Jessica Oelcher booked a stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in Cancún. She had to cancel the trip and was told that her $1,900 prepayment was refundable, less a $600 penalty. But, she didn’t receive the refund. Can we help her obtain her refund from the Hard Rock Hotel? Read more “Why is the Hard Rock Hotel making it so hard to get a refund?”
Tag: ALL-INCLUSIVE
This all-inclusive vacation really headed south, thanks to Expedia — or did it?
Tammy Wellendorf’s vacation is falling apart and Expedia won’t help her pick up the pieces.
Read more “This all-inclusive vacation really headed south, thanks to Expedia — or did it?”
Orbitz will now refund the money you spent when it canceled your hotel reservation in Jamaica
Cathy Driscoll booked a room at the Azul Sensatori, an all-inclusive resort in in Negril, Jamaica. She made the reservation through Orbitz.
The online travel agency charged her credit card $3,193 and sent her a confirmation.
Then it backed out.
Read more “Orbitz will now refund the money you spent when it canceled your hotel reservation in Jamaica”
The Travel Troubleshooter: Help! I paid twice for my all-inclusive vacation
Question: We recently made arrangements to go to visit the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino through a company called Cheap Caribbean. The hotel has an all-inclusive option, which includes meals, beverages and activities, and quoted us the price of $5,701.
Imagine the absolute horror we encountered when we got to the Marriott and were told that our reservation with them was for the room only — no all-inclusive. Since we booked an all-inclusive we took only a small amount of cash, which would not have been enough for a week’s worth of meals and liquid refreshments.
When we called Cheap Caribbean Customer Service from the Marriott check-in desk, they wanted another $3,000 to make it an all-inclusive. After many, many phone calls between Cheap Caribbean, Marriott and my daughter, Cheap Caribbean and the three of us agreed to split the additional cost just to get the matter resolved and behind us. We had already lost what equaled a whole day of our vacation and wanted to get on with enjoying the short time we had left.
We feel that we were ripped off by Cheap Caribbean. We were quoted a vacation deal and they should have honored it. We wrote to the president of Cheap Caribbean but never received an answer. Can you help us? — Esther Mikula, Tinley Park, Ill.
Answer: You shouldn’t have to pay twice for your all-inclusive vacation. Cheap Caribbean and Marriott should have honored your reservation without charging you more.
Read more “The Travel Troubleshooter: Help! I paid twice for my all-inclusive vacation”
An all-inclusive hotel that wasn’t
Question: I hope you can help me with an issue that came up with our recent cruise on Celebrity that included a hotel the night before. When I scheduled the cruise, I added one night prior in San Juan at the Gran Melia Puerto Rico, because the hotel was offering an all-inclusive option, according to the cruise line.
I paid $634 for this property, believing I would receive not only a pre-night hotel with my meals and drinks, but also transportation to the pier the very next day to begin the cruise with my husband.
When I presented the voucher at the hotel on the scheduled date the front desk representative informed me that there was no reservation under my name. I quickly contacted my travel agent and the cruise line directly and over an hour later I was called back to the front desk and they checked us in. But they didn’t offer an all-inclusive option.
I called Celebrity back after settling into our room to find out why there was a mix-up, and they said there was nothing they could do about it. Since I had no other choice, I paid for my meals at the hotel — a total of $188 for dinner, breakfast and beverages. I also had to pay for a taxi to the port the next day.
I have called Celebrity since our return, sent e-mails and written a letter with copies of the vouchers and receipt, and the only answer we get is that we were refunded the $80 for the taxi and they are unable to grant our request for additional compensation. Can you help? — Vanessa Thompson, Toms River, N.J.
Answer: You should have been offered an all-inclusive — and hassle-free — room at the Gran Melia. Instead, you spent more than an hour of your hard-earned vacation arguing with your cruise line about a reservation. That’s not good.
Read more “An all-inclusive hotel that wasn’t”