Royal Holiday Club
5 stars | | (0) |
4 stars | | (0) |
3 stars | | (0) |
2 stars | | (0) |
1 stars | | (46) |
|
Category: Travel
Contact Information United States
|
Royal Holiday Club Reviews
|
Joyce Salansky
March 28, 2009
membership
How can a person get out of a membership from this deal? They keep raising their fees and don't give you a choice. They're underhanded.
Joyce Salansky
|
|
pascal
February 23, 2009
Misrepresentation
This letter is to summarize the misrepresentations of material facts that occurred during the contact signing, between myself and Royal Holiday. These misrepresentations and damages remain regardless of my earlier attempts communicate and have your company correct them.
Your recent letter and billings both reminded me and prompted to perform further investigation of the misrepresentation or Royal Holiday and damages inflicted upon me a a result.
On 2-20-2006, I entered into an Contract for Services with Royal Holliday, based upon but not limited to the following written promises:
1) 25, 000 points per year for 30 years or 750, 000 total points.
2) Annuity retuning 100% of the cost of the membership at the end of the term
3) 15, 000 pts for oasis
4) 5 weeks in Europe - $199 per week
5) 1 week in Hawaii
6) 1 week in Tahiti
7) Airfare Voucher - $3000
8) The points could be accelerated or accumulated, transferred or rented or sold back at the purchase price.
9) I could put my account on hold at anytime if cash flow was bad and they would role over the missed payments
Of the topical list above I did not receive the following items, as promised in writing at the time of contracting Royal Holiday:
1) Annuity retuning 100% of the cost of the membership at the end of the term
2) 15, 000 pts for Oasis
3) 5 weeks in Europe - $199 per week
4) 1 week in Hawaii
5) 1 week in Tahiti
6) The points could be accelerated or accumulated, transferred or rented or sold back at the purchase price.
7) I could put my account on hold at anytime if cash flow was bad and they would role over the missed payments
Royal Holiday – Page 2 of 2
I attempted multiple times to communicate with the Royal Holiday employees from my contract signing: Ernesto Barberi and Arturo Martinez, but I was never able to get them to respond to my call or letters. I have recorded all the evidence of these attempted communications.
As you can see the misrepresentation described in this letter they were both material and multiple in occurrence.
Now my credit has been damaged by Concord Servicing Group
Yours truly,
Pascal
[email protected]
|
|
Petra
February 18, 2009
Fraudulent company
We have informed Royal Holiday by phone and in writing and have yet to hear back from them. As of february 17th, 2009, still no response from Royal Holiday CLub.
|
|
November 9, 2008
They lied about everything
Took vacation in 2004 to Nassau, Bahamas. Was lured into presentation for Royal Holiday Club at the Wyndham hotel on Cable Beach. The organization looked legitimate because the Wyndham gave them office and conference room space. Well, to make a long story short, everything is false about them. Here I thought I was dealing with an American company because they listed an office in Arizona. But it turns out you are dealing with a mailbox in Florida and a reps in Mexico. Was never able to use the timeshare. Much later I found out this is not even a legitimate timeshare, and on top of that they are now selling phoney annuities as a sweetener. You can read more at Squeaky Wheel here -- http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complaints/2008/JUN/complaint40035.cfm
|
|
August 6, 2008
Worth every dime
I lost my wife ten years ago to cancer and had to take a vacation with my two daughters to who were 3 and 5 at the time. Attended a presentation at Nassau Bahamas were I bought a Royal Holiday membership It is were my wife and I spent our Honeymoon. It has allowed my daughters and I to keep my wife's memory alive and build a great relationship.
|
|
April 26, 2008
Terrible everything!
While we were vacationing in Aruba on September 24, 2007 we entered in good faith into a contract with Royal Holiday Club with a purchase price of $ 9, 752.00 and a closing cost of $700.00. We were told that we would be given an additional 1500 points to the 20000 points that we had coming to us. Only to find after the closing of the contract that we had to pay $405 activation fee before we could use it.
When we looked on the back of the certification we we learned that it was the actual purchase cost. That made us investigate the program. We were told by the financial representative that our points was not use for cruises. We went over this a number of times to make sure we heard correctly, the answer was the same, 'no' it would be taken from the membership dues. She gave an example of how she sent her mother on a cruise vacation with a friend not having to spend additional money. Her sisters thought she was a rich person as she put it. She wanted to know if we had a cruise in mind which we did as we told her the Black Sea she advised us to go ahead and book it.
