If I never have to step foot into one of these resorts, I'll be a happy person. Why, you ask? Let me start with Los Cabos, 2011. My husband and I went there to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary, but didn't get to our hotel until almost 5 hours after we landed, as everyone in the airport and the car rental place were trying to sell us timeshares. Once we finally arrived to our destination, you guessed it, the staff was also trying to book us for, yet, another timeshare presentation (this only in Mexico). I have traveled all over the world and I've never been so dissapointed/disgusted. One of the tours they convinced us to go on, and was kind of forced on us because of the rental of the car, was the Grand Mayan. We attended the presentation and Karen Szabo introduced us to the "Not A Timeshare" option, but rather, the VIP option. She gave us all these reasons for upgrading our fully paid, not only ocean front, but oceanview, timeshare. Here are some of the features she mentioned that, only by going to Riviera Maya this year, found out none of what she stated was true: 1. "All of our rooms are designed to be ocean view. We don't build anything that's not ocean view." - Found out the hardway that not all the rooms or hotels are ocean front. 2. "So you don't have to deal with the stress of car rentals, we offer complimentary shuttle from and to the airport." - Found out it's only complimentary one-way, which makes no sense! 3. "This will be your home resort and you can switch to any of our resorts." 4. "None of our resorts get fully booked, for we only allow 83% of our resorts to be booked. This way the resort is not crowded." - We went recently and the Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan was at full capacity. 5. The Grand Mayan is your home resort. - Found out I don't have a home resort and that she sold us Mayan Palace and not Grand Mayan and, therefore, we are not even entitled to go to Los Cabos. Not only did Karen lie to us directly to our faces, she never mentioned there were different catergories of hotels within your business. Never did she mention that The Mayan Palace was different, when we decided to purchase my husband asked to see what we were getting, again, just so there was no confusion, and she glady walked us through the Grand Mayan studio, which she said we could easily upgrade to 2 rooms for an additional $200. This was all confirmed by the person who finalized everything. He asked why we chose to upgrade and we stated the reasons above and he agreed that we were getting all that and more, like the option to upgrade to 2 rooms and an additional 2 weeks for the first 10 years. That we would only pay the maintenence fee if and when we used our deeded weeks. We were so happy! Only, that didn't last long. I called last year to see if we could go to Riviera Maya for the holidays and was told that the first year I had to go to my home resort, "Cabo", so I ended up going to Bahamas instead. This year when I tried to make my reservations, they told me Los Cabos was full, but that I could go to Riviera Maya. I was so excited about this, since I had heard great things about Riviera Maya. So I booked it and booked my airline tickets and added an extra night. We were going to celebrate our 11 year wedding aniversary in a beautiful place. WRONG!!! This place seemed like we downgraded and paid thousands of dollars to do so. First, the room was musty, very old, and unsafe. For example, one of the sliding doors would open, even though it was locked. Also, the view was obstructed by trees. Since this was not my idea of paradise, I went to the Front Desk and learned the hard way that Karen had lied to us. That not every room is built to be ocean view. This left a lingering feeling that something seemed horribly wrong. Why were the rooms so awful when we were shown "paradise" in the presentation that brought us here? What was with the concrete like beds? I learned that we were at the Mayan Palace and not the Grand Mayan. I then, quickly, went to the reception area and asked why we were placed in the wrong hotel and not the Grand Mayan. After the hostess called the "right person," I found out that our contract was for the Mayan Palace and not the Grand Mayan!!!??? At that point, I was beside myself, but felt it could be addressed in our Owners Meeting the next day, where we were supposed to be able to explain our many concerns. So I figured, let me not waste any more time of my day and we'll talk about it on Monday. Monday came and we spoke with Sergio, another timeshare representative. He had heard us out then quickly tried to upsell us to the Grand Mayan. UGGGGGGGGHHH!!!! At that point, my frustration level had hit the roof. Why would I want to pay $16,000 more for something I should have already? He kept trying to upsell us, but he just didn't get it. He said that as long as we go to our home resort, "Los Cabos," we would get Grand Mayan since there is no Mayan Palace in Cabo (I wonder how did we get Mayan Palace if we purchased in Los Cabos since no one ever mentioned we were getting downgraded to that *** you all call The Mayan Palace). Then comes Ryan, a supposed "higher up," stating he had heard our dilemma and wanted to make it better. So, what does he do, he tries to do the same song and dance, only this time, the special price for us has dropped to a whopping $6,000. SERIOUSLY!!!??? Let's get real, why would I pay for something that I'm supposed to have already? Then he really pissed me off. He called the Los Cabos resot and came back to us laughing saying, "Oh yeah, Karen is the Manager's girlfriend." Really!!!???He went on to state that they had trouble with Los Cabos timeshare consultants sales practices before. That they mislead people and that at the Riviera Maya, they had just fired around 90% of their sales representatives for the same reason. They misled me. I'm sorry, I'm still not hearing how your gonna make this better for me. Rather, you are just admitting that I was lied to/mislead and then you are trying to upsell me? Ryan exclaims, "Well, we are building a multi-million dollar water park in front of our resort and you are really gonna wanna upgrade for all of the benefits." Here we go again, REALLY!!!???, You are trying to upsell me to have money to finance this multi-million dollar park, but you are not listening to my complaint! We then said to him, "Listen, we'll just have to go to Los Cabos and try to see why she lied to us." Ryan chimmed in, "You can't go to Los