Bad Publicity for Lifestyle

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NALs

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Jan 20, 2003
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Lifestyle is currently subjected to negative publicity due to the bad treatment Wilson (in a blue tie) got. He is even blaming Lifestyle for why tourism has been hit in Puerto Plata.

It's in Spanish because it's geared towards Dominicans. Lifestyles gets plenty of business from Dominicans, so this can become a problem if it becomes more viral.

 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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For those of us who are still Spanish challenged, what is the jist of the issue?
 

Northern Coast Diver

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The real issue is that he bought through a travel agency which showed him the VIP Lifestyle video and then sold him a package that did not include any VIP privileges. He blames the hotel for what sounds like a snow job by the agency involved.
 

Big

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Apr 24, 2019
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a place that caters to truck drivers and fork lift operators will not have turn down service with a mint on the pillow
 
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Ezequiel

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If that is the one in Cofresi, that hotel is horrible. I stayed there for a wedding and I'll never stay there again.
 
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TropicalPaul

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There are plenty of forums which are highly critical of Lifestyles elsewhere on the web. They seem to be the usual con-artists selling timeshare and clearly have friends in high places in DR. When you look at all the extras you have to pay even after you have paid for the vacation package, in today's market it seems even more of a rip-off.

 
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TropicalPaul

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For those of us who are still Spanish challenged, what is the jist of the issue?

Amongst many complaints he says that when you book you are told you get ABCDE but when you arrive what you have access to is limited, and there's no easy way to tell what you can and can't do, you just have to turn up to a restaurant or venue and see if they let you in. Poor guest information, no communication. Rooms were poor. The towels were nasty, the staff were insufficient to cope with the amount of guests, nobody to answer phones or respond to guests in reception. They have peacocks roaming around which make a lot of noise outside guest rooms and prevent you from having a lie-in. They also complain that the food was disgusting. He hated it so much that he says that even if they offer him a free stay for a month he wouldn't go back. He paid RD$ 150,000 for 7 people for 3 days, 2 nights.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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Amongst many complaints he says that when you book you are told you get ABCDE but when you arrive what you have access to is limited, and there's no easy way to tell what you can and can't do, you just have to turn up to a restaurant or venue and see if they let you in. Poor guest information, no communication. Rooms were poor. The towels were nasty, the staff were insufficient to cope with the amount of guests, nobody to answer phones or respond to guests in reception. They have peacocks roaming around which make a lot of noise outside guest rooms and prevent you from having a lie-in. They also complain that the food was disgusting. He hated it so much that he says that even if they offer him a free stay for a month he wouldn't go back. He paid RD$ 150,000 for 7 people for 3 days, 2 nights.
In the hotels defense (can't believe I just said that) I believe he stated he had 16 people for 8 beds so double the occupancy allowed.
 

Big

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There are plenty of forums which are highly critical of Lifestyles elsewhere on the web. They seem to be the usual con-artists selling timeshare and clearly have friends in high places in DR. When you look at all the extras you have to pay even after you have paid for the vacation package, in today's market it seems even more of a rip-off.

the "time share" scam has been exposed for decades. Anyone who gets ripped off has no one to blame. The same people that fall for "credit repair", "debt relief", "rent to own", "payday loans" and "send us cash to collect your prize" are the same suckers that complicate their lives with this scam
 

TropicalPaul

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In the hotels defense (can't believe I just said that) I believe he stated he had 16 people for 8 beds so double the occupancy allowed.

I'd dispute that. At 1.50 I hear him saying "casi $150,000 pesos por 3 dias, 7 personas." Admittedly he says it very fast almost under his breath but I can't find a 16 in there.
 

TropicalPaul

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the "time share" scam has been exposed for decades. Anyone who gets ripped off has no one to blame. The same people that fall for "credit repair", "debt relief", "rent to own", "payday loans" and "send us cash to collect your prize" are the same suckers that complicate their lives with this scam

It is amazing how they are still selling it though. One of my staff was working in Melia in Punta Cana and another was working in Lifestyles, both selling time-share, working in a huge team. In Europe the law says that you have to have 14 days after signing the contract to consider it, and you cannot ask for an upfront payment until this 14 days is over. And banks and credit card companies tend to insist that you've had independent legal advice. It's a real shame that the US and Canadian governments don't do the same.

I personally went to a timeshare sales event in New York once and found it was tantamount to fraud, the math they were using to sell their product was very very dodgy.
 
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