My wife and I purchased a 3-night vacation package in September 2018. We were told repeatedly by both the sales person and the supervisor that we would stay at a resort property, unless there were no rooms available for our preferred dates/locations. We were also told explicitly that there would be no additional fees besides the $199 purchase price. The sales person and supervisor both said that we "should have no problem" booking a room at either Powhatan or Greensprings for the dates that we wanted to travel.
When I attempted to book our vacation, I was told that our package entitled us to stay at a hotel, not a resort property. We were offered a room in a Best Western. So, instead of allowing us to stay at a resort property (as we were promised), the booking department tried giving us a room at a cheap, crappy hotel. I was then told that we could pay $50 per night to "upgrade" to the resort property. Upon realizing that your sales staff had blatantly lied to us in order to (fraudulently) induce us to purchase the package, I asked for a refund. However, I was told about about 10 different customer "service" representatives that Diamond has a "no refund" policy but they would be happy to cancel our package without issuing a refund. That was obviously not a viable solution.
After speaking with countless people, someone from the escalation team finally helped us book a room at the resort - which is what we were promised when we purchased the package.
We attended the sales presentation in April and described our experience to multiple sales people, managers, and even someone who claimed to be a director of something (although he did not have a business card and would not give us his contact information). All of the Diamond staff members told us that the booking department had made a mistake because the package that we purchased absolutely entitled us to stay at a resort property - not a second/third-rate hotel. One of the managers said that he "wanted to make it right" and asked if we would be willing to give Diamond Resorts a second chance. We were obviously skeptical, but he seemed sincere, so we agreed. That night, we purchased another 3-night vacation package from a sales person at the resort (Mona).
We asked the sales person at least 10 times if the package entitled us to stay at a resort property, and if we would be charged any additional fees to do so. She told us repeatedly that the purpose of the offer is to solicit our business, so of course we would stay at the resort. She also said that we would not be charged any additional fees to stay at the resort (which is exactly what the first sales person told us).
Well, that was obviously not true.
When we called Diamond Resorts and attempted to book our trip, we were told by multiple customer "service" representatives that our package entitles us to only stay at a hotel, and there would be a $50 or $100 fee per night to stay at a resort instead. Even worse, the representative offered us a room at La Quinta or or another, similar hotel. Before we purchased the second package, the sales person said that, if there were no rooms available at any of the resorts, we would stay in a hotel of comparable quality to the resorts (she even showed us pictures of some of the hotels, which appeared to be very expensive/luxurious). La Quinta and Best Western are in NO WAY comparable to a Diamond resort or any of the hotel options that the sales person showed us.
The sales person also promised to cancel our package and refund the entire purchase price if any problems arose while attempting to book our vacation. She showed us a button on her computer screen that would allow her to cancel and refund our purchase. So, it appears that despite what the customer "service" people have repeatedly told us, there is in fact a way for them to cancel and refund our purchase.
When I asked to cancel the package, I received the exact same response as last time: "We have a no-refund policy; we would be happy to cancel your package but we will not give you a refund."
We were also told that we would have to pay a $200 fee to go to Virginia Beach in August because that is considered "high season." Again, the sales person told us that we would be charged NO ADDITIONAL FEES. We told the sales person exactly where (Virginia Beach) and when (August 2019) we want to go on vacation, and she made no mention of the fact that we would have to pay an extra $200 for some ridiculous "high season" fee.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!! read more