Family First
For Member Steve Byrne, The Club has given him 20 vacation homes (and counting!) versus just one.
Austinite Steve Byrne first heard of Exclusive Resorts via friends in 2017. The patriarch of a large family — including five children (the oldest, 41) and grandchildren (the youngest just seven months) — he and his wife first began family vacationing with VRBO. But, “it was real hit or miss with the kind of accommodations,” Byrne says. A trip to Park City revealed another couple happily vacationing with The Club, and Steve decided “to go all in,” he says.
Here, Byrne gives his take on the Exclusive Resorts lifestyle and reveals his passion for bonding with a growing family while discovering new places.
Annual Traditions
Our home away from home is Chicago’s Trump Tower. We’ve been there more than any other Club location because it's a quick flight from Austin and we love a Cubs game. Plus, those views! Looking at the Wrigley building from The Club residence is amazing.
Exceptional Experiences
Watercolor in Rosemary Beach, Florida, and Tuscany, Italy, are family favorites. Our daughters were both pregnant when we first went to Tuscany. They couldn’t wine taste, so they just traveled along the hillside and were easily entertained. But I think my son-in-laws will forever remember that trip. They rented Ferraris to celebrate their wedding anniversaries and had a ball whipping through the Tuscan hills. In Watercolor, The Club celebrated my German heritage with a surprise German dinner one night. It's those little things that have great impact.
A New Motivator: The Travel Desk
We were one of the very first people to use The Travel Desk. We were on The World last summer, from Cambodia to Vietnam. The Travel Desk helped us with our flight arrangements, as I quickly learned there's no place in the world farther from Austin than Cambodia! We’ll engage them again for our Corfu/London trip, because we're going with two other couples, and we’ll have lots of moving parts.
Aboard The World
We’ve gone twice now. The first year, we boarded in Bordeaux and traveled up the coast of France and on to London. When you first step onto The World, The Club’s apartment is simply incredible. It’s mind-blowing to be able to join a cruise of this magnitude, which is why we ventured a second time to Asia.
Private Homes Built to Last
When we first joined, we were told everywhere you go with Exclusive Resorts when you arrive at a new home, you'll find yourself saying, ‘This is the best place we've ever stayed, right?’ And that's really held true. We’ve never been disappointed, and we’d never go back to any other way.
Service Standards
But what truly sets Exclusive Resorts apart isn’t just the extraordinary homes or the hassle-free luxury — it’s the personalized service. Our Ambassador, Isabelle, is one of the big pluses of Club Membership. She does a really good job of keeping us informed on our Wish List and Calendar roll-in submissions. Whether it's securing that perfect spot or anticipating what we will need before we arrive, the Ambassador and on-site teams are game changes when traveling with The Club.
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