Checking into an "unacceptable" resort...

[b2bailey]

In the moment -- I am at I Cieli di Roma.
Read the reviews before booking as an Extra Vacation. Went with very low expectations -- apparently not low enough.

Trying to contact R C I -- but was told they are busy with displaced hurricane related people. I guess since I have a bed to sleep in tonight I am low priority. I'll cover the gruesome details in a review.

But, it got me to wondering. Have you ever reached a timeshare destination and said..."No can do." If yes, when, where and what did you do?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Not (yet) with a timeshare, but more than once with hotels (Las Vegas NV, Orlando FL, Atlantic City NJ).

Either toughed it out or left & checked in somewhere else.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[VacationForever]

I know some of the folks here on TUG recommend Lehigh Acres. We were there once in the early 2000s and while we suffered through the week that was really a place that we would never return to. It appeared that black mold was all over the kitchen and sink. That place looked like it as built in the 30s/50s but never renovated. The bed was clean but bathroom was awful - old and stained. Floors were old/stained. It was one place that was long overdue for refurbishment. I think they did refurbish fairly recently based on posting here on TUG but still we will never go back there. I can still see the awful place vividly.

 

[pedro47]

We stayed at a hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. about 30 years ago....It was a - 10. The best thing about this hotel was when we left the front desk at this dumb after 10 minutes after a 6 hours drive; to check-in at another hotel.

 

[Passepartout]

I've been in some truly dumpy motels, but (so far) my timeshare experience has been better. Oh wait. There was that place in Rome where we were on the top floor and it rained during the night and the ceiling leaked right over MY head.

 

[rhonda]

Our only truly unacceptable timeshare was at Orange Lake Country Club. We walked over to the RCI Desk, on property, and they moved us to Summer Bay, a few clicks down the road. Hope you get this worked out, b2bailey! I'd likely move to a hotel ... but then again ... we've suffered through some comically lousy places in Rome. A "2BR Suite" unit that was really four army cots stuffed wall to wall in one room comes to mind ... the four of us wished, quite earnestly, that we could, please, return to our ship! Oh, the let down of ending a cruise in Rome.

 

[silentg]

Our only truly unacceptable timeshare was at Orange Lake Country Club. We walked over to the RCI Desk, on property, and they moved us to Summer Bay, a few clicks down the road. Hope you get this worked out, b2bailey! I'd likely move to a hotel ... but then again ... we've suffered through some comically lousy places in Rome. A "2BR Suite" unit that was really four army cots stuffed wall to wall in one room comes to mind ... the four of us wished, quite earnestly, that we could, please, return to our ship! Oh, the let down of ending a cruise in Rome.

What did you find wrong with Orange Lake? We just came back from there it was beautiful( before Irma)

 

[hurnik]

According to some people only SFX has unacceptable resorts and RCI is perfect. LOL!

Personally never had it happen (I'm always picky, so I usually read the Trip Advisor reviews before accepting any exchange, or I'm specific about which exchanges I'll take).

That being said, I've seen some on like the Occidental in Cozumel where they must've gone through a bad stretch as lots of reviews around the same time period had similar complaints. In some cases they were able to get booked elsewhere, in others, they just "ate" it or were able to recoup some of the costs with credit card company disputes.

 

[rhonda]

What did you find wrong with Orange Lake? We just came back from there it was beautiful( before Irma)

It was years ago ... perhaps 2003'ish. We were assigned to a duplex out near the golf course which was simply awful. Mold and mildew everywhere, ugly stains on the carpet, leaking plumbing, broken appliances, etc. The musty smells were overwhelming. We were quite put off ... ugh. Gladly the RCI desk didn't miss a beat. They quickly, smoothly and cheerfully moved us to a different resort. Phew!

 

[moonstone]

In the moment -- I am at I Cieli di Roma.
Read the reviews before booking as an Extra Vacation. Went with very low expectations -- apparently not low enough.

Trying to contact R C I -- but was told they are busy with displaced hurricane related people. I guess since I have a bed to sleep in tonight I am low priority. I'll cover the gruesome details in a review.

But, it got me to wondering. Have you ever reached a timeshare destination and said..."No can do." If yes, when, where and what did you do?

