General Information

New Requirements for Travelers

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States.  In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, the Administration is proposing to complete it in phases following a proposed timeline, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.

In the proposed implementation plan, which is subject to a period of initial public comment, the Initiative will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed timeline will be as follows:

  • December 31, 2006 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
  • December 31, 2007 - Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports.   This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States.  Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

CLICK HERE for Information to acquire a US Passport

Bahamas Information

Entry Requirements: Visas are not required for U.S. citizens for stays up to eight months; however, unless the State Department changes its mind, effective December 31, 2006, all US citizens including infants are required to have a passport. Birth certificates will no longer be accepted. A valid return Air ticket is also required. For further information concerning entry requirements, U.S. citizens may contact the Embassy of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, 2220 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, tel. (202) 319-2660 or The Bahamas consulate in Miami or New York.

 


Medical Facilities: Medical care is generally good in Nassau and in Freeport, but may be limited in remote areas. Doctors and hospitals usually expect immediate cash payment for health services.

Travelers with rare blood types should know the names and location of possible blood donors should the need arise.

Drug Penalties: Citizens are subject to the laws of the country in which they are traveling. Criminal penalties for possession, use, or dealing in illegal drugs are strict, and convicted offenders can expect lengthy jail sentences and fines.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: Road conditions throughout Nassau and Freeport are generally good. Road travel in other parts of The Bahamas is limited. All drivers, especially those on mopeds, must remember to drive on the left side of the road. Pedestrians should also be aware when stepping off curbs that vehicular traffic comes from the right. Death and serious injuries have occurred when visitors have lapsed in adapting to unfamiliar rules of the road.

 

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Westwind Club General Information   TOP

Checking In and Out at Westwind Club: So many of us have been coming to Westwind for so long that we may have forgotten that the Club has a procedure for arrivals and departures. Most of us are close friends with the staff and forget that we can make it difficult for them when we bend the rules or ask for special treatment.

Check in time is 4 p.m. Upon arriving at the Club, please check in at the office before putting anything in your unit. It just slows things down for the maids to have to clean around your bags or move them several times. It is acceptable for you to put your bags on the patio, as long as they are off to one side and out of the housekeeper's way. If your things end up in the office area, we now have a golf cart and will help move your bags to your unit. If you contact the Club and inform them of your arrival time, the staff can schedule the cleaning of the units in a far more efficient manner, making your wait shorter.

Also, when you check in, please be sure to offer your credit card for processing. This is standard operating procedure for most hotels and guest facilities throughout the world. We require this from all guests whether they are RCI traders, renters, or owners of long standing.

Late Arrivals: Make sure you have gotten a combination for the lockbox on your unit if you intend to arrive after 6:00pm. The office is closed after that time and this will be the only way to get your key. You can complete official check in the next day. Our new doors on the units have an AUTOMATIC  LOCKING  DEVICE, therefore units can no longer be left open. In this respect, we ask that you please take the time to advise us whether or not you will be coming or arriving late. We can leave your key in the lockbox outside your unit and advise you of the code to access the key. This will make your arrival as efficient and trouble free as possible. Also please bear in mind that these key lock boxes are there for your convenience in the event you lock yourselves out! Each unit has its own specific code, and we ask that you leave a key in the lockbox so that in the event you lock yourselves out, you will not be charged the $50 fee to have one of us come and let you in.

Check out time is 10 a.m. On your departure day, please move your belongings out of your unit by 10 am so the cleaning staff can prepare the unit for our arriving guests in an efficient manner. If you have to wait for your flight, you can leave your luggage in the clubhouse area and you can spend that time around the clubhouse enjoying your last few moments before leaving for home. You are welcome to use the washrooms by the office for cleaning up and changing into your snowmobile suits.

If you are staying for another week, your unit will be among the last to be cleaned in order to get those units ready for the poor, weary travelers who want nothing more than to slip into a pair of shorts and down a cold Kalik.

Occupancy: Be advised that the bylaws of Westwind Club allow for a maximum of SIX (6) people to each unit. So please cooperate with us and limit your units to only 6 people at a time. The Board of Directors has instructed Steve to limit each unit to six only. These units are being stretched to the limits with 6 as it is. Your cooperation would be greatly appreciated and will eliminate any embarrassment, to you and your guests.

