Grupo Vidanta
reviews and complaints

After reading several reviews about Vidanta, I must say my experience aligns more with the negative feedback. The resort fell short of expectations, with issues ranging from poor customer service to subpar accommodations. The constant pressure to buy into a timeshare was off-putting, and the overall atmosphere felt more focused on sales than guest satisfaction. The high prices for mediocre food and amenities added to the disappointment. I would caution potential visitors to manage their expectations and explore other options for a truly enjoyable vacation.

I repeat go there to vacation but it will be expensive food is astronomically overpriced!
I repeat do not go on a presentation it's literally a trap.

Vidanta Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya: As long as you stay at the Grand Luxxe rooms are huge, large, new & modern with nice outdoor balconies (request the highest floor or your room will be totally dark because every building is surrounded by jungle. Expect Mosquitoes & shockingly the resort doesn't even have Mosquito spray or coils for guests. They also have no umbrellas in each unit, surprising & badly needed considering it's a rain forest! 1st week we had a unit with no hot water in the sinks, which they never did fix and fridge didn't work, which took them 2 fridge replacements to fix the problem with fridge and freezer both. Parking is such a nightmare I'd recommend using taxis instead of renting a car, especially with mandatory insurance charged by car rental companies.

We have visited Cancun Mexico 3 times. Every time it has been at a different resort and I can honestly say that they were all great. The difference with Vidanta, is they are trying to build the largest theme part on earth and need to pay for it somehow! So once I turned them down for the $120,000 time share presentation you HAVE to attend, their attitude changed completely. They also require you to put a minimum of $1,000 as a DEPOSIT that goes toward your expenses. The only issue is that is actually does NOT! When you check out they will still charge you for any purchases you spent, so it does not go against your deposit. When I checked out they told me that the "Deposit" of $1,000 would be returned to my bank account in 24 hours. 2 weeks later i have NOT receive the funds yet and there is not A SINGLE competent person that can tell me why? NOT ONE! They also added several charges to my bill that i did NOT approve. In my honest opinion, you can have a great experience in Mexico as I have before, without going through Vidanta! Very poor company that only cares about one thing, getting you to buy a timeshare so they can pay for Walleyworld! Book somewhere else!

I scored a two star as the taxi drivers are wonderful and most of the staff are really nice.
--We were excited about this trip. I booked it a while back before Covid. Had to reschedule twice. We finally made it. We always have a great time on vacation. By the third day on this vacation, we were ready to come home. We did the "hour long" presentation that took 6 hours. My husband caved in and we signed the papers. We wanted to get out of it, so we found out that we had 5 day. We were still there and made an appointment within our time there. When we showed up, two men dressed all in black was waiting for us where a lady usually is. They were very intimidating. When we were asked about how we were treated at the desk, I told her this. We had to go into the elevator with one of the guys. As soon as the doors closed, he looked at me and loudly said, "You told my boss I was mean to you?" After all said and done, three hours later; we signed the papers to get our money back. We did after we got home.
-- Now another reason we wanted to go home, for the first three days, we walked into our hotel, well at the desk just outside a person would question us why we were there, do we belong there, and when do we check out. I was upset as we were questioned. There are many hotels there. This one had no pool or places to do anything. I was confused why we were questioned.
--Lastly, we were told if we made a reservation for chairs by the pool they would be our all day. Well, third try we got chair by the pool. We were told after ordering drinks that our credit card had reached the $600 cap at $851.00. We told two people at the podium that what had happened and we would be back and we needed to update credit cards. We got an ok. We get back sooner than 20 minutes and our chairs have been given away. I'm so upset as all of the other things have happened first. They get the head person. She tells me that they give the chair away of someone is gone for over an hour. I made a stink and let her know we left for under 20 minutes. They talked to a family and got our chairs back. (We left our water in ice and that was taken. When we did get back, they took it out of the ice and gave us our water back.) This is saying that our stuff was there and there was no reason to touch our place as our towels and water was in place.
--This place was very expensive and a tourist trap. THIS IS A TIMESHARE AS THEY SAY IT IS NOT. You may be offered to pay $132,000 down to $33,000 for four weeks at one of their luxury hotels. Well, you are not buying anything. When you want to book a week, you now have to pay $1,800 for the week on top of your $132,000 payment that is due in 6 weeks.
--If you do decide to visit, take a taxi out in the city and enjoy your day and save your money. Buy a bottle of your favorite alcohol and find a way to bring it in the areas of the resort to drink. I asked for a can of Canadian club soda over ice. I added my bourbon on top and saved money after a few days. Hope this helps.

