Beware beware the Aquamare!

[Poppy]

Nightmare Hotel! Too long a story to put on here but suffice to say never again!! They refused to accept our conf letter from them that deposit had been paid and demanded full payment suffice to say we walked out but they still have our disputed deposit!

[Wallace]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience Poppy.
Conversely however, I have stayed at and visited the Aquamar many times with no issues.

[Poppy]

Maybe you did Wallace but how can they dispute a payment when you have the conf from them on their headed paper that it was paid and clearly showing the balance due and for the manager to refuse to even discuss it?
Absolutely shocking and I will publicise this as much as I can!

[Wallace]

I understand your feelings and action Poppy

[Dominic]

Why not bring it up on their Facebook page?

https://www.facebook.com/AquamareBeachHotelSpa/

[Poppy]

I will Dom thanks .I have also put on Trip Advisor. Now we have calmed down a bit I will pop into the Bank but my account is closed with them and have no account details on me as all paperwork is packed and on the container. When I try to access on internet it lets me in with my password etc but of course says no account so not sure if we can get a paper trail or not. They also said that they never take deposits because you can cancel within 3 days of arrival with no penalty but in their terms and conditions it says that you can cancel and if so you will receive a full refund of your deposit which obviously contradicts what they were saying.

[Poppy]

It's a bloody nightmare when you arrive exhausted after packing your whole life away here and just expecting a couple of days relaxation before the flight and they try to con you out of your deposit and are so rude that we had to walk away!! Two sides to every story eh? You tell me the other side then!!

[Jimgym]

Nightmare Hotel! Too long a story ....

Yeah, two sides to every story. Hardly a 'nightmare' if you have some dispute over a paper-trail for a deposit.

Doesn't mean the other side of the story is right, in any way. One person's nightmare etc....

[J B]

I will pop into the Bank but my account is closed with them and have no account details

I know it's easy to be 'wise after the event' (but maybe as a heads up to others) it would have been better to keep the account open.

Why did you close it?

[bigfathen]

Why wouldn't you close it?

[PhotoLady]

Our Cyprus account is still open and we still use it even though we are back in UK. However, we did keep our up to date statement and other necessary paperwork with us when we left, rather than put it all in the container. We needed some of it for proof of oversees residency when we got back to UK and some of those things wouldn't wait until our container arrived.
Our container went 2 weeks before we left but we still had to wait about 10 days before it reached us and we've unpacked it as we needed it because we downsized to a smaller property than we had in Cyprus.

But, if you had paperwork showing your reservation and the balance due - that should have been enough for the hotel to accept it.... They were very wrong not to take your booking.

I always reserve online and generally through a system such as Booking.com and keep the details on my mobile phone as well...

Don't let it go..... Make sure you follow it up!

[Dominic]

We always found bookcyprus.com to be very reliable, plus the cheapest. Plus, when we had problems, we could speak to somebody on the phone and they answered emails very quickly.

[Poppy]

JB we closed it because we had 3 accounts with different banks and we are permanently returning to the UK. We closed two and kept one open because we need a credit card for our car hire. It is Sods law that we kept the one open that I did not pay with!

[Poppy]

Sorry duplicate post

[keving]

I was in a similar position last year. In August I booked direct on a hotel website for a stay in October. I paid on line and the website told me that payment for the full amount would be taken immediately and that I had booked a non refundable rate.

Turned up at the hotel in October and was asked for my credit card to pay for the stay. I told them I had already paid and showed them the printout of the booking that I had brought with me stating that payment would be taken at time of booking.

After much searching on their computer system and discussion between receptionist and manager they said to me that there has been some mistake, they should have taken the money from my card but for some reason they hadn't. They couldnt explain why.

I asked, are you sure? I dont have my credit card statements with me to prove that I had paid. They said again you definately have not paid.

I handed over my credit card and said if it turns out when I get back home that I have paid twice I'll want the money refunding immediately. They said of course.

Any way, I got back home and checked my credit card statements and it turns out they were right all along, for whatever reason they made a mistake in not charging my credit card at time of booking.

It worked out OK in the end, but did cause some anxiety at the time.

[PhotoLady]

It is Sods law that we kept the one open that I did not pay with!

Always the case, eh?

[Poppy]

Yes similar Keving but did you actually have the paperwork that clearly showed PAID and clearly shows the balance due as we did? I suppose if their attitude had been better it might have helped.

[keving]

Yes similar Keving but did you actually have the paperwork that clearly showed PAID and clearly shows the balance due as we did? I suppose if their attitude had been better it might have helped.

No, I didn't have what you had. But I was franticly racking my brains to try and remember if I had seen the amount go through my credit card. At the end of the day I had no choice but to potentially pay them twice and then rely on sorting out any mistake when I got back to England.

I agree with you, the Aquamare's customer service orientation could be a lot better.