Lindo Mar Closes Temporarily
Retaining wall collapse forces resort to end relocation program

On Saturday, November 5, 2006 at 2:45 p.m., the retaining wall between the parking lot and the rooms at Lindo Mar collapsed dislodging two propane tanks and sending tons of dirt and rubble down in front of units 101 and 201. To ensure their safety, all the guests were evacuated immediately, gas and electricity were shut off, and the water was drained from the 23,000 gallon holding tank. Engineers and geo techs recommended not allowing any rooms to be occupied until extensive surveys were done to determine the extent of the damage to both the retaining wall and the rooms building.

Trading Places International and Lindo Mar staff immediately implemented a program to relocate inbound guests. For the first few weeks, that worked. But, it is high season in Puerto Vallarta and because of the staggering costs involved, the relocation of arriving guests will be discontinued effective with reservations starting December 2, 2006. No guests will be allowed into Lindo Mar nor will they be relocated to other properties as of that date.

Several reports have been received from soils engineers, mining engineers, and geo technicians saying that clean up and repair will take several months and cost several hundred thousand dollars. Of course, the board of directors and management are hopeful that most, if not all, of the expense will be recovered, but it won't happen right away and the Club must conserve its fiscal resources in the meantime. Consequently, the difficult decision was made to stop relocating guests and to suspend occupancy at Lindo Mar until at least the middle of January.

Fortunately, the technicians and engineers say that it should be possible to occupy the building after the cleanup has been accomplished and during the building of a new retaining wall. They anticipate the cleanup will be completed in January.