Several years ago we booked a week in Daytona beach to go along with our St Augustine home week. As we were driving up to the resort we could see scaffolding and those big garbage chutes hanging down the side of the building. The parking lot was closed and full of bins and construction materials and trucks, so we pulled up to the front door. When we went inside we were told there was "a bit of construction going on!" We were told we would need to park in the vacant lot across the street during our stay. The desk clerk told us all reservations for that week were moved to the other side of the building (it is kind of a T shape) to lessen the noise & disruption. She advised us the workers delayed starting construction until 8AM and only worked Mon. to Fri. We reluctantly took our keys and went up to check the unit. We were switched to a Studio, partial kitchen (from a 1 bedroom, full kitchen) and the garbage chute was right outside our door! We were not pleased!

As soon as we got into the unit I called RCI to tell them that we had been downgraded to a Studio and that the building was undergoing major renovations (units were being gutted and the roof redone). RCI had not been notified of the renovations and called the resort manager while I was on the line. The only other unit RCI could find us was in Titusville (been there -didn't want to go back) or Kissimmee since it was the week before Easter. The VC asked me to hold while she got a supervisor. The supervisor said they would credit back the cost of the week (Extra Vacation) to our credit card, and give us a bonus week if we agreed to stay. We agreed and it turned out to not be so bad - except for getting a flat tire from a piece of metal in the vacant lot/parking lot. The resort arranged for a tire service truck and paid for the tire repair!


~Diane

 

[Panina]

The year was 1998 and it was Crystal Beach Suites and Health Club. My parents flew in a day earlier and we met them there. When I got there it smelled of mildew/mold, electrical outlets were uncovered, dead bugs, not clean. I asked my mom why she didn't say anything to the clerk. She said because it was only one night she was waiting for me. If I recall correctly, II had nothing else, gave us a free week, the room was cleaned and I checked out early. It is many years later so I hope this timeshare is better now.

 

[ottawasquaw]

oh yea. It's been years ago. It was a T/S in Virginia Beach through RCI. The unit was unacceptable and the management was unresponsive. I called RCI the first night. Then I called the again. I was given a full credit and left. I was very impressed with how nicely they handled it.
I made a nice vacation out of the week for my kids and they are still talking about it
By the way, just because RCI is busy, does that excuse them from taking care of you? I think not.

 

[b2bailey]

I know some of the folks here on TUG recommend Lehigh Acres. We were there once in the early 2000s and while we suffered through the week that was really a place that we would never return to. It appeared that black mold was all over the kitchen and sink. That place looked like it as built in the 30s/50s but never renovated. The bed was clean but bathroom was awful - old and stained. Floors were old/stained. It was one place that was long overdue for refurbishment. I think they did refurbish fairly recently based on posting here on TUG but still we will never go back there. I can still see the awful place vividly.

Back when I lived in Naples FL -- we happened to drive by the place -- just that was enough to scare me off. So I've been surprised by the recent positive reviews. But nothing can fix location.

 

[b2bailey]

oh yea. It's been years ago. It was a T/S in Virginia Beach through RCI. The unit was unacceptable and the management was unresponsive. I called RCI the first night. Then I called the again. I was given a full credit and left. I was very impressed with how nicely they handled it.
I made a nice vacation out of the week for my kids and they are still talking about it
By the way, just because RCI is busy, does that excuse them from taking care of you? I think not.

Thank you for saying that -- been feeling selfish to be thinking it. Perhaps most of their team could help hurricane people and one could be designated to help the rest of us.

 

[b2bailey]

Slightly funny to me -- 3 of us have had a problem in Rome vicinity. Let the buyer beware.

Still no reply from R C I -- broke down and booked hotel. Will take pictures and dispute my costs with
R C I at a later date. Not gonna suffer any longer here.

I will press R C I to remove this place from their list. I see they currently have Extra Vacations being offered here.

Many of my friends use AirBnB, but I have felt more secure (in the past) with an RCI unit.

 

[silentg]

It was years ago ... perhaps 2003'ish. We were assigned to a duplex out near the golf course which was simply awful. Mold and mildew everywhere, ugly stains on the carpet, leaking plumbing, broken appliances, etc. The musty smells were overwhelming. We were quite put off ... ugh. Gladly the RCI desk didn't miss a beat. They quickly, smoothly and cheerfully moved us to a different resort. Phew!