We requested private time and call her back twice to reassure us that the cruises would be taken from the dues each time it was 'yes'. Immediately started our investigation only to find out that we had been lied too. We notified American Express that we were holding our payment until our concerns were addressed they have not been address we asked that our contract be canceled but that was denied 4/24/08 but our concerns not addressed we were only reminded that we signed a contract. We are not denying we sign the contract but tricked into doing so by giving false information. A large book was given to us to read after the signing of the contract .
|
|
April 25, 2008
No Service
We signed a contract for holiday travel points after some very smooth and lengthy manoeuvring on the part of several salesmen, ending with Victor Garcia Darosa Fucci, much against our better judgment. We have never owned a timeshare, even though such opportunities were presented to us in the past.
In December 2005, we were living in Guatemala and although we knew that the 800 number will not work from there, we were given personal numbers and email for Mr. Garcia, as well as a Royal Holiday website user id and password and were assured that we can get all the information we need from the website and package. In addition if we had any questions or concerns, we could call Victor personally. On returning to Guatemala, I tried to access the website but found that the user id and password did not work and calling or emailing Mr. Garcia was also a lost cause. No package arrived, so we were uninformed and helpless until our return to Canada in June, 2006. Going through the package did not help in understanding what we had purchased and placing various calls to RHC seemed to be a dead end as well. The certificates we had received were either useless or expired, we were directed to various numbers, none of which were any help. The only thing that was abundantly clear, was that we would not be taking any holidays with Royal Holiday any time soon, unless of course we spent more money to upgrade our level. This was not an option. In the meantime, we would also be faced with paying annual maintenance fees for something we could not access. Unacceptable! We just want out of this nightmare and wish to warn others to stay away from this company or at the very least do your homework thoroughly before signing anything. They are very clever with their promises and wearing you down!
|
|
April 13, 2008
20/20 report reveals truth!
If you are scammed watch this. This was on 20/20.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=DAUDBwx5rAI
If your bank does not refund your money sue, this clearly shows anyone signing was a victim of fraud. Submit the transcript of program as proof:
Vacations for Life: Too Good to Be True?
Royal Holiday Vacation Club Subject of Numerous Customer Complaints
By ANDREW PAPARELLA
April 11, 2008
If you think buying a timeshare in Mexico sounds like more trouble than it's worth, the Royal Holiday Vacation Club has a deal for you. It offers something completely different -- let's call it the un-timeshare.
A promotional video produced by the company says, "Welcome to the exciting world of Royal Holiday … a great way to have luxury vacations without breaking the bank."
Based in Mexico, Royal Holiday is doing a booming business signing up vacationers at busy sales offices around the Caribbean. It isn't selling property; it's selling points and promises. A typical member pays roughly $11, 000 to join the club, plus a yearly fee of about $465. For that, a member gets points that the club says can be used to book luxury vacations.
Royal Holiday calls its Vacations for Life plan an alternative to the complaint-riddled timeshare business. But a "20/20" hidden camera investigation inside the club's sales operation in Cancun raised troubling questions about how Royal Holiday sells memberships and delivers on its promises. According to angry complaints placed both in the United States and in Mexico, hundreds upon hundreds of the club's members wish they weren't.
"We love to travel, " says Natasha Rajtar of Albany, N.Y., who signed up with her husband, Jason. "And we thought how cool over the next 30 years to be able to travel the world with our children."
A Royal Holiday promotional video says, "Today we can share a secret with you, one that guarantees luxury vacations in first class hotels around the world."
What is Royal Holiday's real "secret"?
"20/20" interviewed a cross-section of the growing number of members who say Royal Holiday misled them about how the club operates, and the availability of vacations they'd want. They say the only thing royal about their membership was the way they were ripped off.
John and Robin Chomko, who are from the St Louis area, joined in the Dominican Republic in 2006. "They'll tell you anything, " John says of the Royal Holiday salespeople. "They'll lie, I mean, they lied completely to us."
Royal Holiday says 97 percent of its approximately 65, 000 members never complain. But Mexico's consumer protection agency, Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor, or Profeco, says Royal Holiday has 1, 800 complaints. Asked to comment, Royal Holiday referred us to its Mexico City lawyer, Agustin Garcia. We pointed out to Garcia that in 2005, Royal Holiday had 282 complaints; 506 complaints in 2006 and 761 complaints in 2007. A short time after our interview, Royal Holiday provided the following written statement:
"Royal Holiday Club is fully committed to providing a best-in-class vacation experience to all our members. While the kind of complaints reported by '20/20' have come from only a small percentage of our customers, we take these issues very seriously and are working aggressively to address them. Building on our 25 years of experience, we are undertaking a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of our services and increase customer satisfaction."