Cabos. That's only for Grand Mayan clients." We then said, "But, Ryan, that's our home resort?" Ryan retorted, "There is no such thing as a home resort. You don't have a home resort, you only have Mayan Palace, therefore, you can only go to the resorts in the Mayan Palace List." I cried out, "I'm done, Ryan. Done talking to you." He then told my huband he was going to try to see what he could do and would call us. He never called us. We also complained to Elizabeth, the manager there. She seemed to be able to do more than the sales people. She got you to follow up with us. What I would like is to terminate my contract and get a full refund. I was happy with what I had before, and thought I was upgrading, but, instead, I was downgraded. Did I mention how I have tried to cancel this contract with all parties that I came in contact with? Not one person, including anyone from the toll free number on my statements, Sergio, nor Ryan could tell me how to do this? I have no hope, as of now, that anything will be resolved as you need the money to keep building and misleading this empire you have amassed. A side note, Ryan did say that my studio is worthless in present day timeshares, even if it is paid off. That I wouldn't get any money back. I know this is a long letter and it may take a few minutes to read, however, I spent three hours in your Owners Meeting and a few more explaining this to people in the resort. It really kills me that nothing was resolved since it killed precious vacation hours for both my guests and my husband and I. I am now off of my vacation and it still urks me and bothers me to a great extent. While I was happy about my initial purchase and was recommending the resort to my family and friends last year, this year will be all about making sure they stay as far away as possible from this resort. Even if they see a Groupon or Living Social deal online (tickles me, how a non owner gets to stay at Grand Mayan for $399 per week and gets a $200 credit with meals included) I will steer them clear of this. This is by far the worse vacation experience of my life. Never again! Never again! Never again! DON'T EVER PURCHASE FROM THESE PEOPLE, SPECIALLY KAREN SZABO
Hi there,sorry for that...timeshare scam actually is very common , i was on a nasty situation months ago but my luck change , a friend of mine told me about Timeshare solutions, and yes , they help me with the task , the difference about all other timeshare cancellation fake companies is that they are officially approved by BBB :
www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/timeshare-advocates/mexican-timeshare-solutions-in-hayward-ca-383105
They are pretty good,so in their site has multiple articles, here is one in relation about timeshare cancellation:
www.timesharescam.com/blog/206-how-to-get-out-of-a-timeshare/
hope can help you , good luck
Dear Readers,
We understand that, as consumers, people have concerns about what their sales experience with a company will be like. According to a few of the complaints we have received, some of our valued customers feel that our sales process is inappropriate.
We value and respect both our members and non members. Their concerns are very important to us and we are diligently working to resolve any complaints that they may have.
Some of the complaints stated concerns with our sales presentation process. Though, there are ways that consumers can improve their experiences during these presentations and actually enjoy themselves.
First of all, it is best to be knowledgeable about what to expect when attending these presentations.
In some of the complaints we received, the consumerโs experience could have been far different had they first researched, the product or service being offered. One of the most important things a consumer can do during a sales presentation is ask questions. You will find that our sales associates are knowledgeable and willing to answer any of your questions. This is the best way to alleviate any concerns you might have and to gather more information to help you make an informed and responsible decision.
A misconception regarding our sales process is the cause of some of the complaints we have received.
Our sales process is no different from that of any other company that is offering similar services and products. It is totally understandable that for consumers with little sales experience, it is easy to misconceive the way a sales process works.
With us, you get exactly what you pay for. Regarding your desire to rent your week, bear in mind that the contact our members sign clearly states that the company makes no representations regarding the market for vacation ownership rentals, nor recommends buying this product for rentals or investment.
Because this is signed โand mentioned twice in the contractโ and this is check marked it in the summary, we assumed all our members are aware from the first moment of this situation. There is no bait and switch, as has been suggested in a number of complaints as this one. There are a number of different products being offered at the same time; however, the contract is very clear as to what the person is getting. Brochures and floor plans of the purchased unit are also provided.
We allow people to make their own informed decisions about what we have to offer, and would never take advantage of a valued customer. We take any slander against our hard working team very seriously and we work hard to ensure our reputation and the jobs of thousands of individuals that work diligently to please all our guests is not put at risk by false and unrestrained accusations such as these. Being that said, Mayan Palace scam is a false claim. We will work tirelessly to dispel this myth.
For any customers or potential customers that might have concerns about us, please contact our Customer Support staff. They will answer all of your questions honestly and will discuss any concerns you might have. Our customersโ satisfaction is our number one priority and we are all committed to excellence and integrity.
Thank you for your time. The Customer Support Team Email: grupomayanblog@***.com
Your attempt to put lipstick on a pig is a joke. Yes a document is signed acknowledging your not buying for rental, however that's ALL the sales reps talk about because that's what they're trained to do.
Saying that the peoples complaints about what actually happens over and over again is slander leaves you with zero credibility. The blog dept you spew for is simply a spin dept..
Well said Storm So true