I did exhaustive research on destination clubs. I looked at every single club and talked to almost every member director. Our needs are pretty specific. We don’t have kids yet although that could change, and we don’t usually travel with a huge entourage, so we didn’t need an oversized house each time. However, we wanted the option for larger properties when we needed them. Also, I prefer to plan my own trips, so some of the other clubs seemed wasteful. Not that High Country Club won’t help if you need it, all you have to do is tell them your needs! Also, other clubs seemed to have a lot of properties directly on the golf course which we really didn’t like. I understand that if you are going to a golf destination you want to be on the course but if you go to a beach destination, you should be on the beach. If you go to the mountains, you should be ski-in, ski-out or pretty close. HCC offers all of that and more.

Additionally, I was very concerned about the financial viability of the club given the recent Tanner and Haley events. However, I was very impressed with the management at HCC and with their extensive knowledge of the financials of the industry in general, the openness with which they discussed HCC’s specifics. After months of research on all the other players, making the decision to join HCC was easy.

For our very first High Country trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect given the lower membership cost. I couldn’t have been more pleased! The La Costa property was fantastic – much, much better than I thought was possible. It was very spacious; I think it was the biggest unit on the whole property. There were three patios, it was close to the swimming pool, and the furnishings and decor was beautiful. The amenities were fantastic and everything we needed was onsite. I was also excited to learn about the new waterslide park being built on the property.

On our second trip, we went to Mammoth and had an equally pleasing trip. The unit was great, had everything we needed and was within short walking distance to the gondola and numerous restaurants and bars. We have upcoming trips planned for Turks and Caicos, a 4800 sq. ft. mountain house in Breckenridge and Tuscany in summer. We’re also trying to fit in New York, Playa del Carmen and Costa Rica when it is ready. We are enjoying HCC thoroughly and are even looking at moving up to a higher membership category so we can get more nights.

While we can certainly afford to go with the higher end clubs, they just didn’t make sense given our lifestyle and desire for value. HCC is a great option for those of you out there who only occasionally need the huge properties and don’t need extreme hand-holding. In the final analysis, we like how HCC lets you decide the amount of service you need, and gives you a variety of properties of different sizes to choose from.