Imagine for just a moment, a beautifully designed, themed destination resort. One built with well thought-out details and mindful consideration of the amenities it offers. Now locate this resort in the warmth of the Floridian sun and provide entertainment and activities for rain and shine, day and night. Envision a place that will make you smile upon your arrival, and, when it’s time to leave, feel excited about your next return.

Now imagine that this is a resort that you know will deliver a fun time with each visit because it was conceived, built and operated, specifically, for the gay community in mind.

And as a member-only resort, this one will provide a meeting place for members who can feel secure, included and at ease. Ideal for comfortable socializing with old and new friends while simply being you. And with a variety of amenities and venues, offering activities and entertainment on a daily basis, you’ll be sure to find the right fit to match any given mood on any given day.

A mix of ancient, classical and neo-classical architecture, woven with modern tech, will provide a range of social, physical and entertainment experiences to remember.

Welcome to Róme

Whether a member is local, and visits for an hour after work, lives regionally and comes for a weekend, or travels in from out of state for a week or longer, Rome won’t disappoint in providing a relaxing, yet fun-filled, stay. And since the resort is specifically built and operated for our members, a stay won’t break the bank. Rome will, indeed, be fantastic.

My name is Tom Carlucci. If you are not familiar with me at all, I plan to change that over the next few months. Those of you that do know me, may have already heard me talk about this idea, as the concept of Róme has been something I have been thinking about for a very long time. I’ve pondered with the idea, given focused thought about what should and should not be included and worked and re-worked the essential layout, until I finally reached an overall concept and plan that I feel is ideal for the member experience. And now it my mission to bring Róme to life for all of us.

Now it would be fantastic if I could get it all ready to go and just invite everyone to come and enjoy it, but a project of this scope is ambitious, and it’s going to cost a few shekels, and while I am going to put all I have into it, I, frankly, still won’t have quite enough of those shekels to complete Róme by myself. Now I feel strongly that I am not alone in wanting such a great place for us to have. And I believe that there are enough of us to pull together, a little bit, and make this happen. So this is my official call for your help to bring this project to fruition.

To this end, I have created The Róme Venture, essentially a social club to connect all of us that know we want such a resort-like social, recreational and entertainment complex, and to promote the project to those wanting the same, but aren’t yet aware that we’ve begun the process.

In order to help, I am, humbly, asking that you become a member of The Róme Venture and encourage your gay friends and straight allies, the ones that you most enjoy socializing with, to become members as well. Sharing this idea with our individual circles of friends will let us form a network of connected friends. This word-of-mouth and social media sharing will be efficient, fast and build a strong membership community.

I’m confident, that in a relatively short period of time, we can arrange the necessary amount to fund the construction of what I, honestly, feel will be one of…if not the, top lgbtq resorts in the United States.

Now you may be thinking if this venture is really feasible? The short answer is yes. Our community is large and it is strong. And while we all have a variety of likes and interests, we all can agree that we always want a safe and fun place to escape to from time to time, and that is exactly what Róme will offer, while also being a hub of community service. I know we can do this. Plus this will be yet another amazing example of how we can pull together to achieve something we want and can be proud of. And I assure you, I will be working my damndest to not let you down.

So what is the benefit of becoming a member?
Membership in the Róme Venture means you’ll have a pre-registered guest account for the Róme resort property, when completed, so you can visit as often as you’d like. You may be wondering what is planned for the property. The plans include a number of pools, a number of unique bars and lounges located throughout the property. There are several theme galleries, two theaters, a fitness and wellness center, community assistance services access, a cafe, a few shops, an event hall, restaurant, a dance club and, of course, guestrooms. You’ll also have access to the Róme Venture’s web-site and social media pages, where you’ll be able to easily stay up to date on the developments, construction and, ultimately, the finishing work and opening of the resort.

Why become a member now?
Besides the enjoyment of being able to follow the highs and lows, challenges and successes of the overall process, there are two main reasons. The first is, and to be fair, because a significant proof of demand is needed sooner than later, in order to secure some early funding. The chosen property (there are currently six under consideration) for the project will need to be secured before it gets purchased by another buyer, in addition there are some technical tasks that will serve us better to get started as soon as possible. The second reason …and this is meant to be a shameless incentive …is that becoming a member now, will get you the best membership level at the lowest membership rate. I feel you folks that are willing to join me in becoming members early deserve extra benefits. As we advance along, hitting major milestones, and word spreads, and interest continues to grow, the membership structure will change and the membership fees will increase.

A grander hope is that Róme will go beyond offering an amazing destination for members. I also hope to see it be a vehicle to support social and civic advances for our community. And to support this additional goal, members will have the opportunity to buy ownership into the property. More member ownership will mean faster loan repayment, thus freeing up revenue to be used for funding community support and outreach programs.

So to get things going, I’m asking you to secure a membership for just an initiation cost of $50. This initiation fee is going to be considered and recorded as a microloan, so you’re going to get it back. And you, as a “Founding Member”, will also have no annual dues until the second year of operation, and your dues will be set at just ten dollars, a level that will never be increased for as long as you are a member. This is the best offer I could think of to offset the wait time to the opening. And it’s the best offer that there will be going forward. Memberships acquired later (closer to groundbreaking and opening) will have higher annual dues levels.

Now perhaps you feel you may never visit Florida, and so a membership doesn’t make sense for you, but, hopefully, you admire and support the idea and would like to make a small donation towards our efforts. If this is you, please know that a donation would be truly appreciated and most welcomed, and will be fully applicable should you ever wish to take on a membership in the future.

If you have any questions at this stage, or would like to offer a suggestion or comment, please feel free to contact me directly at: tom@TheRomeVenture.com To learn more, or to secure your membership, please visit TheRomeVenture.com site, our Facebook page, Instagram or Youtube channel. (For your convenience, the answers to some of the anticipated questions can be found on the FAQ page of our website.)

I thank you very much for letting me share this project with you, and for your becoming a member. I hope we can count on your support for this worthy and exciting project, and because we’re going to do this, I look forward to seeing you at Róme