The homeowners’ association of Four Seasons Resort Nevis filed a $100 million lawsuit on August 11 against Nevis Peak Holdings, the entity that owns the luxury Caribbean resort, alleging years of neglect and infrastructure failures at the property.
According to the complaint filed in Delaware Chancery Court, the 66 homeowners representing 89 villas say the five-star resort has deteriorated significantly despite their substantial financial commitments. Members paid $100,000 to join the resort and contribute upward of $13,000 annually in membership fees, plus management charges of 25% on resort work and 15% on major construction projects.
The association claims homeowners have paid more than $20 million in management and club fees since 2013 for repairs that were never completed. In return, the lawsuit alleges, members are living in a deteriorating property with missing pool tiles, broken golf carts, non-functioning fitness equipment, and trash scattered across the golf course. The complaint also details electrical transformers that are secondhand and older than the resort itself, which opened in 1991, and water systems that fail to function during the island’s dry season.
Nevis Peak Holdings is owned by Cascade, the family office of Bill Gates, which acquired the resort in 2016. As of January 2022, Cascade held a 71.25% stake in the broader Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts company, with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal holding 23.75%. Four Seasons Hotels manages the Nevis property but was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The most visible complaint centers on the aftermath of an October 2022 fire that destroyed the golf pro shop and fitness center. Nearly four years later, those facilities remain unbuilt, replaced only by a fence around the rubble. The association says Nevis Peak carries no fire insurance on the property, meaning all reconstruction costs fall on the owner. An assessment attributed to Four Seasons concluded the resort needs more than $65 million in work, with over $20 million tied to replacing the fire-damaged facilities and renovating the spa.
The association claims it has spent $1.4 million of its own money over four years on electrical and infrastructure repairs it argues were the owner’s responsibility. The homeowners are asking the court to compel Nevis Peak to address the problems or to award damages exceeding $100 million based on alleged losses in property value and rental potential.
This is not the first time the resort’s owners and residents have clashed. After Hurricane Omar devastated the property in October 2008, the previous owner failed to rebuild, prompting a lawsuit that was settled in 2013. That settlement included promises that the owner would hold semiannual meetings with the homeowners’ board and provide financial transparency. According to the current complaint, those commitments have not been honored even after Cascade took over, and the promised five-year spending plan from a 2022 meeting never materialized.
Cascade Asset Management told Forbes it intends to “vigorously defend itself against the claims, which it believes are entirely without merit.” The company did not immediately provide additional comment, and Nevis Peak Holdings did not respond to requests for comment. The court has not yet ruled on the allegations.
Sources
- Forbes — reported the lawsuit filing, the specific maintenance complaints, the October 2022 fire details, the $65 million repair assessment, and Cascade’s statement
- Times Caribbean Online — confirmed the August 11 filing date, the $100 million damages figure, the 66 owners of 89 villas, the $20 million in fees paid since 2013, the $1.4 million the association spent on repairs, and the prior 2013 Hurricane Omar settlement
