Designed to be a destination club geared for Europeans, a similar philosophy to fellow club The Hideaways Club, the Ireland based The Oyster Circle takes a slightly more global perspective than their contemporaries.
Although Europe is the club's primary focus and makes up the majority of the club's membership base, properties in New York City, Miami, Cape Town, and St. Lucia expand the global reach of The Oyster Circle.
Founded in December of 2005 by Paul Crowe and a diverse set of Founding Directors, The Oyster Circle markets themselves as "Europe's first, premium, property-based Member's destination club." Crowe brought well over a decade of senior management experience to the club, spending time at The K Club as Director of Golf and Deputy Chief Executive.
Offering three different membership plans, ranging from 28 to 35 days and €330,000 and €400,000, club members have exclusive access the The Oyster Circle's portfolio of $4 million to $6 million luxury vacation homes.
In a further initiative to add to their global travel options, The Oyster Circle and Quintess, LRW announced a partnership in January of 2009. Members of both clubs were now able to travel to properties in the other's club. "I spoke with Pete (Estler) and Ben (Addoms) and found that they were the best fit," said Crowe after evaluating other clubs to partner with. "Our properties are virtually identical. Our services are virtually identical. It is a very easy fit. If a member goes to a Quintess property, they are getting almost exactly the same service as if they were traveling to The Oyster Circle properties. We considered several other destination clubs, but Quintess was the only one that we really moved forward with. It has been very positively received by our members."
What happened next
In June 2010 the news desk reported that founding chief executive Paul Crowe had left after nearly five years: Changes Atop The Oyster Circle Executive Tree. He had told the site earlier that the club had not yet reached the number of members at which dues would cover operating costs, and that new members were paying 30 percent more in dues than founders. After his departure the club stopped answering inquiries, and director Martin Scully, chief executive of Oyster Capital Partners, became the named contact.
The Quintess alliance of January 2009 was still in place in July 2010, when a Tour Club report listed Cannes, St. Tropez, Cape Town and Umbria among the destinations it opened to Quintess members. The club's South African home was at Pearl Valley in the Western Cape, as noted in Destination Clubs in South Africa.
A Country Life feature on the club described stays of up to 35 days a year and an exit for members of at least four years at 80 percent of a share's market value or the original investment, whichever was higher. We found no reliable record of the club after that period.