The Mexican resort claims to offer ‘luxury, comfort, ambience and unique exclusivity’ according to its website. However, recent guests to the resort don’t seem to agree with their proud description of themselves. In the past few months they have received a barrage of complaints on TripAdvisor. The complaints are a mixture of the construction that is taking place on site at the moment, but over and above this, as this is only temporary, the more serious complaints are regarding their heavy duty timeshare presentations.
The last review, made by a Canadian couple, was far from the happy holiday maker review one would expect. They were already members of the Vida Vacations Club, and were asked to spend two mornings of their holiday at two separate presentations, the first they attended, lasted 3 hours. They were then pre-warned by other holidaymakers not to go to the second presentation as it was a viewing of the other resort, and many had been abandoned there for almost a full day with no way of returning.
Due to the fact that the couple decided to opt out of the second meeting, they were told that they were not co-operating and would not qualify for the rewards that they had been expecting as members. One would think that members would already qualify for rewards etc, as they have already paid for their membership. However, this does not seem so at the Grand Mayan. The forceful sales tactics continue even after you have become a member of Vida Vacations.
The hotel is undergoing construction, which is always beneficial in the long run to guests, however, the guests that are visiting during the construction, should be advised that it is taking place, which doesn’t seem to have been the case in many of the comments.
Another review on TripAdvisor from an owner at Grand Mayan for 5 years was terribly disappointing. They initially purchased a week in a one-bedroomed apartment, which 3 years later they upgraded to ‘kingdom of the sun’ accommodation, which was sold to them as their best option. This accommodation was meant to be completed at the end of 2016, but now due to complete by 2018. However, even though they had this ‘super-duper’ package, the couple met others around the pool that were staying in much more luxurious accommodation. This couple were on a promotional holiday.
Vidanta have been described as ‘Scammers’ by the guests whom have purchased. Funnily enough, the reviews from non-owners seem to be much better. Even the owners with the upgraded package seem to be treated as second class compared to those whom have booked on a promotional holiday. This, of course, is all part of their sales tactics, Vida Vacations Club obviously want the non-owners to purchase into the club, so they receive the best treatment and service. Those whom have already purchased, they do not need to worry about as much as they already have their money in the bank. This seems like very shoddy business practice, and we at the TCA are interested in hearing from other Vida Vacations members to verify their practices, and share their experiences with others who are thinking about staying with or purchasing the membership.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk