Introduction
If you sat through a presentation at Moon Palace, Le Blanc, or another Palace Resorts property, you likely believed you bought a timeshare. You didn’t. You bought membership in a vacation club. That distinction matters. It shapes your costs, your rights, and how cancellation actually works.
Who Is Palace Resorts?
Palace Resorts operates through International Hotel Company, LLC. Properties sit in Cancún, Riviera Maya, Cozumel, and Los Cabos. The brand markets several resort lines, including Moon Palace and Le Blanc. Presentations often happen during a stay, framed as an “owner update” or “member benefits” review.
Mexico Doesn’t Sell Timeshares — It Sells Vacation Club Memberships
This is the most important thing to understand before evaluating Palace Resorts. Unlike a U.S. timeshare, a Palace membership isn’t a deeded interest in property. You’re buying a contractual right to use accommodations. This model isn’t unique to Palace. Vidanta, Unlimited Vacation Club, and most Mexico resort brands use it too. Often, the company selling you the membership doesn’t own the resort. A separate corporate entity typically owns and manages the property. That entity sometimes shares a similar name. This makes it easy to assume you’re dealing with one company. You’re often dealing with two.
What Palace Resorts Membership Actually Costs
Costs vary by tier and by how the sales presentation went. Members report upfront fees ranging from several thousand dollars into six figures. Annual maintenance fees climb over time. Exchange programs add further costs. One member documented this clearly in a TripAdvisor review of Moon Palace Cancún: a trip marketed at $1,329 for a family ballooned to $1,956 once exchange fees applied. The listed exchange fee to Palace Resorts alone ran $443 per week. Interval International, the separate exchange company involved, added another $209 per week plus $99 to $556 in membership costs.
Is Palace Resorts a Scam?
Palace Resorts is a large, legitimate resort operator. The properties are real. Members do receive genuine accommodations. That said, real complaints raise serious concerns. Better Business Bureau records show 50 complaints filed against International Hotel Company in the past three years. The largest categories involve misleading amenities and false product representations, followed by safety hazards and poor maintenance. One BBB complainant reported that staff “lied that the certificate does not have an expiry date” to close a sale. Other BBB complaints describe parasitic infections, cockroach infestations, and inadequate pool hazard signage. Several members reported being overcharged at checkout and pressured to sign for the extra charges on the spot. The Moon Palace Cancún reviewer summed up her experience bluntly: “You will be misled about what you are purchasing.” Her refund request received only an automated response, with no real follow-up from the company. So while Palace Resorts isn’t a scam in the legal sense, the pattern of complaints means members should read every document carefully, get promises in writing, and understand exactly which entity they’re contracting with before signing anything.
Mexican Jurisdiction and Your Legal Rights
Mexican contract law governs Palace Resorts memberships. Disputes and cancellations proceed through Mexican process, not U.S. or Canadian courts. PROFECO, Mexico’s consumer protection agency, can be a genuinely useful resource. Filing a PROFECO complaint has helped other members apply real pressure when a resort resists cancellation.
Credit, Payment Status, and What Actually Matters
Canceling doesn’t affect your credit. Mexican resorts don’t report to U.S. or Canadian credit bureaus. Payment status doesn’t matter either. Whether you’re paid in full or still making payments, cancellation works the same way. However, many Mexico timeshares are known to make illegal attempts using American collections agencies.
Common Palace Resorts Complaints
The problems start when the long-term economics and the fine print collide with real life. One of the most common complaints is rising maintenance or all-inclusive fees. Even for supposedly “fee-light” structures, required per-person charges and annual dues tend to increase steadily, often faster than retirees’ incomes or inflation. Many owners describe feeling blindsided by year-after-year jumps with little explanation, a pattern consistent with broader timeshare maintenance-fee trends across the industry.
Difficulty using benefits is another major source of frustration. Members report blackout dates, room-type restrictions, or capacity limits that make it hard to book the weeks they were verbally promised. What was sold as “no blackout dates” may, in practice, become “no availability” for school holidays or prime-season travel. Reservation systems may feel confusing, and some owners discover that popular room categories or sections require additional payments or upgrades.
Sales presentation pressure leaves a lasting bad taste. Many Palace owners remember long, high-pressure meetings where they were repeatedly passed from one closer to another, offered upgrades as “solutions” to every concern, or told that bonus weeks and certificates would lose value if they did not sign that day. Some guests later discover discrepancies between what was verbally promised and what appears in the contract, including expiration dates or mandatory fees on so-called “free” stays.
Confusion about membership terms is almost universal. Points systems, multiple membership levels, internal versus external exchange, and unclear transfer rules make it hard for many owners to know exactly what they own. Questions about whether the membership can be sold, transferred, or inherited often arise only after years of payments. Changes in personal circumstances—retirement, medical issues, reduced travel, or family changes—then collide with these rigid obligations. What once felt like a celebratory purchase starts to feel like financial dead weight.
Paid-Off Palace Memberships
Many owners eventually pay off their membership or financing, only to realize their financial obligations are not truly over. They may not be traveling anymore, yet mandatory fees or dues continue. Adult children often have no interest in inheriting the membership. Financial priorities shift, especially in retirement, and the idea of paying thousands every year for unused vacations becomes hard to justify. At that point, owners look for exit options that do not involve spending even more on aggressive third-party “relief” companies.
