Complaint Review: Grand Mayan

My husband and I attended a timeshare presentation when staying at the Grand Luxxe in Neuvo Vallarta in December 2013. We are long-time timeshare owners (with Club Intrawest) and exchanged into the Grand Luxxe, so we know the industry and SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

However, the package they presented to us was perfect for our needs to exchange for all kinds of vacation properties (resorts, hotels) for our travel needs. They hoodwinked us with how the supposed five travel exchange companies that work with Vida would maximize our ability to exchange and do the type of traveling that we desired (the five that were itemized on our work sheet of course turned out to be only two, one that has only a fraction of the properties that our current timeshare has access to and the other that has a 3 month delay in granting membership!!!). We told them upfront that we had no desire to stay in any of the Vida property locations. We are not beach people; we do not do mega resorts; we like urban vacation destinations throughout the world.

Guess what? When we got home and tried to actually do some exchanges, it was a non-starter. We were totally duped! And we fell for it!

Although not a decision maker for us, even the supposed "Vida dollars" that we were given, including an amount credited to that account due to misinformation that we called them out on, turned out to be a lie. We were not told that the so-called Vida dollars were just partial credits toward payment of overpriced travel and other merchandise so that by the time you apply your Vida dollars, you are still spending more of your own hard-earned dollars than the item is worth! So far, it turns out that absolutely everything they told us is a lie. No, you can't rent out your week for $1K as they suggested.

No, you can't stay at the W in NYC for $299 a week. No, you can't exchange into a 1-bedroom using a studio. And on and on. I am sick about this.

I am retired and am having to go back to work to pay for this horrible mistake because, of course, we cannot sell our current timeshare for the value they guaranteed us it would sell for. Of course, you cannot figure out that you were lied to within the 5-dayrescission period unless you were lucky enough to attend the presentation on your lastday of your stay and can research the actual facts when you are home. Please, if you are reading this, do not buy into the Vida membership, do not exchange into a Grand Mayan and their affiliate properties, do not attend a timeshare presentation.

If you are so inclined to visit Mexico (and you should; it's wonderful!), there are literally thousands of places you can stay -- DO NOT book into a Vida property!

Bea

Seattle, Washington