This is a public warning about the integrity of the owners of Palm Island Grenadines who have recently purchased Anchorage Yacht Club on nearby Union Island.

Because the AYC is separated from the area airport only by a fence and has a good dock, AYC serves as the connection to Palm Island. The AYC also has had its own rooms and restaurant.

Earlier this year I paid the AYC more than $8,000 in credits and cash (in the form of a certified bank instrument sent via courier with proof of receipt) for room reservations for a wedding party for a week over the 2006/2007 New Year holiday.

The new owners of Palm have now refused to honor those payments and that reservation simply by saying they did not get them. It is their responsibility when buying a hotel, as it always is, in the absence of a bankruptcy that wipes out obligations, to purchase and honor the obligations of the property.

In this case, Palm Island has neither done that, nor asked for proof of those payments and reservation, both of which were offered to them. They have simply and flatly refused to honor them. They say this now even though they were told of the payments and reservations many months ago, before purchasing the property, when rumors of that sale circulated.

This situation will become the subject of a public information campaign on the internet and in travel publications as well as, most likely, be the basis of lawsuits from the damaged parties.

Be forwarned when dealing with a Palm Island-owned property, this how Palm Island has handled an obligation.

As of this date, AYC has not refunded the money they received nor have they paid their hosting service fees. Their actions also ruined the honeymoon plans of an innocent couple.

Anyone intending to visit the area should be aware that the same people who own AYC have just purchased the popular Captain Yannis catamarin day tours operation (www.captainyannis.com).

Tourists may want to be wary and aware that the same poeple, under the name Elite Resorts, also own the following resorts:

ANTIGUA
Galley Bay
St. James's Club
Grand Pineapple Beach
Dian Bay Resort & Spa
The Verandah

ST. LUCIA
Village Inn & Spa
Windjammer Landing

TORTOLA
Long Bay Beach Resort & Villas

PALM ISLAND, Grenadines
Palm Island

ST. KITTS
Sugar Bay Club

GRAND CAYMAN
Sunshine Suites Resort