Complain about a product or service

Adventure Unlimited

Cherry Hill NJ

Larry of Baltimore MD (02/26/08)
We left Baltimore, Maryland on February 22, 2008 for a ski trip to Adventure Unlimited in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Upon our arrival there was no heat and no hot water at the hotel. On February 23, 2008, we had a meeting, and we decided to leave. There were 15 buses in total. They said that we were going to receive a refund. We could not possibly stay the whole entire weekend without heat or hot water. From my understanding, there was no heat or hot water since Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

Our ski trip was ruined for the whole entire weekend and out of pocket for a total of $475.00. I was very dissatisfied with the whole ordeal.

Melvin of Washington DC (08/17/07)
On February 3rd. thru the 5th. 2006, our Corporation APAC of Washington, D.C. sponsored a Ski trip through Adventure Unlimited. APAC, our members and our guests are hard-working professionals who are accustomed to saving towards a nice experience.

I am speaking for the entire group and our guests, it was the worse experience of our lives. It was a Super Bowl weekend and our entire group was dissapointed in the entire trip.

Our group was a victim of Adventure Unlimited's false advertising and practices as a travel agent. What was offered on the Adventure Unlimited ski trip and their documentation (flyer) and what was promised to us was never delivered. At the very last minute of our ski trip, the ski trip was diverted to another location. We then had so many challenges to face:

1) Room accommodations and amenities were not equivalent to that of the Woodlands Inn as stated and promised on the ski trip flyer.

2) Comparison of the Woodlands Inn, Wilkes-Barre, PA( being a AAA three star hotel) and the Ramada Inn, Wilkes-Barre, PA did not measure up and were not sanitary.

3) Foods/meals were VERY disappointing. We had to venture outside of the hotel for every meal, therefore costing the group overall more money. The food for the Happy Hour were appauling! Also, we were offended to see Pork Skins as an appetizer! The display was very demeaning to some of our guests and inappropriate. Regular chips/dips would have been fine.

4) Ski Lodge (Blue Knob) was not comparable to the mountain(s) being offered had we stayed at the Woodlands Inn (Montage, Elk Mountain and Jack Frost).

5) The Adv. Ltd. staff were not at all proactive towards our group.

6) There was severe lack of organization on behalf of Adventure Unlimited. Although, there were activities involved and scheduled, quite a few were cancelled (due to lack of participation from our guests). APAC members and our guests ventured out of the motel and took other means of transportation to entertain themselves.

7) The Super Bowl game was suppose to be viewed on a big screen TV or a projector screen. So, you can imagine our dismay when all of that was provided were a few small 20 TV's to watch the Super Bowl!

8) It was very noticable that the Ramada Inn was not prepared to accomodate the vast amount of people besides our group at such short notice.

Despite our horrible experience on the entire ski trip, APAC and our guests tried to keep a positive attitude. We just prayed for a safe jouney back to Washington, D.C.

The entire Adventure Unlimited staff were made fully aware of our disappointment and of our complaints. A petition and written complaints from each of the APAC members and our guests from the ski trip were written and delivered to both Adventure Unlimited and the Better Business Bureau of New Jersey, twice and nothing was done. Adventure Unlimited denied both complaints!

Also, the Health Department of Pennsylvania were informed about the horrible conditions at the Ramada Inn in Wilkes Barre, PA.

Lisa of Philadelphia (6/30/03):
I attended the Swan Lake, NY Ski Trip that was held during the 2003 Valentine's Day Weekend (2/14 - 2/16). I must state that my experience was horrible. I have stayed at many hotels, motels, lodges and resorts and I must say this was by far the worst. I have listed below several problems I found with this weekend�s events and the establishment.

1. We departed from 61st and Jefferson in Philadelphia, PA at 6 PM. The driver was unaware how to get to the next pick which was at Stenton and Haines, nor did he know how to get to Interstate 95 from the Stenton and Haines location. We then had to proceed to Brooklyn, NY to pickup more passengers. The maps given to the driver where horrible and therefore it took longer to locate the other passengers. The NY passengers then had to instruct the driver how to get to Route 87. I understand wanting to fill your buses up but to go west to pickup passengers is just ridiculous as well as lack of good planning skills.

2. I was very concerned for my safety during the ride to the resort. At the 1st pick-up in Philadelphia, the driver indicated that he had just driven 4 hours from Penn State Main Campus. This driver drove a total of 14 hours (with two 10-minute breaks) and was clearly exhibiting signs of fatigue. The situation was further enhanced by the faulty heating system on the bus. It was so hot on the bus that we had to open the safety roof hatch for relief.

3. It was identified that Adventure Unlimited did not provide each of the group leaders with one another's cell phone/contact numbers.

4. We eventually arrived in Swan Lake, NY at 4 AM on Saturday, (2/15). We traveled a total of 10 hours to reach a destination that is approximately four hours away from Philadelphia.

5. No refreshments were available at the point of arrival. The soda machine was broken on my floor and there were no ice machines accessible to guests.

6. At the time of arrival, Adventure Unlimited staff presented our room keys to us, but it was not communicated to us where our rooms were located.

7. We did not receive an itinerary at the time of arrival of the weekend's events. This information was found on Sunday as we were waiting to leave.

