A New Place to Get Bare in the Grand Canyon State

NEW ARIZONA VENTURE FOR 3 RESORT OWNERS

The owners of De Anza Springs, Laguna del Sol and Paradise Lakes & Valley have joined forces on a new venture near Tucson, Arizona. Dave & Helen Landman, Wayne & Suzanne Schell and Joe & Becky Lettelleir are equal partners in this exciting new clothing-optional resort.

Mira Vista Resort is located on 30 acres in Marana, immediately Northwest of Tucson. The property has a fascinating history, dating back to the 1850s. It has gone through several name and ownership changes, but has been in continuous operation. It was known most recently as Coyote Moon Resort & Spa. The pool area was already clothing-optional under the prior management, so nude use will not pose any problems.

Current facilities include 14 guest suites - mostly 2 rooms each, restaurant and lounge, deluxe fitness center, swimming pool and spa, huge covered and furnished pool-adjacent outdoor ramada, spa treatment center, tennis court, old West “town” and beautiful saguaro cactus-filled grounds and desert vistas. It is truly in turnkey condition, requiring almost no modifications to open for guests. This doesn’t mean that plans aren’t being made for additional facilities though. Condominiums have already been approved for the location, but were never built under the prior ownership. The partners would also like to develop RV sites in the future. Mira Vista Resort is located just 3 miles off of I-10 and 22 miles from Tucson International Airport. It is also just 90 minutes from Phoenix.

The partnership of three AANR club owners from different parts of the country is unprecedented in AANR history. Wayne and Suzanne Schell go back the furthest with their nudist beginnings at Glen Eden in the 1960s. They bought Laguna del Sol, outside of Sacramento, CA (then named Rawhide Ranch) in 1984 as a medium-sized club with 450 members on 70 acres and spent the next 21 plus years gradually transforming it into a 1700 member deluxe resort, now occupying 250 acres. It is still a work-in-progress, with new improvements and additions every year.

Dave and Helen Landman joined Laguna del Sol in 1991, and were members there until their purchase of De Anza Springs, E of San Diego, in 1997. At the time, the Jacumba 500 acre property was a non-operating RV Park in disrepair. The beautiful location adjacent to Anza Borrego State Park has become a very popular club and has over 500 members and is still steadily growing. Many improvements and additions have been completed with more to come. De Anza will host its 2nd AANR convention in its short history this August.

Joe and Becky Lettelleir (along with 2 partners) bought Paradise Lakes, N of Tampa, FL in 1999 and Paradise Valley, N of Atlanta, GA (formerly named Hidden Valley) in 2004. Paradise Lakes has continued the pace of expansion and improvement that has been underway since 1980, when it was created by original owner Fred Bischoff. It now has over 5000 members, by far the largest in the country and probably the world. Paradise Valley has undergone a dramatic transformation under the Lettelleirs’ ownership, while retaining beautiful, woodsy surroundings.

Dave and Helen Landman saw an article in a Yuma, AZ newspaper about the demise of the Coyote Moon Resort and David visited the property the last week of December. It was not even listed for sale. He immediately realized its potential as a nudist club and destination resort. Joe Lettelleir and Wayne Schell, along with Helen, visited 2 weeks later after Dave asked if they might be interested in a partnership. The Landmans had been looking at properties in Arizona for the past couple of years and the Lettelleirs had also looked at several properties in the southwest over the same period. The Schells were not planning on becoming involved in a new business, but the opportunity and potential proved impossible to resist! There has been demand for more high-end nudist resorts, particularly in places with warm winter climates. With the 2005 closure of the rustic Jardin del Sol, coincidentally, also in Marana, Shangri-La Ranch north of Phoenix was the only remaining AANR landed club in Arizona. The Tucson area not only has a year-round population of over one million people to support a local membership base, it is a major winter snowbird destination and home to some of the best golf and spa resorts in the country. Marana itself is the fastest growing city in Arizona. The fabled Canyon Ranch originated there and began the concept of the “spa vacation”. Mira Vista Resort might well become just as famous as a clothing-optional destination resort.

The new partners are excited to be working together at Mira Vista Resort. They spent 2 days there in mid-February, brainstorming on such things as the new name. They will be applying for an AANR charter as a 100% club. Individual, couple and family memberships will be available. In addition, full members of Paradise Lakes, Paradise Valley, De Anza Springs, Laguna del Sol and Coyote Moon will be able to upgrade to an “Ultimate” membership, entitling them to up to 45 days each per year at any or all of the other resorts. Many AANR members have been asking for joint memberships or discount cards along this line for years. While the 2 Paradise clubs have just recently offered dual memberships, this will be the first link between some of the top nudist destinations in the country under different ownerships. This new option will make it more affordable for current members as well as everyone else who is planning on spending time at a variety of resorts across the country.

Watch here as our Mira Vista Resort site develops or call (520) 744-2355 for more information and reservations. The opening day is projected to be around mid-April.


Source: http://www.miravistaresort.com/press060301.htm