About 20 years ago, my husband and I also got the six hour presentation in Nuevo Vallarta and were suckered into purchasing a Mayan Palace membership. We couldn't believe we actually did that- we are the kind of people who know how to say no! A few years later, we upgraded to the Grand Mayan so we would not have to pay the yearly maintenance fees and so we could stay in a nicer unit with our two sons.
For many years, we were able to exchange it for a beautiful villa in Vermont at Thanksgiving. But it has always been difficult to know if we are going to get an exchange. We are glad we bought it because it has forced us to take nicer vacations than we ever would've paid for on a nightly rate basis. While I would not recommend this as a great investment for anyone, it has turned out to be a blessing for us. The money we spent on this would've disappeared into college tuition anyway. It's also less than we would've paid in taxes over 10-15 years on a tiny second home. We have been to Mexico more times than we can count, and we have also been to beautiful exchanges in many states. The memories from those vacations are priceless. So, God redeemed the scam that Vidanta is guilty of.

I want to comment how great giselda 99t loor bldg 4 is as concierge.
Also pool people--ivan;*** and Sergio .
And maid service'xnorma. Martha,,Dolce and Rocio rxceptional. I counted 27 people waited on me in 1 day.

We were at the Luxxe resort. I'm a nature lover. To be surrounded by the jungle and stay in a spacious suite was an amazing experience. The gourmet food restaurants were a foodies dream. The service was world class by each and everyone.
The beach club

We bought in to the bait and switch timeshare presentation. When we arrived our room was small and we had to beg for an ocean view. Despite being represented that we would always have an ocean view and king size beds. Our guests were treated like second class citizens and were insulted and degraded. Unlike the pictures and representations made during the hard press sales presentation we were extremely disappointed. The resort did nothing to try and address these issues and the management was incompetent at best. WARNING DO NOT BUY ANY TIMESHARES AT VIDANTA. I intend on filing a complaint with the Mexican authorities fraud division.

I was charged three reservation fees for only two reservation bookings. On 10-11-2023 I paid $150 for Booking 744077 and 150$ for booking 755498. Upon check-in on the 10-16-2023 another 150$ for reservation booking. Perry Hayes Paid $300 and Darrel Dickinson paid $150 see bank statement charges below. The resort stated I had to file a complaint in order to be recredited the extra fees taken. Reservation 744077 was for a 1-Bdrm under Perry Hayes made on [protected] and Reservation 755499 for a hotel room booking on [protected].

I am a member of Vidanta and purchased a timeshare to Sea Garden in 2007 or 2008. We never used it to visit Sea Garden. We received an email to come visit with a promotional $1000 resort credit. We confirmed several times we have a credit of $1000. We also asked what is the credit good for, they said food and beverages at any Vidanta resort. Throughout our stay we would confirm our charges were covered and confirm the credit. Fast forward to check out, I go down to the front desk and my total charges are $1017. My charge after $1000 credit should only be $17. They gave us a hassle and said we only have $500 credit. Had to call and was there at check out for over an hour. Still unresolved.

I am writing to express my disappointment & frustration with the recent resort fee charge of $550.00 for a 2 bedroom suite. While I understand that resort fees are a common practice in the hospitality industry, I feel that the fee is unwarranted & unfair in my situation since my stay with you on 4/14/23 to 4/21/23.

