Can this trip be saved? “We just had the worst vacation ever!”

Well, if you’re looking for a fun, luxurious vacation, try this:

Did they try to find alternate lodging on the island? If I were unsatisfied with my lodging, my first reaction would be to find another hotel, not jump on the next international flight.

There are many ways their trip might have been salvaged, and scrapping the rest of their time on the island was their choice.

There are VERY few all inclusive resorts on St. Maarten to begin with–like literally a few.

I agree with Brian, there were other options available to them and it seems like they were unwilling to consider any of them from the get go–renting a car as opposed to taking a taxi for instance.

Your article (their excerpts) do not indicate how long their vacation was supposed to be. How many nights did they stay? If they left one night early, no way. BUt if they left the same day, maybe–but it does not seem like that since she indicates that rain poured in the door and there were power failures.

Could this be a case of “oh shit it is raining our vacation is ruined so let’s try to get our money back”

ok, first off, if an environment as humid as it is down in the carribean, mold in the bathroom happens. Maybe the cleaning staff had a bad day?
This is an easy fix to the front desk.
Waiting 10 minutes for a drink at the bar…how many other people were at the bar? If the place was either completely empty or packed, this is not uncommon either.
Not getting the all inclusive package is an easy fix as well. Call BookIt.com. Even if the resort can not make the Toll-Free call, isn’t the $10 you’d spend on the phone call worth it to try and salvage this trip?
I can honestly say that these people need to have their blinders taken off because no trip turns out PERFECT. As much as we try, there is always going to be something that comes up. These people decided to pack it in over a few minor instances instead of enjoying all the island has to offer. Shame on them for not even attempting to fix the issues while they were on-site.
BUT, if Book-It.com already refunded their stay, they should at least refund the difference in fares for the couple leaving early.

First, a simple review at tripadvisor.com would clue you in to possible cleanliness, size and service issues. Next, did they even TRY to get other lodging in the area? I mean, to just pack it in and go home?

Finally.. I hate hate hate the close up “look how dirty my room is” photo. I mean, these always seem so nitpicky and ridiculous. Maybe there were better photos left out of your column.. but I doubt it. The “look at this cracked tile” – “do you see the stain on the carpet?” close up pictures are the photographic equivalent to the written “laundry list” of complaints. Unless especially egregious.. totally ineffective.

I wouldn’t mediate this one. The refunded resort fees seem more than fair.

I’m always baffled by this kind of complaint. You’re on a gorgeous Caribbean island — why are you hanging out in your room taking photos of the bathroom tiles? Okay, there is some stained grout in the bathroom — this is enough to ruin your vacation? Service in the Caribbean is notoriously slow; a ten-minute wait for drinks is nothing! And if the hotel was really so bad, why didn’t they try to find another hotel? It seems like they made no attempt to contact the travel agency, other than asking the resort to make a call. They really couldn’t call the agency themselves and ask to change hotels? I think the agency has done more than enough to compensate them.

I voted NO – Travellers need to be more responsible and research their trip and not always leave it up to an online booking sites to give the best reviews…this place sucked, and if they would have read up alittle more they would have known that from other travellers who visited before them. It’s unfortunate that they have lost the flight funds but it is a lesson learned. And that is the key LEARN A LESSON from this bad experience, sometimes lessons hit you in the pocket.

I googled the resort as all inclusive and it does seem that all inclusive is offered. Certainly looking at the link Chris provided, there is no mention of all inclusive. Could the description have been changed? Maybe there was a special offer? I don’t know because obviously Bookit has not updated this particular location’s description since sometime in 2009–Hello, construction ended a year ago! But, it is called a 4 star resort rather than 4.5 start as the OP mentioned so maybe the description has been modified. Tripadvisor reviews give it 4 out of 5 stars. Reviews are mixed–quite a few people complain about rude staff and overpriced food, while others just praise the place without reservation. It is possible that the OP did do her homework and simply got a lousy deal.

I do wonder why the Talleys didn’t contact Bookit right away. Also, didn’t they have a printout showing their reservation was all inclusive? I think the Talleys were lucky that they got the refund they did from Bookit. I do believe that the Talleys should receive a refund for the cost of the taxi from the airport to the resort if that was supposed to be included, although not the cost of the rental car unless no taxi was available. I am certainly staying away from that website as they seem a bit undependable and dodgy in the their description of properties.

Ordinarily I side with the OP, but I have experienced plenty of lousy properties that looked good and simply weren’t without letting it ruin my vacation. Of course, I am the type of person who goes and gets a refill for my water glass at a restaurant if the waitstaff is too slow. I slap a smile on my face and doggedly request over and over what I need–or take from behind the counter if the staff is too lazy to set up the umbrella and it is supposed to be available. I don’t let lousy attitudes ruin my vacation. I do write like crazy to all the sites to complain about a property that is really bad. I think the Talleys should do that: write a bunch of accurate reviews about how lousy the resort and Bookit were. I don’t think that you should take on the case, Chris.

