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We just returned from a week at the Royalton Punta Cana. My husband and I had gone last year and absolutely loved it. We had booked last minute last year and really lucked out with our room, it was ocean view with a Jacuzzi tub built for two. We had access to the adult pool which was fantastic! We liked the Royalton so much that we decided to purchase a membership to the Travel Smart group. It was a bit costly but because we would be guaranteed Diamond Club at all Royalton resorts and they are affiliated with Sunwing (a Canadian company โ€“ which made us feel very comfortable about our decision) and the fact that it would force us to take a vacation each year we purchased a 15 year membership.

This year we decided to return to the same spot and bring two of our grown daughters and their boyfriends. When I booked through Travel Smart I explained that we wanted to return to the same resort since we enjoyed it so much and this year we would be bringing four additional guests and requested that we have the same set up as last year. I made a mistake by not paying enough attention to what we had last year and therefore did not get what I thought that we were getting. For starters we did not have access to the adult pool which was one of the perks that we enjoyed so much. So after wasting a half day talking to workers in Diamond Club and Travel Smart we ended up paying an extra $300 (for all 6 of us) to gain access to the adult only pool. Travel Smart did give us a small discount for this but I really had hoped that they would waive the fee given that we are members, had returned to the same resort and brought four additional guests with us. If the American dollar wasnโ€™t so bad it wouldnโ€™t have hurt so much๏Œ.

I put the extra charge out of mind and refused to let it dampen our vacation. This was a once in a life time vacation for all of us to travel together like this ๏Š But there were a few other things that were disappointing a well:

Of the three rooms that we had booked, only one had a view of the ocean โ€“ if you leaned hard to the right. I had sent emails before the trip to request specific rooms (after being told by our Travel Smart agent that that was how I was supposed to do it) only to be told that they could not guaranteed rooms ahead of time. I wasnโ€™t that surprised as that is a fairly common policy, however when we checked in I asked if any of those rooms were available and I was told by the staff at Diamond Club that you have to book specific rooms ahead of time! Very frustrating, but again we let it go. The room that my husband and I had flooded two times when it rained hard because we were on ground level near the entrance to the building! We dialed the number we that we were given for โ€œbutler serviceโ€ three times but no one answered our call. The third room had a lovely view of the service road. Not the type of rooms I would expect for Travel Smart members with Diamond Club now upgraded to adult only!

One of my daughters missed her graduation for her masterโ€™s degree to join us on vacation. Not a problem of course but I did try to make the day special for her by requesting a cake for her after dinner and to have fruit and champagne waiting in her room after dinner that night. First I went to the Diamond Club to make the request and they told to go to the Travel Smart desk to make my request, which I did, they were very helpful โ€“ but no cake or champagne and the fruit showed up at 8:00 am instead of pm.

When we checked in we were told to confirm with Nexus for our transportation from the resort back to the airport. Our daughters did that and were told that we had to confirm 48 hours prior to departure day, so they went back at that time then were told they had to wait 24 hours prior to departure.

I appreciate that some of the mix ups may have been due to the language barrier but it seemed every time that we asked someone a question we got a different answer!

I do want to add that the beach was lovely. The food is fantastic especially at Zen and Hunterโ€™s. The rooms were always clean. The service by the bar staff and restaurants are second to none. The shows were good and the Michael Jackson show is definitely worth checking out โ€“ but get there early if you want to get a seat.

We have committed to Travel Smart so we are in it for the long haul and I will begin to plan our vacation for next year soon but all via email. I really hope things go smoother. ๏Š

Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick

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Guest

I have just recently returned from Royalton Punta Cana and was "convinced" into signing up for the same TravelSmart VIP Club as you did. Have you had ANY success with TravelSmart showing any remorse in remedying your situation and/or sweetening your deal at all?

All I read about the TravelSmart VIP Club is that it is a SCAM and DO NOT FALL FOR IT.

I would love some positive feedback from someone who has also bought into it, and is happy and satisfied with it, so I don't feel like such a fool. Paid for it and frustrated @ cheekydiva@***.com

TravelSmartVIP
Travelsmart Vip Club Response
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1109332

Hello Keith,

We are deeply concerned about you feeling frustrated. We now have your email, and we will look up for you in our system in order to contact you as soon as possible and to see how we can help you.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Best regards,

Travel Smart VIP

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1109332

don't be a fool and get out of this.we were on vacation at the royalton cancun -we were approach with very nice people to get into travelsmart , the membership gold prime 300 for 30 years originally was 72,000US and

after a lot of pressure and the time spent negotiating the price was brought down to 36,000 Canadian dollars-

first payment right now on visa of $5400 , next month $5400, third mont $7200 and

the rest $18000 will be $750.00 for the next 24 month

we are seniors 53 and 49 and they took full advantage of us.

We signed up for the membership when they started offering 900 000 smart point in 30 years or 30000 point every years with annual fee cost around $500 for 10000 point. after 2 years if you don't take a try you lose them.

plus additional one vacation for free no flight included,6 special week and 6 bonus weeks ocean view room while we were there and many other perks. told us when book with them, we will receive vip service, pick up a the airport I guess we were trapped and fell for their lies. However after signing found out that it was all lies. We tried to book a free vacation as per the contract and was very hard to book , so we decided to cancel after 6 month and i now that they will give us nothing back..

can believed sunwing let those people (TSV) in there resort. i guess i won't travel for the next 6 years.

you have to pay to learn. cost me a lot of money for nothing PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE A DID

TravelSmartVIP
Travelsmart Vip Club Response

Thank you very much for informing us about this situation. As we said before, when we read your comments we were absolutely mortified to hear about your experience.

As you already know, we are in the process of remedying this situation. Please provide us with your email so we can begin a dialogue and take care of this swiftly. We deeply apologize for letting you and your family down, and we guarantee that this will never happen again.

Please give us the chance to say we are deeply sorry and make amends.

Best regards,

TravelSmart VIP

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Travelsmart Vip Club Response

Same scripted response almost each and every time.

Completely insincere and just designed to come across as an honorable company would.

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