Vida Vacations Reviews

Whenever we phone, others don't really want to help with your travels, they just want you to pay more money.. TERRIBLE, aggressive. Just got off a call when he wouldn't stop pushing a deal, for me to pay more money. Don't listen to Tara, don't listen to Rafael. Promise you service from London. That's how I got sucked in to the Fraud Squad. Please, Club Freedom, give me a call, if you disagree.

After we ate at the Mexican restaurant we went to our timeshare high pressured talk which went on & on. When we escaped from that, we received a promise of a restaurant (with a reservation) to go to from Nathaly **. We waited for her to pick us up for the dinner. She never showed up & when I called the restaurant I found out that she never made the reservation & they never heard of her nor of the Vida Vacations nor Grand Incentives. She made a fool out of us. I would never trust what this company says - they are not reputable & irresponsible.

And the 2 free cruises which can only be used for 4 days/3 nights, are costing over $1000 plus taxes to redeem. I did a search on generic travel websites and found the SAME cruise to buy for $800. So the FREE cruises cost MORE than buying from any cruising websites. I called customer services for this company, and 1 hour-50 minutes and 5 people later. I was told they can MATCH any price I find that is cheaper!! Really? They promised me free and discounted cruises then charge more than the going rate and would ONLY DISCOUNT if I find a better prices and send to them in writing! WHAT A SCAM!

We refused to pay today then they bring us to another guy. The guy is offer us pay 2500 then we will become member, enjoy one week free for vida property and 2000off for all inclusive hotel. We don't want to it, since we reviewed online, everyone said it's scam. Then he offered 750 to enjoy Disney cruise. And we still not do it, he was piss off and became rude. We felt lucky walk outside of the building without paying anything. At last, we pay the taxi fee to get back our cruise. We totally wasted one day there and pay 20 dollars for taxi.

When we got there they said that to her would take quite a bit of time since their property is over 3,000 Acres so we opted for the short one which was in an office building upstairs is a typical timeshare presentation. So once breakfast was done I was looking at my clock and what ended up we were being told was 1 hour presentation the hour didn't even start when we finish with breakfast it started when we got back up to the up to the timeshare presentation room again after several minutes touring the property scene rooms going through visuals of future properties blah blah blah.

Total time spent there was just about 4 hours. I was livid on our last day of vacation. I wanted to spend more time relaxing by my pool, not putting up with their multiple layers of sales people that all didn't seem to understand the word no. The people themselves were very nice sweet talking and pleasant, but they were kind of like someone mentioned before, salesman in a snake suit. They had one motive and that was to pressure you into something when you balked at the price, they brought somebody different and put you in another room to get what you were offered, then another person comes to ask how it was then they stick you with another price and it went on and on and on.

They saw that I was getting upset and at this point trying my best to be pleasant with them but forcefully kept on asking for the damn taxi to leave period they had no problem escorting you right where you needed to be when you got there but when it came time to leave they pointed you the direction and we were kind of lost and stuck in Jurassic Park. I'm very thankful we walked out of there without spending and dying but people that have not been in as many tours as we have would definitely have a problem say no to them. But that would be the biggest mistake of your life, when you can rent it from Airbnb, from someone else, regardless of the cost, and the long term would save you thousands of dollars rather than paying and exorbitant fee up front and then continually paying for every week you want to go to on vacation. And they conveniently ask you a front if you have any other appointments.

If you are tempted to go on a tour, which I'm warning you not to, at least tell them you have an appointment like in three hours from the time you walk in their door, although I'm not sure that would help you. They would probably try to argue and fight with you that you was supposed to have no time limits, yet you were promised a one-hour tour after breakfast or lunch whatever meal you went to, which is not going to happen I guarantee.

After check-in: Greeted by personal concierge, given potent drink, do not drink it until after you decline free breakfast and 1-hour presentation booking slot, even if they insist that you must attend.