Purchases at the Club: We operate a cashless bar and ask that you check in with a credit card the same way you would at any hotel. Any charges will show on your room tab which you can see daily. To settle at the end of your stay, if you wish you can leave charges on your card. We are now totally computerized! We now have a Touch Screen Computer at the bar, which provides each unit with a daily tab of their charges as well as allowing us to keep an up-to-date inventory of the bar and grill supplies. (Point of information your guest can also have a personal tab just ask and they can be set up. This will make it easy to keep track of their own charges.) However! Since this incredible machine now keeps tight control of inventory and expense, we have discovered that drinks were being sold under our cost, so we had to increase drink prices by $050 cents, which isn’t too bad considering they haven’t been increased in 5 years! So during Happy Hour (4-6PM) drinks are now $2.50 but before 4PM and after 6PM they automatically go back to $3.50. Sunday BBQ is now $8.50, which basically cover our cost. All in all, these increases are minimal yet they will help off set some of the club’s expenses, which in the end will benefit all.

 

Cat: We all know Chloe our resident cat at Westwind. We all like her but the Board of Directors is requesting all our owners to not LET THE CAT IN THE UNITS. We have received complaints from some people who have an allergy to cat hairs & dander. These allergies can be very serious to anyone allergic to animals. PLEASE KEEP THE CAT OUT OF THE UNITS. It’s OK if you want to feed it but let it stay outside in it’s natural habitat. He is a great hunter of night squirrels. The less we feed her the better she hunts.

Westwind’s Fleet: For all you boaters out there.... We sold the twin 11’ boat because of lack of use. Plans are to replace it with a raft which will take our l5hp engine. So for now Westwind’s Fleet consists of the following:

Two-2 Person Kayaks and one 1 Person kayak which rent for $10/hour, 

 

 

Timeshare Owners

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MAINTENANCE FEE BILLING:

Each year on the first of October your invoice for the fees for the following year is mailed to you. If you do not receive this invoice by the middle of October you can assume that we have the wrong address information and your mail had been misdirected. Please contact me at once so that I may send your bill to the correct address and you can either pay on time or take advantage of the early payment discount that we offer. You know that we will be charging you a fee at the end of each year, please watch for it. The maintenance of the mailing list is one of the most frustrating problems that we face. We have the owner’s list in several different computers and sometimes-old addresses overwrite new ones when information is transferred from one to another. If you have an address change there are three people that should be notified; Jim Robinson, Treasurer, Ed Szewczyk, the editor of the newsletter and the management at the Club.

THE INVOICE: Due to the complex rules that apply to the payment of your fees we have tried to make our invoice as informative as possible. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY!

1)   If you pay your fees before the end of the preceding year you are offered a $20.00 per week discount.

2)   All fees are due on  January 31 of the year being billed.

3)   Late fees are incurred on the first of

February of the year being billed.

$25.00 is charged on February first and

$10. is charged on each month

following until the bill is paid to the

end of the year.

4)   On the first of February all owners who have not paid their fees will have their week blocked with RCI and they will not be able to trade to another resort. Due to the fact that I have a full time job and other commitments I sometimes do not release the block as Expeditiously as I should when your payment is received. This causes some of our late paying owners some Inconvenience. For this I apologize and would remind these owners that you can avoid this inconvenience

EUROPEAN OWNERS find it more convenient to pay by wire transfer of funds directly to our bank in the Bahamas. Lately we have had some problems with this method as our bank tells us that they cannot identify the owner paying their week(s). We have to hold this money aside until you complain about late charges or RCI blocks. We ask that you fax or email the information to the Club or the treasurer when you make these payments so that we may credit the proper week(s). Would you also add $10.00(total) when making this wire transfer as this is the charge our bank charges the Club for this service.

IDENTIFY YOUR PAYMENT:

Some of our owners pay their fees by a company cheque or by money order and there is no way to identify who is making the payment or what week is being paid. Please tear off the top of the invoice that has your week and unit number and send it with your payment or mark the week and unit on the face of your cheque. This will save the inconvenience of having your week blocked unnecessarily.

 

 

LISTING YOUR UNIT FOR SALE OR RENT:

PLEASE understand that if you are going to rent or sell your week you cannot give it to RCI to be traded or banked. If you sell it privately, you cannot do this if we have rented it for you or if you have banked it with RCI.
I know this seems obvious, but about once a month Steve or Lauren has to deal with this situation, please think it through.

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Copyright © 1997-2007 Westwind Club Association Lmt.
This page was updated on: 07-Jan-2007