As a timeshare owner, I have already paid a substantial amount of money to purchase my ownership with Interval International (II). The ownership entitles me to certain priviledges & amenities that are supposed to be included in my membership with II. The fact that this charge was a requirement feels like a bait-and-switch tactic, and it is unacceptable.

Furthermore, I did not use all of the amenities of services that are supposedly covered by the resort fee during my recent stay at the resort. There was supposed to be transportation to & from the airport, which I was told was no longer available, hence we paid on our own. I did not use the gym or golfcourse. Although I did attend some entertainment, I was told I had to consume a beverage while seated. If the entertainment is included it should not require a mandatory drink. I did use the maid service for mostly the repair of the broken toilets on a daily basis which did not flush. For an upscale resort I find it appalling that the toilets would not flush on a daily basis and the maids would come put a bandaid on them. We also ran out of toilet paper quite often. I also requested a better frying pan and knives and never received them. The few items in the kitchen were horrible. I asked for salt and was told I had to order room service.

When I arrived there was great issue with a lost reservation for transportation. The agents were rather rude and dismissive. Upon arrival, I was greeted with an intense mold smell in the main lobby of the Mayan Palace. After a lengthy sales pitch to attend the actual sales pitch, I was taken to my room. Immediately I smelt the mold scent again in the room. I dismissed it and went to the pool. It was advertised as heated, it was not. The two hot tubs were also unheated. Upon returning to the room I started having an asthma attack due to the mold. I called the concierge to notify them of this. They recommended I use a dehumidifier when they called back aprox 20 mins later. I again informed them that the mold was aggravating my asthma and I was forced to stand outside and use my rescue inhaler continuously. Approximately another hour passes and I again call the front desk to inquire. As now my breathing is extremely labored. They inform me that they have a room available and an employee would be around shortly. 15-20 mins later the employee arrives asking me what number I’m moving to and if I have keys; I don’t. He called the front desk and has to get us new keys. I am then taken to another room with mold. It is close to 8pm at this point. I am afraid to ask for the room to be changed again.

On 1/24/2023, we three contract holders all called into Vida Vacations per recommendation of Limitless Vacations and requested that our memberships all be cancelled. They indicated we'd be contacted within 48-72 hours which did not happen. Also, on 01/24/2023, I sent an email to [protected]@vidavacations.com to combine all three cases/contracts wherein we also requested that we be allowed to discuss this with Vida Vacations as a group. That email is pasted below.

Vida Vacations Customer Service
[protected]
E: [protected]@vidavacations.com
I have attached a copy of the email we sent to Vida Vacations which details the issues.
Sincerely,
Christine Atwood
[protected]@asu-nvg.com
[protected]

In 2020 we tried to rescind the offer of a Grand Deluxxe one bedroom unit in Nuevo Vallarta and were told we were too late as Saturday is a working day in Mexico. We reluctantly agreed to purchase a unit which we were given a picture of and told that these units would very large, as large as a two bedroom, that all units would be facing the ocean, that there would be a sliding wall to separate the living room into a small bedroom, that tradability would be higher than Grand Luxxe. After meeting today, January 15th, with a members service representative we discussed the fact that the unit will be much smaller than anticipated, that the entire configuration has been changed. No help whatsoever, no offers. We were lied to in the initial sales meeting and sold something that was misrepresented. I have copies of e-mails from our sales person in 2020 that verify what we were told and also that we were promised the option to rent in the Grand Luxxe up to 2 bedrooms.

I was notified by email that you had a rental program for lapsed years of no maintenance fees. They said to call I did I talk to Juan Hernandez, And he said they had a rental program that if you paid your back maintenance fees for however many years he knew I had 15 years that I’d passed on maintenance fees he could rent it out for $2400 a week all I’m asking is is this a scam or is it real they have done nothing but call me email me and upset me asking for more money and more money as they want taxes and they want federal taxes and I have spent $16,000 and I still have no money to show for it is this a scam if so I would hope that you would stand behind us owners and help us out in anyway you can please get back to me as soon as possible.

