Launched in summer of 2008, Diamante Residences had announced the cancellation of their launch by October of the same year. Still in its Charter Membership phase at the time and offering a discounted membership deposit, waived annual dues, and preferred access to the club's properties for the lifetime of the membership, Diamante was still unable to generate enough new member interest to remain active during one of the must turbulent economic times in recent history.
The club launched with but one property, an epic 7,700 square foot hoom in the Dominican Republic and plans to quickly bolster the club's inventory of properties with acquisitions in destination club staples Scottsdale, New York City, Naples, and Palm Springs. With several membership plans, ranging from $150,000 to $395,000 and annual dues from $8,000 to $29,000, the reletively high prices, eroding consumer interest, and lack of an established name and portfolio weighed heavily on the young club.
With the financial markets in crisis mode, the Canadian based destination club announced "The concept is still valid but right now the timing is not." The club officially "suspended launching" Diamante, but the club's website was soon pulled down and it appears all but certain that the club will not be moving forward for the foreseeable future.
Where it fits in the archive
Diamante became the archive's shorthand for a club that never got going. The 2009 Destination Club Review named it with Botiga as new clubs of 2008 that closed their doors just as they opened them, and Failure To Launch listed it first among the unlaunched clubs two years later. When Vita Luxury closed in October 2008, the report called it the second non-launch of the season after Diamante.
It was also part of a Canadian wave. The M Private Residences file names Diamante, Moncasa Private Club Residences and The Discovery Club as clubs based in Canada that followed M Private's early success.
The single Dominican Republic villa is discussed at more length in The Island House, which reads Diamante as an example of how much of the club pitch rested on one spectacular beach house. We found no later public record of the club.
Discussed in The Island House: Caribbean Villas in the Club Years, from The Ledger.