Possible exit paths may include direct surrender requests to Palace, hardship-based appeals, or carefully documented cancellation attempts. Because Palace contracts are usually governed by Mexican law, owners are often advised in other chapters of this book to combine resort-specific information with Mexico-focused cancellation guidance rather than rely on assumptions from U.S.-based timeshares.
Palace Resorts and Credit Concerns
Credit impact is a major worry. Owners want to know whether cancellation attempts, missed payments, or disputes could affect their credit scores, or whether Palace can send accounts to collections. The answer typically depends on whether the membership is fully paid off or whether outstanding loan balances remain. If financing is involved, default can trigger collection activity and potential credit damage. Even with paid-off memberships, ignoring annual fees can lead to collection efforts, though the mechanisms and cross-border enforcement can be complex. Understanding the contractual obligations and the entity actually holding the debt is essential before deciding whether to negotiate, dispute, or stop paying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Cancel a Palace Resorts Membership? Yes. The process is more straightforward than most members expect once they understand it’s a membership agreement, not a property transfer. The full step-by-step process is covered in [How to Cancel a Palace Resorts Membership→]. Your options range from a self-guided DIY course, to a document-preparation app, to having the documents prepared for you personally.
Can I sell my Palace membership? You can attempt to transfer or resell, but demand is limited and prices are low. Be extremely cautious of unsolicited resale offers that require upfront fees.
Are maintenance fees mandatory? If your contract requires annual dues or per‑stay all‑inclusive fees, those obligations are mandatory for as long as the membership is active. However, the company that sells the timeshare is generally not the same company that owns the resorts, and therefore, closing costs and annual maintenance fees should be unnecessary.
What happens if I stop paying? The resort may suspend benefits, pursue collections. Before stopping payment, understand your legal position and consider professional advice.
About the Author
Wayne C. Robinson spent 25 years in the timeshare industry. The last 10 focused specifically on helping members cancel unwanted vacation club memberships, including firsthand experience working resort-side in Mexico.
Reference List
Official information appears on Palace’s own websites and Palace Elite materials, while consumer perspectives appear in TripAdvisor reviews, owner forums like Timeshare Users Group, Better Business Bureau complaints, cancellation‑oriented sites, and resale platforms. Together, they offer a fuller picture than any single brochure or review.
(2026). Redweek.com. https://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=20426
(2023). JustAnswer. https://www.justanswer.com/canada-law/ngo4x-offered-sum-membership-week-palace.html
An Exclusive Membership Experience | The Palace Company. (2026). Thepalacecompany.com. https://www.thepalacecompany.com/palace-elite
C, L. (2021). Buyer beware – Vacation membership with Palace Resorts. TripAdvisor. Retrieved from https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150807-d13138532-r859969487-Moon_Palace_The_Grand_Cancun-Cancun_Yucatan_Peninsula.html
International Hotel Company, LLC. (2016). Bbb.org. https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/doral/profile/hotel-reservation/palace-resorts-0633-26000893/complaints
Mexican Timeshare Solutions. (2021, December 22). PALACE RESORTS Timeshare: What is a Palace resort? Timesharescam.com; Mexican Timeshare Solutions. https://www.timesharescam.com/blog/236-palace-resorts/
Palace Resorts – Membership. (2018, August 8). SellMyTimeshareNow. https://www.sellmytimesharenow.com/palace-resorts-timeshares/palace-resorts-membership/
Palace Elite. (2026). Palace Elite. https://www.palaceelite.com/help-center/additional-benefits
Palace Resorts Timeshare Cancellation: Step-By-Step Guide. (2026, February 4). Resort Victory. https://resortvictory.com/timeshare-cancellation/palace-resorts/
Thinking of purchasing a Palace Resort membership. (2007, June 2). Timeshare Users Group Online Owner Forums. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/thinking-of-purchasing-a-palace-resort-membership.47892/
International Hotel Company, LLC | BBB Complaints | Better Business Bureau
Professional Cancellation Assistance
If you feel trapped in a Mexico vacation club membership, the most important thing you can do is speak with someone who understands how these contracts are structured and what options may be available based on your specific situation.
As a former timeshare industry executive who worked extensively in Mexico, I have helped owners understand their contracts, evaluate their options, and avoid many of the costly mistakes that can occur when dealing with unfamiliar exit companies.
Before spending thousands of dollars on a cancellation company, start with a FREE Mexico Timeshare Exit Review. I will personally review your membership, explain the potential risks and opportunities, and help you understand the options that may be available to you.
No obligation. No pressure. Just straightforward information from someone with 25 years in timeshare sales and timeshare cancellations.
Final Thoughts
Palace Resorts delivers strong all‑inclusive vacations in desirable locations, but the membership structure is complex, costly, and difficult to unwind. Ownership may make sense for travelers who run the math carefully, visit often, and understand exactly what their contract says. For others—especially those uncertain about future travel, finances, or heirs—the risks may outweigh the rewards. As with every resort we examine in this book, the goal isn’t to scare you away, but to equip you to make decisions based on facts rather than sales pressure.