The Federal Trade Commission says the travel, vacations and timeshare industry was in its top 10 complaint categories in 2007. And it says complaints about Royal Holiday are also piling up at the Better Business Bureau of South East Florida and the Caribbean, located in West Palm Beach, Fla. Better Business Bureau Senior Vice President Carol Venello read from a stack of complaints for things like "high pressure sales tactics that are absolute lies" and "no destinations ever available, no matter how far in advance they called."
Venello says the pattern is members reporting high-pressure sales, misrepresentation and failure to disclose conditions of the offer. "What they are alleging is that they are being pressured into signing, " she says. "That the product or the vacation is misrepresented as to how they can use it, when they can use it, hotels that are available."
The Better Business Bureau gives Royal Holiday its lowest rating, a mark understandable in Spanish or English: an F. Royal Holiday's lawyer Garcia acknowledges to ABC News' Jim Avila that "F's not good, even in elementary school." With that kind of complaint record... how do the salespeople get tourists to bite? Long of West Virginia says, "They are good. I will give them that. They are good."
It starts at the airport and follows potential buyers across Cancun. When "20/20" traveled to Cancun in January, producers found a Royal Holiday sales presentation with offers of free meals, a spa day and other enticements at the airport. After accepting the offer of a free breakfast at the Hyatt Cancun Caribe hotel, a producer asked a Royal Holiday worker whether the sales presentation would include high-pressure tactics or hard selling. The employee said emphatically no.
But "20/20" producers posing as tourists were repeatedly solicited by Royal Holiday representatives bearing gifts. During the first cup of coffee at breakfast, the saleswoman -- who sat right down at the table to eat with the producers -- began serving a classic high-pressure technique: the limited time offer. "If you join the club today, you have incentives, only today, " she said. "If you wanted to come back tomorrow we cannot."
Members had warned of a luxury suite switcheroo. Doug and Karin LaClair say the beautiful suite they were shown before they joined in the Bahamas in 2003 is not what they got after they paid. "It was just a regular room, " Doug says. "It was just a regular Motel 6 kind of room, " agrees Karin. Sure enough, down in Cancun, the saleswoman showed our undercover producers a beautiful ocean-front presidential suite at the Hyatt. The truth is, an average Royal Holiday member would have to spend nearly their entire year's points to stay here for just one night on a weekend in high season. But again and again the saleswoman assured us that the suite was standard for Royal Holiday members. When a producer asked, "Are all your rooms this nice, are all these suites this nice?"
"Well I think they are nicer!" replied the saleswoman.
Royal Holiday's lawyer says members must read their agreement and the operating rules, and remember -- this is key -- nothing the salesperson says really matters. But at least until late last year, that advice may have been less helpful than it sounds because even those who read their contract might have been fooled.
For example, in Mexico, a buyer can cancel a timeshare or vacation club contract for any reason within five days. That's the Mexican law. But that's not what a Royal Holiday contract signed in 2006 and obtained by "20/20" said. That contract not only made no mention of the right to cancel within five days, it actually declared, "This agreement cannot be canceled by either party" and "this agreement, for which there is no reconsideration period … "
We asked Garcia whether he found that misleading and why the contract would include those untrue statements. He said, "No, I cannot think … why. … " Asked if it bothered him, Garcia said, "well, yes."
The company later told "20/20" that until late last year Mexican law did not require it to disclose customers' right to cancel, so it didn't. Royal Holiday is now required by law to disclose the five-day cancellation plan, and they say they have changed their contracts accordingly.
In Cancun, the sales presentation we were told would last just 90 minutes dragged on for more than three hours. Breakfast was followed by an open bar. But even after a couple of cocktails, our producers turned down a $70, 000 membership. A new saleswoman took over, and cut the price in half. The producers said no again, so the tag team continued with yet another saleswoman, the third.
But perhaps the most incredible claim we heard all day was the promise that our entire purchase price would be invested in a Swiss bank, that would return every cent to us in 30 years. Even Royal Holiday's lawyer said he never heard that one. Later, Royal Holiday explained that it offers an option to invest a small part of the purchase price with a company in the British Virgin Islands and, if the investment pays off, 30 years later customers could get their money back.