The resort has been updated we stayed in the West Village it was very nice.
We stayed at Summer Bay and were over run with ants in the kitchen. Timing has a lot to do with the resorts. I'm sure others will feel Summer Bay is nice, but my opinion is Orange Lake is nicer. BTW the Houses at Summer Bay are beautiful!
Silentg

 

[silentg]

Back when I lived in Naples FL -- we happened to drive by the place -- just that was enough to scare me off. So I've been surprised by the recent positive reviews. But nothing can fix location.

Lehigh Acres is a bit of a bad first impression, we drove in and almost left. We stayed and enjoyed the week. We stayed over New Years 2015. Lot of people own there and seem to enjoy spending time with family and friends there. I heard they closed the pool to completely renovated it. We would go back but not until the pool reopens. It's only a short drive to Fort Myers and much less crowed. We played on the golf course it is only 9 holes. I did a review on Tug.
Silentg

 

[b2bailey]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Trying to figure out how to send to RCI.

 

[Polly Metallic]

Lehigh Acres is a bit of a bad first impression, we drove in and almost left. We stayed and enjoyed the week. We stayed over New Years 2015. Lot of people own there and seem to enjoy spending time with family and friends there. I heard they closed the pool to completely renovated it. We would go back but not until the pool reopens. It's only a short drive to Fort Myers and much less crowed. We played on the golf course it is only 9 holes. I did a review on Tug.
Silentg

I read reviews recently and the pool was renovated and it reopened a few weeks ago.

 

[Laurie]

Have you ever reached a timeshare destination and said..."No can do." If yes, when, where and what did you do?

Yes, also in Italy, but not Rome area. Not only did we dislike the location and the chintzy accommodations, our room was next to an entertainment area where they were blasting DJ shouting and disco music so loud our furniture and walls literally shook until way past midnight. When the resort wouldn't move us to a quieter unit, we called RCI from the resort, but they couldn't help us that night. We went into the nearest town and looked for a hotel, but nothing was available so we slept there 1 night, and early the next day we checked out and hit the road. When I called RCI back the next day (no easy feat in those days before cell phones) they offered us an alternative but in a location we didn't want, so we stayed in hotels for the whole week. Later they gave us back our exchange week and fee, after I made quite a fuss due to my indignation and utter disappointment.

We were inexperienced timesharers, and had expected something equal or closer in quality to our gold crown 2-bedroom summer Maui week. We soon learned to lower expectations of RCI, and had this happened at a later date, I probably would have been less upset, just checked out and maybe not bothered with trying to get anything back.

In retrospect that early snafu ended up being a great adventure because we saw so much more of the country. We returned to Italy several times to the very places we visited during that week on the road, that we wouldn't ever have experienced otherwise.

 

[Panina]

View attachment 4812 View attachment 4813 View attachment 4814 View attachment 4815 View attachment 4816 They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Trying to figure out how to send to RCI.

Yuk, looks like a cheap motel that you would be afraid to touch anything.

Call RCI, get an email address, and you can insert photos in email.

 

[lynne]

Back in mid-May 1991, we booked via RCI a stay in Cape Cod. The accommodations were so bad, we left the next day to return home. The place was a converted motel, dark, dirty and completely unacceptable. We never went back to the Cape based on our experience.

 

[WinniWoman]

Luckily this has never happened to us. I will only stay at places that have great reviews, gold crown or maybe silver crown status, etc. Overseas, I wouldn't use RCI or any timeshare exchange. I would rent from an owner or use first class hotels only.

 

[vacationhopeful]

When I went to France for 2 weeks years ago, I had a charming room in a private home with all meals at a GREAT rate. FREE!

I had hosted their 18 yo daughter for 3 weeks in my home via a student home exchange program several months earlier.

 

[Panina]

Luckily this has never happened to us. I will only stay at places that have great reviews, gold crown or maybe silver crown status, etc. Overseas, I wouldn't use RCI or any timeshare exchange. I would rent from an owner or use first class hotels only.

Great reviews help but are not always reliable. One time I went to a resort that was rated very highly and when I got there it was only so so. I was disappointed. RCI member rated it a 5, to me it was a 3, outdated, dusty fake plants, stained carpet, unfriendly staff, but not horrible enough for me to leave.