While I believe ther e is room to negotiate I don’t think they are entitled to a full air fare refund. At best they are entitled to the $300 fee they paid to leave early– although I must say it would have to be a lot worse that their description to get me to leave early

A big question is if they were really promised all-inclusive. I would ask that they prove that. As far as I can tell, Divi Little Bay did have an all-inclusive meal plan available through 2009, though I can’t find any indication that it is still offered. I did note a new sites that still list the resort as all-inclusive (but not Bookit.com). If they really did book it as all-inclusive, and there should be documentation indicating that, then Bookit.com really messed up. I’ll bet, though, that they can’t produce this and just didn’t read the reservation correctly.

Either way, why didn’t they call Bookit.com while on the trip? Surely they could have called from the room? So it costs a few dollars. They could have also used the internet access in Bayview Cafe to email Bookit.com. And, why did they leave early? They can’t find a place in St. Marten they like even in this economic climate? Did they pay change fees to change the airline ticket? I would not go to bat for them. They didn’t make even a remotely reasonable effort to know what they were getting (they assumed airport transfers?), try to fix it on site, or try to salvage an expensive trip.

If it were a package deal, then the package should be refunded.

I’m with the “I don’t have enough info” to vote crowd.

“If” they have some sort of proof that the seller did sell them an all inclusive, was the room really a total disaster & were the staff really that offensive….then yes.

Also, was this their first trip to a “third” world country & they only had USA level of quality on which to base their perspectifive.

But after 50+ trips to Mexico & caribbean, most of even the best resorts do have some level of mold & mildew.

Usually a visit to the front desk manager will get a cleaning crew in motion. I’ve found that most of the time they will really try to fix a problem.

So….don’t know.

I do know that I sure wish CE was around to help me with my United problem way back when. lol

I voted no. Bookit does not indicate that this resort is all inclusive in the listing, and it seems that the reservation didn’t indicate that it was all inclusive either. If it did, the customer could have started by showing the staff the confirmed reservation, that said all inclusive. The one review on Bookit highlighted several of the issues (poor treatment by the staff) that the customer complained about. The Bookit site does not indicate that the rooms were renovated, only the bar, so I don’t know where the customer got their information.

The customer should have paid the cost of a call to Bookit before leaving, so that if they indeed paid for an all inclusive trip (and it doesn’t appear to me that they did) the hotel could correct the issue, or if the problem couldn’t be resolved so that Bookit had an opportunity to find them another resort before they left. Once they left the island, there was little Bookit could do to make it right. Also, if they had called Bookit, and advised them of the issues, the agency might have been able to get them cheaper flights, if they insisted on simply leaving the island.

They’ve already gotten their resort fees, I don’t think Bookit owes them for their flight home, since they didn’t give Bookit the opportunity to fix the problem before they left.

Nah, don’t mediate. The apology and full refund of the resort is sufficient.

Looking at Divi’s website, I see absolutely nothing about an ‘all-inclusive’ option, nor does this wording show up on Bookit.com’s site. Personally, I’m not even sure they’re really entitled to a refund at all from Bookit–it seems Bookit delivered exactly what they booked. They should produce documentation to show that an “all-inclusive” vacation was booked.

While I’m a fan of booking yourself (after doing some research), this is an instance where paying a little extra to reputable travel agent would have been in order.

Voted yes with the caveat that I think the company should cover the airline change fees but not necessarily the airfare itself.

I voted no. Make that Hell No.

I voted no, for several reasons. First, I am not sure that all the facts have been explained in the above article. I am missing information, like whether or not it really was an “all” inclusive, or if that just means it was booked as hotel + air. Was a transfer expected? Did they attempt to call the hotel and see why one was not available (if it should have been). Why rent a car, and not just get a taxi? I need way more information, and I have a feeling we are not getting all of the story.
Second, I am not so put off by the pictures. No, I would not like that in my hotel room, but I would call the front desk. Then, if they did not attempt to fix the problem, I may call again and then finally call the booking agent.
Third, as for mold and rust, that’s what happens in wet environments.
Fourth, how is a 10 minute wait for a drink ruining a vacation? If that is the worst problem they had (oh and a mean server, who probably had to listen to them complain) on this trip, then they need to grow up, or as I like to say, put on your big girl/boy pants and deal with it.
Fifth, if a service person has truly been rude (and I am of the belief that servers should always put on a happy face for the customer) then don’t tip. Easy solution.
Sixth, was there a reason that the power was off? Was it a bad storm? Without more details, not sure this is even a valid complaint. Power outages happen, not fun on a vacation, but you just relax and go with it.
Seventh, why could they not have called bookit.com. The call would not have been that expensive. And if there was a charge from the hotel room and it was a legitimate complaint, I am betting either the hotel or bookit.com would have refunded the money spent on the phone call.
Eighth, how long was the vacation supposed to be for? They left early, but did they ever really give the hotel/bookit.com time to make things right.
I would say take this case IF and this is a big IF, they have proof of their “all inclusive” vacation purchase and that is what they purchased, then bookit.com owes them the money. However, I think they got too much with the refund of the hotel room already.
I briefly went on-line to see about all inclusives and even those hotels marketing an all inclusive vacation have asteriks all over the place, with things like, you may pay extra for this, service charge for that. So I, like others, really wonder whether the hotel even has an inclusive package.