8. The pamphlet states that this is an elegant resort that just went through a 5 million-dollar renovation. This appeared not to be true. There were broken windows in the hallway which were covered by duck tape and paper. The hallways were dirty, (i.e. large spots could be seen on the carpet, curtains were moth bitten, broken bathrooms and beds, and the walls looked dirty).

9. Periodic pick-ups of skiers from the mountain were not available. The bus for skiing departed at 11:00am and we were instructed to be back at the bus by 3:00pm. By the time we got to the slopes, obtained your lift tickets and got your equipment on it was 12:00pm. It did not seem reasonable to pay $34.00 to ski for 3 � hours.

10. The food at the Swan Lake Resort was terrible. The food was either under cooked, over cooked and at times contained vermin and hair.

11. Persons at the front desk were ill informed of operational information of the resort and they were very unprofessional. Example, we were told we must by our ski lift tickets at the hotel. We (my friends and I) opted not to do this because we got into our rooms after 4:00am and was up and at breakfast by 8:30am. The GLD stated that we had to buy the ticket at the hotel. He was loud, and very unprofessional in tone.

12. The event schedule in the brochure did not correlate with how the events transpired over the weekend.

13. The event coordinator did not quickly respond to the poor weather conditions of the weekend. He allowed two busloads of guests to proceed with shopping at Woodbury Commons, (which was one hour away) at 10:00am and another bus after 11:00am on Sunday. He did this while knowing that weather conditions in the Northeast were getting worse by the minute. The Event coordinator also told us that his boss had called him earlier that morning and told him that all the guests had to leave ASAP. We could not leave the resort because our bus was used for the shopping spree, which was released after event coordinator boss called. The buses did not return until 2:30pm.

It is my opinion that the event coordinator should have been more proactive and responsible in addressing the weather issue. Therefore we would not have had to drive through the blizzard of Feb. 2003. The event coordinator should have contacted the buses and request that they return ASAP. In summary, I had a terrible weekend and was very disappointed with the trip planned by Adventures Unlimited.

Renee of Jersey City, NJ writes:
On June 24th, 2000 I sponsored a weekend trip to Baltimore, Maryland (crab feast) for a one-night stay. To start things off the bus driver arrived 45 minutes late at our pick-up point. I was told upon booking this tour that the motor coach was equipped with air-conditioning, TV, VCR, and restroom for our comfort and convenience.

To make a long story short, none of these amenities worked. As if this was not enough, The bus driver took a wrong turn which put us three hours behind schedule. When one of the other passengers attempted to give him directions, he refused to take any interest in the matter and was very rude and obnoxious.

Also, Mat Kramer (tour coordinator)at Adventure Unlimited told me I would receive a complimentary room at the hotel but when I arrived, I was told the hotel was sold out and they did not have an extra room. Once we arrived at the hotel we only had enough time to shower and change clothes to attend the Crab Feast. Needless to say we were late arriving at the Crab Feast because, the bus driver was taking a swim with his son in the hotel's pool instead of familiarizing himself with our itinerary.

On Sunday (June 25th, 2000) The bus driver was involved in a car accident. He sideswiped a passenger van. The people on the bus were screaming "what's happening", "let me off this bus", "I can't breathe." People were scared and very upset. Cops arrived at the scene but because the other vehicle involved in the accident did not hang around to report the incident, there was really nothing they could do.

After this catastrophe no one wanted to get back on the bus. I called the bus company directly and spoke to a man name Jimmy. I explained what had happened but Jimmy was not very helpful. He told me he did not have another bus available or another bus driver. Therefore we had no other choice but board this broken-down bus and head home.

This trip was never what it should have been. The bus driver's lack of professionalism to know his business and desire to be of service. I could have received more comfort and convenience driving my own car to Maryland.

From the moment we boarded this bus there was nothing but displeasure. For one, the condition of the bus itself was unpleasant and inexcusable. With the Air Conditioning not working it caused the entire group to feel uncomfortable and aggravated. There were some people on this bus who were asthmatic. Two of which experienced wheezing, coughing and dizziness.

The bathroom toilet had no water/ or disinfectant at the base. This meant if you used the toilet you could not flush the toilet. We had to stop at a rest area to use the restroom because our bus had not been properly maintained. Now I assume that this is where ther tiny insects were coming from. The bathroom filtered the bus with a strong stench. Now, not only were we burning up, but, we had a bathroom we couldn't use and had to smell, and fan bugs out of our faces all day.

And because I was told the motorcoach was equipped with TV & VCR, I had took the liberty of renting 2 movies at $7.50 each because I had intended on my group watching a movie on the way down as a form of entertainment. That turned out to be a total waste because neither one worked.

As a result of the bus driver being lost, we were not able to go to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for sightseeeing and lunch. This was completely eliminated due to time constraints.

The bus accident was the icing on the cake. My people were so shaken up that 4 passengers exited the bus and walked to the nearest Greyhound Bus Station. There were people who experienced migraine headaches and asthma. We were suppose to have dinner on our way home at Old Country Buffet, but because everyone was so exhausted and shaken up by this incident the entire group just wanted to go home.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.