If you attend breakfast your salesperson joins you for breakfast then takes you to the isolated sales area, note, no guest WiFi access. They will draw rectangles, acronyms, lines, a dollar sign and cross it out, etc. Ask for a standard contract to review while they are doodling. When they step away note the laptop camera is pointing towards you, they are waiting for you to discuss information to use on the sale closure. Make something up and watch them return to use that information to close the sale. You then meet the manager, taken outside to meet the unscrupulous used car salesman, then taken to a basement to meet the “closer” who actually is a used car salesman. Then told how to leave, unescorted, back to shuttles.

Time wasted: 4 hours.

Gained: Breakfast, tour of property, water view from best balcony, discount on resort fee (keep receipt.)

I have sat through sales pitches on timeshares, travel clubs and the like my share of times; but this one was over the top. The free breakfast buffet and one-hour sales presentation turned into far more than that. My wife was in serious physical distress going through the gauntlet; but little care was shown by several layers of sales people we interacted with.

Things at one pointed nonetheless sounded good; and I actually initially put a deposit down on one deal. Yet in the final, video-recorded close process, yet more things came to light that weren't prior. After another LONG process through a few last-minute pitch attempts, I was able to get these people to refund my money...and THEN finally get on with our honeymoon. Further, after added investigation, we found that most of what was promised was disingenuous (and in part, after visiting with other vacationers there, a couple of whom regretted their own prior purchase but were now making the best of things).

The part aggravating, part comical aspect of all this is that the property was most impressive (though not exactly cheap; we wondered how the families with small children did cost-wise). The grounds were beautiful and impeccably maintained, landscaped, etc. Pretty much to a person, the employees were wonderful and attentive to our every need. We ate some of the best meals we have had anywhere.

In the end, Vidanta's Founder Daniel Chavez has a mid-size Cadillac equivalent of a vacation experience to sell. How and why he sees fit to allow people to sell it as if they were trying to move an old Chevy on its last legs to an unsuspecting sucker I don't understand. So if you vacation to Vidanta, enjoy the experience...but refuse ANY and all attempts to hook you.

We own several timeshares in the states and have been to many sales presentations, but these folks take the cake. They are as smooth as slick Willie in a snake suit. We had to go thru 4 layers of snakes, sales people, to make it out of Jurassic Park. The whole process, from the 20-30 minute cab ride, twice, to the 3 hours of lunch and sales, put us at about 4 hours. We were glad to get back to our cruise ship and sail away, way away. So, please take our advice, us and the other reviews, stay clear and save your money.

To allow an example, I asked him to show me Lucerne Switzerland for August 2023. I knew how much a week's rental was running on Airbnb (where I often book) so this would be a fair test if the package would save me money. At $499 per week, I would be saving at least $1,000 per week in rental if the package was legit. He brought it up on his computer and showed me dozens of places. I asked if they were all available at the cost of $499 per week. He said yes, all of these would be available at $499 per week in Lucerne, Switzerland. So, thinking it was a good deal I bought it.

Then, after the rescind period passed I find out that NOTHING in the WHOLE country of Switzerland is available. For any date, let alone in August. Whatever Darryl showed all 6 of us was NOT the real deal. And the contract states that Limitless Vacations does not assume any promises made by their sales people. In other words, the sales people can demonstrate the product, you think you're going to get that product, but you won't. And you also won't get your money back. If you are reading this, and within your 5 days to rescind, do so!

The free stays they’ll pressure you to upgrade and spend an arm and a leg to do it. When you refuse all of it and ask how to cancel, they’ll either A) Put you on hold indefinitely so you can’t get through to talk to someone, B) Sound understanding and tell you to just stop paying the bank your Loan (horrible, dangerous advice), C) Try and ignore all your concerns and get you to book your “free” week or, D) Ignore you and all of your follow ups going forward. It’s horrible. It’s sleazy. It’s dishonest. The hotel isn’t even that nice and everything they say in the meeting is misleading. I could not have worse things to say. And I actually have parents and friends with timeshares that ARE good and helpful so I’m not a total timeshare hater. But this my friends… this is a flat-out scam.