But while your money may be traveling to exotic locations, most of the would-be world travelers we interviewed said they have gone nowhere. "We expected to do a really cool thing for our family, " New Yorker Rajtar said. "We thought that we were doing something that would enrich our lives, and it's done nothing but the opposite."
After "20/20" began investigating, Royal Holiday refunded the money most of the members we interviewed, and released them from their contracts.
How can your credit card company refuse a claim that you were a victim of fraud now you have proof.
|
|
March 30, 2008
Promises & Mexican Laws Broken
Our story begins on a beautiful Mexican evening in Cozumel. It was shortly after dinner, and our family were enjoying the evening together walking around the town square in San Miguel (Cozumel). We were approached by sales representatives from Royal Holiday. We agreed to meet at the Park Royal the next day. We were not interested in purchasing a club membership, but we were interested in looking around the resort for future trips to Cozumel.
We arrived at the Park Royal on the morning of April 5, 2008. We were met by Nico. We went to breakfast with Nico. Our conversation over breakfast was pleasant. We then had a tour of the resort. The property is very beautiful, and has a lot to offer families. Finally, we went to the sales office. During our meeting we were promised:
 Five Years Unlimited usage of the Park Royal in Cozumel. We were told that this was to allow us to reserve any room in the resort, we could reserve as many rooms in the resort as we wanted, use the resort during any season (including prime because that is the only time Wendy can get off of work), and use the resort whenever we wanted with a 30 day notice.
 Ability to accumulate our member points during that five year period for a total of 50, 000 membership points.
 When we visited the Park Royal the only fee that we would have to pay is the all-inclusive fee. Which we were told was $38.00 for adults.
 Our “Membership Purchase and Sale Agreement” states that our maintenance fee for 2008 would be $375.00.
After and hour and a half we walked away, and decided that we wanted to talk without Nico or Gina Cordero (Royal Holiday Sales Manger) present. We should have kept walking. Instead we sat by the pool, and did the math. With the promises made, we felt the membership would have all of the amenities we require. We, however, did not intend to join.
Around mid-afternoon, Nico found us by the pool, and asked if we had any questions. We did. We followed Nico back to the sales office. We asked questions to make sure we understood what the membership included. The above points were intensively discussed. We were still not sold. Gina came back to the table and added another 30, 000 membership points as an incentive to sign. When we asked if we could think about it, we were told that this offer was only for the first one- hundred new members. Of these memberships only three were remaining. With much regret, we decided to join Royal Holiday Club.
The next day, we went back by the sales office and the number on the wall was now six. Meaning that there were six memberships left. We had a sinking feeling that we made a mistake.
After returning to the United States, we attempted to formally cancel our membership over the telephone on April 10, 2007. The Royal Holiday representative said that our contract was not entered into the Royal Holiday system yet and the contract information was needed to cancel, but would make note of our call and a representative would call when the contract was available. On April 17, 2007, another Royal Holiday Club representative called and left a message welcoming us to Royal Holiday (obviously our first message to cancel went unheard). When we returned the call, later that day, again in an attempt to cancel, we were told that our “Membership Purchase and Sale Agreement” states that the membership cannot be cancelled by either party. This agreement also states that “The buyer agrees with the legal effects of this agreement…for which there is no reconsideration period”.
We were completely embarrassed and angry about our mistake. We wondered, during many sleepless nights, how could we have overlooked that we had no right to cancel our contract and the verbal promises made by Gina and Nico were not binding? Over the next several months we found out that there were many discrepancies with what we were told and what we were entitled to under our contract. For example:
 Five Years Unlimited usage of the Park Royal in Cozumel cannot be used during the prime vacation season, and the only room available was a studio.
 Ability to accumulate our member points during that five year period for at total of 50, 000 membership points was not true. In fact we can only roll over 20% of our points per year (2, 000)
 In our sales presentation Gina and Nico stated that the all-inclusive fee per person each day was $38.00. When booking our first trip, to return to Cozumel to try to meet with Nico and Gina to get answers about the inconsistencies, the all-inclusive fee we were charged was $78.00 per person per day. This was over double of what we were promised. When we visited the RHC website the published price for the all-inclusive fee at the Park Royal is $60.00 per person per day.