I filed a complaint with the vedanta resorts as I fell by the pool and cracked my head open with the concussion. I have been trying for almost 1 year now to get the resort to pay me for a simple medical bill that totals less than $500 and they keep giving me a runaround and making excuses why they cannot pay me I think this is very poor customer service and I would be very very careful about staying at this Resort

I rented through Expedia in Puerto Vallarta. My car rental and insurance were prepaid by credit card. I knew there would also be a deposit taken and I had no issue with that. When I got to the counter the agent said, "Oh, you have to pay $950 us dollars for insurance." I said, "No way. I already paid insurance, and I don't need the car THAT bad. Forget it." Then the time share salesman slithers in. He says, "I can get you discount on that. You only pay $550, and you get it all back in a gift card that is useable anywhere, amazon, restaurants, etc. It won't cost you anything, and all you have to do is go to one presentation for one hour." So, I went. The card is worthless. It's only good on one website for small discounts on overinflated hotel prices etc... I lost my $550, which actually ended up being $576.42 charged to my Citi Visa. I don't believe that there was any extra insurance card. I believe this rental office is just a front for Vidanta OPC's.

I spoke with Lori (1-800-292-4446 extension 6620) today.

I have always tried to conduct myself with kindness and respect and have never in the past had a concern with a telephone representative. In fact I often hear from different telephone representatives that I am very friendly. I am 62 years old.

Lori moved quickly and unnecessarily to a very confrontational stance when I was simply asking some direct questions to work towards a solution.

Her quick temper resulted in her making an ill advised call to a terminally ill 84 year old women. And even after I advised her that her conduct was inappropriate she would not accept any responsibility for the damage that she had caused.

I believe that those involved in customer service should never be blamed for not knowing what to do but it reflects very badly on a company to employ someone who lacks empathy and self control. Worse yet someone who knowing takes actions that harm others.

Has anyone ever been able to talk to Member Services? I am always put on hold and give up after 30 to 45 minutes.

In the month of October when I visited Nuevo Vallarta I went to the member update. The sales person and his manager created a package for me that I was satisfied with and gave me payment arrangements that I could do. I made $1000 deposit on my credit card and they were completing the paperwork. I was then contacted and told that they were not able to follow through with this deal and that they would need me to put $3000 down. I told them to cancel the deal and refund my card. That was on the October 21. I still have not received a credit on my card. The sales person no longer responds to me. This is fraud. I am so furious. In addition to this we had a terrible experience at the resort when we were given an upgrade by a sales person to visit the grand Mayan swimming pool. We were treated like criminals and as though we were trying to steal things or something. They escorted us by security to the front desk and made a big embarrassing seen. We had proof that we have been promised this by the sales person and eventually they let us in but not after wasting our time and making us feel ashamed and embarrassed. I will be seeking damages for the extended hold on my credit card as well as filing a complaint w the better business bureau and any other entity that is concerned. I am speaking w my lawyer tomorrow.
I have attached a photo and the WhatsApp phone number for the sales person that helped me. Evidently he is normally in the reservation office. I truly did want to upgrade to the Mayan palace And thought I would be doing that on this past trip. But after the way my self and my group were treated I don't want to step foot in that hotel again.
My name is Dustine Waggoner and I was staying at Mayan palace. I also need an address that my attorney can send correspondence to

I received a call about some shares I have with vidanta. I had forgotten about the shares and didn't think much of it. Now, I am told I will lose those shares. Because I did not replying back at an appropriate time, the stocks will be given back to the company. This is suppose to be part of my package. I still should have the options of what I want to do with my shares. I was told the deadline for my decision is november 10, 2019. I was told earlier I had to get a brokerage account to have the shares sent to them. I had to provide a large deposit to open the account. I didn't have it. I have been trying do what I can to make this happen. I have names of all that I talked to. I called in last week and had to update my address. I had done this before and seem like it was never updated. They had my old address on file. I was told there were document(s) sent to me informing me of what was going on. I did not see any forms, that would of informed me of what is going on.