I received a phone call from Hawaiin Vacations last week to find out that in order to receive what we were promised we would have to pay an additional $3000 & they do not SELL our current timeshare. They can only have us deposit our points with them. We were verbally told that I would be able to get everything that the platinum package provides but they omitted to tell us it would cost us an additional $3000.

After paying the $3000, the platinum package includes a reoccurring fee of $99 a year instead of $299 a year for basic plan, 100% inventory, 40 weeks on the platform that never expire, 4 authorized users on the account, 2 free cruises a year, airfare, prorated nightly room rates, gain full access to Hawaiian Vacations Maintenance fee Protection & Platinum Rental Program which means Hawaiin Vacation would be our property manager, small brokerage fee, to advertise and rent out our units for us for the units we don't use to receive money back to make a profit.

I also thought and was told that if we don't use our timeshare, we would be able to rent out our units on our own, to get cash back, through VRBO or Airbnb using Vidanta website pictures and descriptions BUT to do this there is a $3000 fee to initiate rentals through those websites and the lowest I can go to rent for a week is $850 - $1900 BECAUSE I'M NOT PLATINUM, which means NO PROFIT! Platinum for a week is $699 to $899 and I am currently $850 - $1900 for a week in the basic plan. Under the platinum plan at additional $3000 if we chose to rent out our units, we would make a profit ... that one's a kicker because without the platinum package our weeks will cost is $850 for a room and $1900 for a suite for a week!

Here is another issue I have and that's the Ambassador Program. We were told we were chosen because we live in Washington State, and they wanted more people from our State to check out the Vidanta properties. We were given 10, 8-day 7-night accommodation certificates which include ground transportation from airport to resort. They stated for us to donate these 10 certificates to Make a Wish Foundation in Washington State and when Make a Wish Foundation auctions them off, we get paid for each certificate auctioned off. We could get up to $5000 a year if all 10 are auctioned off and any money collected gets put on a Vidanta visa which we would collect when we go on a vacation at a Vidanta property. We are supposed to get 10 certificates this year and an additional 10 certificates next year which could bring in $10,000 in 2 years.

In the paperwork, there is no directions on how to donate these certificates to Make a Wish Foundation in order for us to get our certificate credits. I contacted Vidanta and requested help on the process to get a return email that states the following "Make a Wish Foundation & Vidanta Resorts are two separate and independent companies. Therefore, to receive accurate information regarding my request to donate certificates, I should contact Make a Wish Foundation in Washington State directly." WHAT!!!! Vidanta is who signed me up for the Ambassador Program and now that I have questions, they can't help me!!!? Nowhere in the paperwork does it tell you how to donate certificates to charities nor is there any contact information for questions. We are left in the dark on how to donate and make sure that we get financial credit for the certificates we are donating.

We don't want to donate and take the chance that Make a Wish Foundation doesn't know anything about the program, and we do not receive the $5000 as was stated to me once all 10 certificates have been auctioned off. The welcome package for the Ambassador program does not mention CHARITIES. It only mentions friends, family, colleagues and also states that guests only pay the usage fee for the room type in our contract which without platinum it's $850 (room) to $1900 (suite) for a week depending on if they want an entire suite or a bedroom. That's a rip-off for a week!!!! Nobody is going to want a certificate for a week for that price, therefore, we won't get any money back.

When we were sold this Ambassador package, we did the math and thought to ourselves that there was no way we could lose but this is farthest from the truth! We feel that we were frauded for their gain. We signed the contract, after being there 6 hours and wanting to leave, TRUSTING that what we spoke about was what we're receiving. Shame on us for trusting them!!! We will be going all over the internet to let everyone know to steer clear of purchasing ANYTHING with Vidanta properties because we feel we have been ripped off!!! We DEMAND ALL OF OUR MONEY BACK otherwise we will be very vocal about your lies on ALL PLATFORMS!!!

I just found out that club freedom is another type of luxury timeshare with prices out of my pocket. That club freedom is useless unless you are a millionaire. We wasted our hard earned money on this crap. My mother is retired and is living out of his pension, part of her money went there. It's so shameful. The park was supposed to be opened this month and did not happen. They also sold us a suite in the Kingdom of the sun which is still under construction. It was too much information and we were already tired of being there. Hopefully, this helps someone save their money.

