Colby
If I could give them a 0 I would
If I could give them a 0 I would. I attended a wedding in Mexico for a good friend. I was super excited and things “seemed” to be all in place. Our travel agent or planner (if you call her that), Danielle had not told us that we could not check into our rooms until 3. Yet she got all of our information and saw multiple of us coming in at 10am, 11am, 1pm. So when we arrived we couldn’t go into our room and just sat and waited. Now, this website is coupled with all the Sandos resorts, so with that being said they should have all information and guidelines we needed PRIOR to travel, they gave us nothing except the “CDC guidelines of testing for COVID before you leave Mexico” When we were FINALLY able to check in (almost 45 minutes later than the 3pm check in time) we were not given any maps of where things were located, that you must make reservations using a QR code to eat anywhere besides the buffet, that you could not just have someone test you for COVID the day before you leave at any time—you had to schedule an appointment to get tested and the window was 9am-3pm, the best times to be enjoying your vacation. The wedding coordinator at the resort didn’t ever talk with the travel agent planning everything and she ended up not having a photographer on her wedding day—I paid 400 on an excursion for the day before I left as the wedding party all were. I went to ask if I could do my COVID test because I had an all day excursion the next day then would be leaving at 3am to catch my flight home. They stated no but the place I was doing my excursion would swab my nose and do the test. So I went on the excursion and right away they say NOPE we don’t do that here. Im stuck 40 minutes away from my hotel on an excursion from 7am-6pm. I spent HALF my time calling and calling our “travel agent” she didn’t answer. I found an emergency number and called it at least 5’times and no answer. I found random numbers for different people through them to call so I could get assistance and NOT ONE PERSON ANSWERED. I tried talking to management at the hotel when I arrived back at 6pm and nothing. So I get up early continue calling (international rates mind you) the emergency line. No answer. The wedding party all told me that our agent never answered her phone so “good luck trying” the bride spent half her time in tears because we couldn’t find our way around (maps would have been nice) we weren’t given information on how things worked. No one would answer the simple questions we had. I missed my flight and my “travel insurance” said I didn’t contact them 24 hours in advance….well I had but never got an answer and put in 2 email requests. I also barely had service and really wanted our “travel agents” help with this to change to a later time. They never answered. I paid $775 for a one way flight home, the free transportation the company gets us couldn’t take me because it was last minute scheduling—so I paid 90 for a ride to the airport. The original flight home was about 350 so I just had a waste of money there. I was so livid after watching my friend on HER DAY cry and me crying all morning trying to get help and figure things out and paying essentially for another trip, I started to tell them they would be reimbursing me. If they would have called and helped I probably would be out 1200 dollars. I stated my lawyer would be in contact. The last straw was I called the emergency line and I asked for the customer service email because I couldn’t find it but one of the voicemails on the (various) phone numbers I called said they answer faster if you email it. She aggressively answered then says “this is the emergency line. There is no email” and I’m just said I knew their was can I please have it. She continued to say no so I then ask her “why would you answer if you weren’t going to help?” She responded “because you haven’t stopped calling” hahaha I was APPALLED. So, if it were an emergency it doesn’t matter because they just let the phone ring not knowing any idea what the customer service wants. Until it’s too late and they call and threaten a lawyer. It ended with them saying essentially “I always answer and my phone didn’t the have your calls or voicemails” well what’s funny is I called every phone and I have a phone record and the numbers I called and the money I paid to continually track them down. I just said you know what it’s sad you promote “stress free destination weddings” when alll it was, was stress. Plus I paid essentially for a whole other trip just to get home. No remorse or anything from anyone including the highest ranking. They got their pay and cut of the deal and that’s all that matters. They don’t care to HELP YOU or prepare you or answer any questions and they sure as hell won’t give any empathy or admit their wrongs. At least be remorseful for how badly you did your job and took advantage of others and couples big day.
Response from DestinationWeddingsJun 15, 2022
Hi Colby, we appreciate hearing your honest feedback and regret to hear of your experience at the hotel. While your pre-travel email did include a link to the resort's specific COVID-19 testing policy, we understand this detail could have been missed, leading to your frustration. We take your comments to heart and will be reviewing them in detail with your Specialist, as well as passing along your constructive feedback to the hotel to help improve their guest services re: maps, restaurant reservations, etc. Our Customer Relations Manager will continue to work with you directly on any outstanding issues that may need further clarification. Thank you for your understanding; we wish you the best.