An unhappy homeowner at the luxury Four Seasons Resort Hualalai is suing the resort and its developers, saying he and others aren’t getting the benefits they were promised when they built or purchased their homes.
The suit claims that homeowners, their families and guests face crowded facilities and fees that have risen unfairly at The Hualalai Club, where a membership runs $250,000, plus $40,625 in annual dues.
The lawsuit filed Sept. 30 in 3rd Circuit Court by homeowner Christopher Zyda seeks class action status to represent all homeowners and members of the club.
Zyda, founder of the Los Angeles-based wealth management firm Mozaic LLC, purchased his Hualalai home in 2000 and was told by the real estate agent that he would have membership in The Hualalai Club and that his family and guests would have access to resort amenities without added fees. However, the resort has failed to provide adequate facilities to handle the growing population and increased usage.
Instead, the resort has increased fees for unaccompanied guests of residents, the suit alleges.
“Instead of dealing with the problem of overcrowding, the defendants continued to build and sell new homes … and have current plans to sell up to 150 additional club memberships, including selling memberships to non-residents of the resort, while using resort and club amenities as perks for employees,” the suit alleges.
The defendants named in the suit include the resort’s owners, developers and real estate agents.
Zyda said he believes numerous residents are unhappy with the arrangement.
“There are many, many owners who are upset,” among 600 residents of about 300 homes, said Terry Revere, the Honolulu attorney for the plaintiff.
Owners of the multi-million dollar properties and their families have access to golf, tennis, sports club and spa, swimming facilities and other amenities at the resort.
The resort’s spokesperson said the disgruntled are a minority.
“We are proud that Hualalai Resort is perennially recognized as one of the world’s premier luxury resort communities, for both club members and hotel guests,” said Brad Packer, director of public relations for Four Seasons, in a prepared statement. “The Resort has been recognized broadly for the quality of its service, facilities and amenities, including being Hawaii Island’s first and only Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond hotel, and rated the best hotel in Hawaii by Travel + Leisure Magazine.”
“While feedback from all our members is extremely important to us, we believe the plaintiff’s claims are without merit, and based on recent member surveys, are shared only by a small minority of club members,” Packer said.
The suit also alleges the resort and club operate in secrecy, without revealing how club dues are spent.
“We need some forensic accounting,” Revere said. “They are very opaque and secretive in the way they run this club. No one knows where the money goes.”
Packer said the suit does not affect the day-to-day operation of the resort.
“Four Seasons works diligently with ownership to implement policies that respect and balance the interests of club members and hotel guests,” Packer said. “We believe the policies implemented are expressly permitted by the club agreements and, more importantly, are in the best interest of club members.”