After six hours of being there and being sent from room to room to room to room four different places one of the places making a complaint about the whole thing I felt targeted. I felt pressured. I felt I couldn’t leave. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know how to get back to my resort. I insisted several times for them to get me my taxi. Instead they would take me to another area where another Man was waiting to talk me into this. All of a sudden they brought the price down from $40,000-$5000 so I felt the only way to get out of there was a sign a contract for $5000. They also promised me that this could be used in Europe. It could be used all over the world. It’s not just in Mexico. They gave me a song and a dance and in the contract it mentions Europe but it happens to be a whole other thing called Limitless vacations which is something separate entirely that I have to pay for.

They had me so confused what was going on. If you can only imagine six hours of sitting there or being brought around from place to place how tired I was. I just wanted to get back to my resort onto my vacation that I wanted to be on. They wore me down. Fast forward now I’m home looking at everything and I realize none of the things were true about Europe. This can only be used in Mexico and they already don’t have the weeks available I was looking at. So now After trying to make it work I realize this is not what I wanted. I called up immediately to try to get out of my contract. The woman was very nice. She brought it to another person called Luke. Luke brought it to corporate and today I received word from corporate that it’s not happening. I said, "Well I guess you guys like targeting single women and keeping them hostage for six hours against their will and so on and so forth until they sign."

Just giving everybody a heads up do not buy anything in Vidanta. - Vida Vacations. They are snakes. They lie. Looking back I truly felt like they mentally wore me down and my only way out was money. Now I’m stuck with a timeshare I will never use. I lost 5000.00 and I feel like a fool. Corporate did not even take this seriously. Again treating a woman like she is beneath them. They told me to find a Spanish speaking lawyer. The nerve of these people.

Also be aware that the place is huge and very confusing to get around on the property. It’s also very far from town, and they do this on purpose to confuse you. Do Not Book a room here, prices on the resort are very expensive and they will use bait and switch tactics to get more $$ out of you. Also, you cannot use all the pools and restaurants, only the ones associated with your unit, which invalidates the point of going to a big resort. The gondolas are not available to guests either and if you want to see Cirque de Soleil you must buy an expensive ticket.

BUT IN CASE you went and were pressured to BUY, if you are within 5 business days of signing the contract, YOU CAN BACK OUT without penalty. Type a letter and sign it & take it along with all the documents you signed & deliver them back (don’t tell them you are canceling, or they will try to block you). In Mexico you have 5 days by law to cancel. Internet has more information on this. I honestly do not know how this place has not been investigated for fraudulent practices but nevertheless the WARNINGS are real!

Orestes picked us up promptly at 9am, and took us to the largest construction area I’ve ever seen. Just by dropping us there, he has earned his commission. The the resort is stunning…I mean absolutely breathtaking. You feel like you’re in Jurassic Park, it’s honestly that massive, & it’s not even completed yet. We were given bright green VIP wrist bands and whisked to the front desk for check in. They want a lot of info up front. This is where you start to see how complex this scam is. It’s very layered and very well thought out. Dean from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan greeted us with a firm handshake and an ex police officer smile, He gave us a warm Canadian back story to make us comfy and trust him and then sent us to brunch with “his best” sales guy Enrique.

We liked Enrique, great kid with a big heart. He’s in the wrong business though, his colleagues are cold, and lack his empathy & understanding. My partner & I watched elderly couples, single mothers, & newlyweds go through this confusing sales tunnel. It was really awful. After saying no to Enrique, he asked us to think about it. Saskatoon Dean was not impressed, he told us to sign at $20K or leave. Wow. Okay…no problem Dean. (It’s more about the Canadian dollar, not the flag for him. Dean is also a flustered man because his son cost him too much money at Pilot school.)