 Our “Membership Purchase and Sale Agreement” states that our maintenance fee for 2008 would be $375.00. We were actually charged $395.00. When we questioned this we were told that the telephone representative could not make a credit to our VISA. So we were out another $20.00.
 Royal Holiday also charged an extra monthly payment to our credit card, but did not subtract it from our balance or the number of payments remaining. This was a two hour phone call to get resolved. The operator agreed that they would not charge us in January because of the extra payment taken in December, 2007. When January came we received a collection call. Another long call with the collection agency and Royal Holiday Club.
We were reserved to the fact that we made a very bad investment, but would work very hard in trying to get our problems resolved. After many stressful and unsuccessful telephone calls to Royal Holiday, we decided to return to Cozumel to meet with Nico and Gina personally to attempt to resolve our problems. Booking our first and only trip was a nightmare not to mention that it cost us $1, 230 more to use our membership than to book through a local travel agent for the same accommodations.
With that said, we were still optimistic that our trip would resolve our difficulties with Royal Holiday. However, to our surprise Gina and Nico were no longer employed at the Park Royal in Cozumel. Instead we met with Susana Nunez and Fernando Vazquez on March 21, 2008. Susana had us fill out a survey. We were honest about our stay and the major frustrations that we have had with our membership. Both Fernando and Susana took notes on the back of our questionnaire and on a Royal Holiday legal pad. Fernando said he would look into our concerns and requested that we return to meet with him the next day because he wanted to get this cleared up and he wanted us to be happy Royal Holiday customers.
Optimistically we returned at nine o’clock the next morning. Fernando did not come with solutions. He came with a plan for us to buy and additional 10, 000 membership points for $9, 995. He tried to persuade us to put it on our credit card with the incentive of up to five years of interest fee financing. He then said we could put it on our credit card, and if within five days we wanted to change our mind we could cancel. We shared with Fernando that we bought our membership last year on April 5th. We called RHC on April 10th and we were told that we could not cancel because our membership was not in the system yet. Fernando replied “you tried to cancel last year.” This quickly ended our twenty minute meeting, Fernando told us he would send us information by email so that we can think about updating our membership. We have not yet received his email or heard from him.
This year upon returning home (March 23, 2008) we were angry and determined to end our relationship with Royal Holiday once and for all. We have spoken to many Americans with fates similar to our own, and have since learned that Royal Holiday Club’s practices are unethical according to the American Resort Development Association, and violate Article 56 OF LEY Federal de Proteccion al Consumidor that states the following: “The contract will be perfected within five working days from the delivery of, or the signature of the contract, which ever occurs latest. Our first and second attempts to cancel were within the five day limit. We have also become aware that our right to cancel and to receive a full refund is not waivable. This right is guaranteed to all buyers even if the buyer signs a contract or form waiving this right. Such clauses in our “Membership Purchase and Sale Agreement” state “This Agreement cannot be canceled by either party, ” The buyer agrees with the legal effects of this agreement…for which there is no reconsideration period, ” and that my deposit and monthly payments are non-refundable are also invalid according to Mexican Law.
|
|
March 18, 2008
Scam!
THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM!! I am hoping that someone out there might be able to help. We were on vacation in Mexico April 2007. We received this VIP invite, and although we tried to turn it down, we were persuaded into attending. As always these presentations give you false hope and expectations, and I knew that. At the end we said we couldn't afford it and again, was pushed into a meeting room. After going over everything we thought well maybe if there was a trial package. We were given a smaller package but it wasn't a trial. We are now stuck with this for 30 years and will NEVER be able to use it. We were told we could use RCI, and I expressed no interest in RCI because of the additional cost. They said they pay for the membership...LIE. They said you can put it for rent, well I tried that and before you can put it up for rent you have to have at least 300000 credits per year and have recently upgraded by 10000 credits...DECEPTION!. These are only two of the lies and deceptions we have been subject to. I have written many emails to the company asking for some compensation, but of course no response. I have recently lost my job and we have to move 3000 miles to take care of elderly parents. We don't have the time, money or patience to use this. I don't care about the money lost so far, I just want to get rid of it. Does anybody have any words of advice?
|
|
RECENTLY UPDATED REVIEWS
Taxi To Heathrow & Heathrow Taxi Transfers
Digital Marketing and Company Formation Services UAE | SEO and PPC Marketing
Escort ladyluck Frankfurt
Bulk SMS Gateway in UAE | Best Bulk SMS Service In UAE
REQUESTED REVIEWS
REVIEWS BY CATEGORY
|