Arrived to Grand Bliss on an exchange 2 king bedroom apartment through Interval 4th July 2021. We were told at check in there was no high floor or ocean view as promised. They said we could move the next day. The room was disgusting. Dirty old dark and facing a roof. Pictures attached. Kitchen equipment filthy, 2 bugs in one bed, not 2 king beds as booked, cooktop all greasy, lampshades moldy. The following morning they said sorry nothing available. I complained almost all night and then continued in the morning. We refused to stay in that room. I had already paid the $950 resort fee on arrival and was told if we left there was no refund. We went to the luxe where we had stayed 8 years ago and inquired if any vacancies. They said yes. We returned to the Bliss and they said there was an up charge of $450 a night! Again I complained to everyone I could now wasting the 2nd day of our week. At this point we wanted to check out. Eventually they agreed to move us. We arrived at tower 6 and were put in a room over a dirty swamp with a building crane outside and noisy construction and again not 2 king beds. We went and complained again. Pictures attached. Eventually after many conversations the following day we moved again to tower 5. A better room. However, tv never worked blinds didn't close and one room had dirty towels and no hairdryer as it had not been serviced. The tv never worked even after 3 complaints at. We lost 3 out of 7 days and were told on checkout that the request to refund the $950 resort fee would be submitted and take 7-10 days to process due to our experience. This never happened. I lodged a dispute with Amex then today Vidanta have refused it. I am truly appalled at the way this company treats guests and am requesting they follow through with their promise.
[protected]@hotmail.com

Exchange #: [protected]
Transaction Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021

The service is horrible. I would never stay here again. I was ignored several times when trying to get service at the main pool. Humberto did not provide service and instead called someone to help out. I ran into him one more time and he avoided contact and still called someone else. A total of 3 times I was ignored by Humberto and service was not provided at the main pool. There are a few employees at this resort that should not be allowed to work here if they are not going to provide quality service.

On May 4th 2021 I paid $600.00 for the resort fee for a week, May 16th thru May 23rd, 2021.
When I showed up The lady at the desk checking in made me pay again. I tried to tell her but she wasn't having it.
Mr. Brian Bertrand supervisor of front desk listen to my story and he did find the double pay. He gave me a copy of the correction and sent the information to the correct department to get the money sent back to my credit card. (I had lost my wallet and had to cancelled all cards 20 mins after I lost them in P.V.. So I got a email from Jefe De Turno Tgm Nv suprecepci0ngm01.[protected]@grupovidanta, requesting a copy of my new bank statement, I sent him a copy and have not anything since. I have called and know one will help me. [protected] Robin DAgati room number 3621

