While on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico, November 2008, my husband and I were aggressively approached about selling our already owned vacation club with Sol Melia and to purchase the Sandos vacation club with Royal Elite. We were assured that Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts would pay the balance due on our Sol Melia vacation club and we would become new members with them. Obviously, there is no need to have two vacation clubs. While in Mexico, we paid the initial down payment for membership with Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts. Our expectations of Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts as presented to us by them that they conducted a higher level of customer service and excellent quality of hotel accommodations. We were told that the first monthly payment would be due in December 2008. Problems started early when we returned home with the inability to reach a live person at Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts for answers to our questions. Therefore, the first monthly payment was not paid until January 2009. We had several questions and gave them more than a reasonable opportunity to respond and correct the issues.

In addition, we sent several emails to Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts with specific questions about membership and the finalization of the purchase of our current vacation membership with Sol Melia. We received only one response informing us that we should receive answers to our questions in the near future. We never did receive any future responses. Again, we made several phone calls to Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts and received no responses.

Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts aggressively took our money from the credit card; however, they refuse to respond to our emails or telephone calls. They need to be put in check: corrected, monitored and controlled. As a result, their serious fraudulent (stated our Sol Melia vacation club account would be paid off), unscrupulous (would not reply to our emails and telephones calls concerning paying off our Sol Melia vacation club), breach of contract (did not pay off our Sol Melia vacation club account) by Royal Elite at Sandos Hotels & Resorts are the reasons we had to request that our bank close our the credit card and reclaim the monies. We do not need or want a business relationship with a company that outright disrespects, lies, ignores and take advantage of the consumers.

Beware and cautious when approached by the aggressive salesperson offering you “free stuff” to go to a vacation club-meeting while on vacation. You can be “easy-pickings” because you are on vacation and relaxed--and they know that. Therefore, do not make any serious business or financial decisions while vacationing—period!