But now there is a problem, you can’t leave! You get sent into more rooms, and more sales reps are after your money. You can’t walk throughout the resort. You have to wait for a golf cart. But they won’t call you a golf cart until they’re done with you. Ultimately we paid (can you believe it?!) $4K and were waiting to sign the final contract when the smoke and mirrors came crashing down. There is no specific final contract!!

Vida Vacations sales reps are mandated to record the last stage of their sales “scam” (which in itself already says a lot about this company). During this recording we were asking for the exact details that had been promised to us. They said they “couldn’t change a legal contract, but rest assured, our deal was good and everything we had agreed on would be fine.” We asked for an instant refund. They sent in one final sales rep to convince us things were safe. Up until now, every other sales rep had been like minded in some way. They all had either a Canadian or USA connection and were all very attractive, active people with great smiles. This guy looked, and spoke like he was fresh out of prison. He then offered us another $2K off the final total, and was just pissed about it.

My partner had been very upfront about being a nerdy lawyer who would be looking the contract over closely. I cannot tell you the joy I felt while watching their scam fall apart as my partner ripped apart all the legal issues with the Vida Vacations “contract”. I thought Luke from BC, the Vida Vacation’s legal representative, was going to cry. I wanted to applaud at the end. It was an interesting day. I’m glad we went there but I don’t recommend it. Dean, their Director of Sales, from Saskatoon will be leaving for Australia soon. Maybe things will better? I doubt it.

After paying for almost 1 year, I inquired about using 2 weeks and was told it would be $1700 to use 2 of the weeks that we had "purchased" and that we would only be able to use a "studio" unit, a glorified hotel room. We were led to believe we would have 2 bedroom unit at the time we purchased. They are incredibly dishonest and will tell you anything to get a sale. Avoid these crooks AT ALL COSTS!!!

I was lead to believe that the Weekly cost to rent a room with the purchase of the Vidanta program was at a discount because I paid the large upfront cost. But in doing research and talking to several members I have found out that the weekly cost to stay on one of Vidanta resorts without the Vidanta Vacation program is well below the price you would have to pay in being part of the program. (So I paid a large upfront cost so I could pay more for the weekly rate!) Does that sound like a good deal? I don't believe so. I would be a richer person today and get a better weekly rate l if I did not purchase the Vidanta vacation program as it is only a deal for Vidanta and not their customers.

The customer service rep’s name is Mark **!!! Yes you heard me **! ** later sent an email apologizing, and only because he was forced to do it by his boss! You see on the same day, I thought that I was fortunate to meet another Mark, his name is Mark **. After I complained to Mark ** about **’s behavior, an apology came in email from Mark **. That apology was never accepted, and needless to say, both Mark are simply part of a shady company. I later received an email from Vida Vacations with a complaint case initiated by customer service, and a promise to follow up, no follow up ever happened.

Now, please help me out!!! I am going to file a class action lawsuit, based on what happened to me and you at the hands of this company! We can't let this company continue to swindle hard working people and generate such negative emotions in all of us. All I need from anyone who was abused by Vida Vacations is your support "NOT MONEY"!!! We are all victims of shady practices based on lies and fabrications. I will create a group on Facebook by the name of "Vida Victims.” I would like to look up each and everyone of you on Facebook, ask you for your story, and hopefully create a Vida victims’ group. We can only do it TOGETHER!

We called twice to reception to inform that we were unable to sleep due to the activities next door. They did not do anything. We spent 5 long days and the day that we were checking out our returning flight was cancelled. We could not take it no more, we just wanted to leave. We booked a new flight reservation to avoid two more nights at this hotel. We needed to spend a credit of 1,375 dollars for food and we did not spend we also lost it. We were supposed to spend 7 days but our flight was cancelled at our departure day from New York. We ended spending more money than we planned.

I told my friend to keep a picture of this place because we are not planning to come back or recommended to anyone else. Too expensive for the poor quality of service offered. Be aware of the 1:30 minutes meeting. It will take all day. There is not need of having a membership to enjoy a good and quality vacation in a five diamonds resort. The marketing crew is full of corruption, lies and ethical values.