Diamond Resorts is closing down the ‘Diamond Suites’ in St Julian’s, saying that a decline in bookings over the last several years, alongside rising costs, have made it “financially impractical” to continue offering the destination to its members.
Eden Leisure Group, which owns the building adjacent to its own InterContinental Hotel, stated in a company announcement released on Friday 20th September that on 16th September it agreed to terminate its lease to Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd, which will run to 31st December 2024. The Maltese company will thereafter re-acquire full ownership of the apartment building.
The 46 self-catering units constituting Diamond Resorts’ Maltese offering were also managed and serviced by Eden Leisure Group.
Eden Leisure said it is currently “exploring and assessing various options on the maximisation of the asset’s potential use,” adding that it would keep the market informed of any developments.
Diamond Resorts European Collection had informed its members that the location would no longer be available back in June, with Timeshare Consumer Association (TCA) publishing a letter it sent explaining that members are able to continue making reservations at Diamond Suites on Malta until the end of 2024, as long as they check out by 31st December.
TCA commented that the departure is the latest in a series of moves that have diminished the European timeshare market, referring to recent closures in Cyprus, Greece and the Canary Islands.
However, while the other examples it pointed to were standalone single entities, “legacy resorts as we call them,” Diamond Suites is “part of multibillion dollar corporation.”
TCA argued that the development shows that “the big boys are suffering as well.”
Diamond Suites was an independent timeshare company until 2021, when it was purchased by Hilton Grand Vacations.
Hilton Grand Vacations was owned by Hilton Worldwide until it was spun off in 2017. It now acts as the manager and operator of Hilton’s timeshare and vacation ownership brands, while owning several of its own brands – like Diamond Suites.
As of December 2023, Hilton Grand Vacations had over 200,000 members and over 200 properties.