I’ve been to the Bahamas and the Caymans. Things there aren’t all RUSH RUSH RUSH like the USA when it comes to pubs, restaurants…even the Burger King on Grand Bahama we stopped at (my traveling partner insisted) was very slow.

I lived on the Gulf Coast of Florida for a few years as well and even in a well built and kept up apartment with the humidity and bugs all the time, battling the elements of nature is a constant problem. Mold, gnats in my carpet, the cat getting fleas, etc it’s endless.

Oh and yes we took a taxi on Grand Bahama. I think they’re pretty common in most places even Mongolia.

People need to research these things on multiple websites before purchasing. I usually check on average 5 sites from the official Tourist site to Tripadvisor before I spend one dollar.

I think they need to suck it up as a learning experience.

No — I’ve stayed at the Divi Little Bay as a timeshare exchange in 2000, long before any Hurricane Omar and their resort is one of the many resorts that are prizes on Live With Regis and Kelly.
I had no issue with the resort or with Sint Maarten (Dutch spelling). In fact, I’d stay there again.

I think they should have tried to change hotels if they didn’t want to pay the extra flight fare. The Book.it people did refund their stay, which means they would have had the money to stay someplace else. Of course, they wouldn’t know that ’till they got home, but it probably would have been cheaper than changing flights.
No, don’t bother going to bat for them on the airfare.

I can’t believe that this is even making your column Chris! It sounds like a case of a bunch of Wendy Whiners again. Unless you didn’t publish a lot of proof that substantiated their claim, we’re left with nothing other than two pathetic photos of a door stop and a stain in the grout, and of course Wendy Whiner looking for money.

I visit St. Maarten frequently as a dear friend of mine lives there. She lives/rents at a resort and yes, her accommodation was totally renovated one year ago. Does it show the same type of problems, yes as it’s the Caribbean, heat and humidity people! And building standards aren’t the same, and you’ll always find “professional” builders that don’t exactly take pride in their workmanship. Anyone that visits the Caribbean should know about “Island Time” and that’s exactly what one should expect. Not snap-your-fingers and someone jumps. Chill, relax, that’s what your vacation is all about.

Did Wendy Whiner substantiate her claim about all-inclusive and transfers? I can’t find any listing that shows all-inclusive with airport transfers included. And why would it be the properties responsiblity to call bookit.com? They can take a taxi from the airport for $25 USD or take one of the many little buses that run for $1-3 around the island. For bookit to refund anything to Wendy Whiner was a bonus and this moron does not deserve one more penny.

Forgive me if I’m beating a dead horse but I just feel I need to share this.
The first time I went to the Islands (Bahamas) one of the things I really LOVED was that slow pace about life. I think in the USA it’s far too much of a hurry for everything.

My traveling partner and I really got into the entire experience of talking to the Native’s. The Bahamian people are so NICE and friendly – all you have to do is talk to them and they are so happy that you aren’t there just to hang around the hotel.

We visited a local’s pub where it was just native Bahamian’s. It was kind of a shack. But we had free drinks (!!!) galore and many Bahamian locals to talk to. They are fascinating people and love it when you don’t act like the typical “I’m just here to expect USA” person.

Then we rented mopeds and drove all over the Island and when running low on petrol we found a (for lack of a better word) little one stop town. The petrol station was also a pub. We were heartily invited in to watch an American football game on a very grainy Black & White TV and the people there were so HAPPY to talk with us and helpful.

A trip to a location with cultural differences is what you make of it. My trip has made me love the Bahamas so much more than if I had just hung around the pool waiting for a drink.

The bathroom tiles look disgusting. I wouldn’t shower without wearing flip-flops.

Learn a lesson…..deal with real live people that have real live knowledge. Please let travelers learn from their errors. You have advocated front office travel agents for a long time for cruises, vacations, and honeymoons. The online sites offer thier in house ratings, not an AAA or Mobi guide review. Onlines are their to close the sale, not say, did you know that the Sonesta is a better hotel? USE AN ASTA travel agent and your worries will be greatly removed. BTW, I have had this happen to clients that found bedbugs in the room, and my wholesaler and I had them in another hotel and a great room with no extra cost!