaii are reportedly accepting new reservations but are not yet listed as open on the Wyndham website. Only five Wyndham timeshare resorts dotted around the country continue to be listed as closed. The rest of the Wyndham resorts are open, so for more information please visit https://clubwyndham.wyndhamdestinations.com/us/en/covid-19-information/list-of-impacted-resorts.

Diamond Resorts – Marquis Villas Resort in Palm Springs is now open, with the five Diamond timeshare resorts in Hawaii scheduled to open on October 14. Alhambra Villas in Kissimmee remains on schedule to open on October 29. Please click on https://www.diamondresorts.com/covid-19-update for further information.

Disney Vacation Club – Disney officials are reportedly discussing criteria with state and local officials in California regarding the status of Disneyland and Grand Californian resort. The state’s color-coded monitoring system appears to be delaying possible reopening efforts, with a minimum six weeks needed before the properties could possibly reopen.

Aulani continues toward a November 1 opening and the remaining Disney timeshare resorts are open, so please go to https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/ for more details.

Divi Resorts – Bonaire has extended its travel ban to November 1, so Divi Flamingo Beach Resort remains closed until then. Divi Southwinds Beach Resort in Barbados is still scheduled to reopen on October 31, while Divi timeshares in St. Maarten and Aruba remain open. Divi Carina Bay in St Croix is closed for renovations. For more details please go to https://www.diviresorts.com/news.htm.

Grand Pacific Resorts – Indian Palms Vacation Club is now open, which means all Grand Pacific resorts are open. Please visit https://grandpacificresorts.com/resort-reopening-updates/ for further information.

Hilton Grand Vacations – no changes concerning the six Hilton timeshare resorts in Hawaii, The Quin Central Park by Hilton Club, The Hilton Club – New York, the Residences by Hilton Club and Hilton Grand Vacations Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile, as they all remain listed as closed. The rest of the U.S.-based Hilton timeshares are open, so for more information please go to https://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/en/travel-alert.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations – Orange Lake Resort and the rest of the Holiday Inn Club Vacations resorts are open. Click on https://holidayinnclub.com/safe-travels/resort-updates for details regarding COVID protocols at the individual resorts.

Marriott Vacation Club –Marriott’s Waikoloa Ocean Club in Hawaii, Marriott Vacation Club Pulse San Francisco and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse New York City all remain closed. All other U.S.-based Marriott timeshare resorts are open. Please go to https://hub.vacationclub.com/brands/marriott-vacation-club/ for the most up-to-date information.

Vistana Signature Experiences – all Westin timeshares and Sheraton timeshare resorts remain open as well as Harborside Resort at Atlantis. For Sheraton information please visit https://hub.vacationclub.com/brands/sheraton-vacation-club/ and for Westin details please go to https://hub.vacationclub.com/brands/westin-vacation-club/.

Westgate Resorts – Westgate Leisure Resort, Westgate Blue Tree Resort, Westgate Palace Resort and Westgate Towers Resort are still showing a December 21 reopening date. Westgate New York Grand Central and Westgate Tunica Resort are closed with no announced reopening date. All other Westgate timeshare resorts are open. For more information please click on https://www.westgateresorts.com/coronavirus-travel-advisory/.

WorldMark – WorldMark Hawaii timeshare resorts will reopen on October 15 with the exceptions of Makai Club and Makai Club Cottage which are planned to reopen on November 1 and WorldMark Kona on November 30. WorldMark San Francisco is not taking reservations for stays prior to February 21, 2021. All other resorts in the WorldMark timeshare network are open. Please visit https://www.worldmarktheclub.com/news/covid19_impacted_resorts.shtml for more info.

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