I recently complained to Groupo Vidanta and The Registry Collection giving them a chance to rectify the situation. A few days after sending the letter below The Registry Collection called me and explained that it was out of their hands. To this day - Groupon Vidanta has not contacted me with a response.
I even attended an "owner update" when i vacationed in Nuevo Vallarta and asked for an explanation. The response was remarkable in them giving me the attitude of they did'nt understand why i had a problem with being charged more for my deposits and them being worth less. Less to the point that i can not stay at properties that i have stayed at for nearly 10 years. Whats more, they couldnt understand why i would not spend more money with them for the time share deal they were presenting during the owner update.
The letter below is what i sent to Vidanta and The Registry collection. Beware of buying with them, apparently to them it is ok to change the deal we have with them at any point without notice. ...
Dear sir/Madame:
I am a very dissatisfied customer and have several issues that require your immediate attention.
My wife and I are owners at the Grand Bliss through Vidanta - we have been customers since 2004. Initially we bought into the Grand Maya and then upgraded to a "no maintenance fee unless we use it" benefit in 2008 and ultimately to Grand Luxxe in 2012. Eventually we downgraded to the Grand Bliss. These upgrades were substantial expenses that we incurred but we did so with full faith that we were working with an ethical and honest corporation. The downgrade was soon after the Grand Luxxe upgrade- this was due to the first of numerous disappointments and unpleasant encounters. We attempted to deposit a week with the Registry Collection- I was informed at that time that as an owner with Luxxe we no longer had access to the properties though registry collection. This was NOT told to me and I was misled in this upgrade. I lodged a formal complaint publicly and through a resolution process I was downgraded to the Bliss so that I could once again have access to the Registry Collection. This was a very unpleasant experience and challenged my trust. Several months ago another incident caused me to lose faith in this arrangement altogether.
In October 2016 we deposited our weeks from Grand Bliss with the Registry Collection. When I did, I split my weeks into a 1 BR and studio and was unexpectly charged $500.00 more than I have been previously charged. When I questioned this increase I was informed it was due to my unit splitting. I have been able to split units all of these prior years without any such exorbitant fee and I have not been formally notified of any such change to my agreement. This is certainly not the rules in which I had been operating for the last several years. I feel I was pushed into a corner so that I did not lose my time requests and reluctantly paid this fee that had not been adequately explained to me.
Once the weeks were with the Registry Collection, I called in to try an book a week at the Franz Klammer where we enjoy staying. I was told that the values of my grand bliss units were not enough to secure the Franz Klammer. I asked for an explanation and was told that the 5 points and the 4 points were not enough to get the Klammer that now required 17 points total. Nor could I combine three Bliss units as registry only allows a max of two units to be combined. I have certainly never had this problem before and told the registry employee this and they did say that the Klammer used to require only 9 points. I asked the question - "so under this scenario I can never stay at the Klammer in this method" and the person agreed that this was the case. During the conversation It was agree that I could use three of my until to stay at the Klammer in this one instance so I again reluctantly agreed because I had no other option. I asked why this changed and the Registry person told me that Vida directed them to change the point values. I expressed my concern that this was not the agreement that I had been working under for the last several years and had to ask - why had the rules changed? After the conversation it occurred to me that even with three units that had a 5 and a 4 value respectively I still could not get to the 17. This would also be the case at the Montecristo in Cabo San Lucas were we have enjoy staying in the past.
On December 23, 2016 I called Vida to discuss my experiences and spoke with Juan Carlos. He informed me that Vida did not assign property values which I can appreciate however my initial investments and ongoing maintenance fees were paid to Vida as well as the fact we were assigned to the Registry Collection by Vida, I felt Vida had some ownership in this situation and needed to assist in its resolution. Juan Carlos agreed to facilitate a three way phone call between Juan Carlos, a Registry Collection representative (Cindy) and myself. For a large part of this conversation I was listening to the other two politely argue as to who set the values each pointing to the other. Once again I was caught in the middle between Vida and Registry Collection.
The fact remains that we agreed to a set of rules and changes are being made at your will with no input from your patrons and certainly with no regard for our allegiance and loyalty to you- this loyalty is obviously one sided. We are not newcomers- we are loyal owners for over a decade. We deserve better communication and certainly more communication and interaction when such substantial modifications are being made to agreements we signed over a decade ago. We have made investments with you in good faith and expect to be treated in a fair manner. Attempting to schedule a vacation through our investment has become a miserable experience. I certainly accept that times change and situations have to be adjusted for incoming new customers but I fully expected that the annual 5% maintenance fee escalator along with new customers you bring in would handle these adjustments.
I feel I have been taken advantage of and would sincerely appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible regarding a resolution.

I was a guest at the Grand Mayan Riveria resort in December 6-13. At that time I was sold a timeshare to Grupo Vidanta. The transaction was based on detailed answers to my questions about the timeshare. I was later to learn that the information given to me was either not true or only partially true. It was impossible to know about the deception within the five days allowed for a refund because it requires access to the website which is not given until AFTER the five days.

Specifically,
1) I was not told that their is a membership fee but in fact there is a fee of $399 per year.
2) I was told that the internal "Vida Dollars" could be used to book reservations outside the Vidanta system. That is not totally true because only a small portion of the cost is covered by the Vida Dollars. These type of discounts can be found free on websites such as Orbitz and Kayak.