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I chose to stay at Breezes Jibacoa based on the assurance of a Sunwing agent who claimed the resort is “very quiet” and suitable for my mother, an insomniac. Before purchasing the 7-day package, I stressed that mother’s medical condition is very severe. I was assured that the resort is the quietest in the area, with no noise after 10pm. My booking specifies “garden room”; Since I was told there’s some noise from the pool, I had my agent file a request specifying my mother’s medical condition and the necessity for a quiet room far away from the pool.
We arrived Saturday night. When I checked in, I was given a room direct facing the pool and the stage, the source of loud, heavy bass of live performances from noon to midnight. Directly behind the stage, the disco operates everyday past 2am. When I asked reception to provide the quiet room I was promised, they said no quieter room is available.
The very WORST aspect of Sunwing’s deception is that there is no possibility of a quiet room at Breezes Jibacoa: Buildings are of worst quality and have no sound insulation. On the first day, I heard loud talking past 1am. I thought it was next door neighbours, but when I went out to protest, I found it was people conversing in the outdoor dining area over 50m away. Walls and doors offer absolutely no protection against noise. Voices of passerby and next-door neighbours are heard exactly as if they are in your room. When people wake up, the thumping from upstairs is unbearable. Absolutely inescapable is the loud, central generator for air conditioning runs 24 hours a day. But the worst comes from plumbing: When the toilet flushes upstairs, water descends like a waterfall, sounding at least twice as loud as in your own bathroom; And the toilet flushed five times one night. We were absolutely tormented by noise: Over four nights, my mother managed only 2-3 hours sleep.
Severe insomnia requires quietness, yet Sunwing acted in blatant neglect of the medical condition in a) providing one of the loudest rooms on the resort and b) recommending a resort that cannot provide a quiet room and c) doing absolutely nothing for even relative quietness.
Moreover, Breezes Jibacoa is a health hazard that provides contaminated food. During our stay, we consumed only resort meals: Upon first dinner, my mother and brother immediately started suffering indigestion. After dining at Martino’s Monday night, everyone fell sick to absolutely terrible bouts of diarrhea. My mother also suffered severe vomiting following morning. My brother Sae suffered the worst: He remained collapsed on the bed and sick to stomach (literally) for an entire Tuesday; Painful stomach cramps and indigestion forced him to the toilet eight times that day, and six times the following day. Even now, an entire week after, the symptoms persist.
But the most disgusting and unconscionable was the response of Varadero Sunwing’s representative Mildre and her supervisor Juan Antonio Gonzalez. Mildre arrived on Monday. I briefed her in detail on the noise, and on Sunwing’s neglect of my mother’s medical requirements. Despite repeated explanations that the hotel cannot offer quiet room, she completely ignored my concerns, evaded all responsibility, only telling me to talk to the reception manager (which I had already done many times prior to her arrival).
By Tuesday morning, with everyone gravely ill, I requested that Sunwing provide a return ticket ASAP. Mildre demanded further payment of $450 per person. Due to Sunwing’s deliberate neglect of my mother’s insomnia and basic food safety standards, our vacation was ruined and we were forced to return early; Yet, Sunwing sought to exploit even this emergency (of its own creation)!
I warned Mildre that I will hold Sunwing accountable for their actions, publishing everything online. She transferred me to her supervisor, who named himself Juan Antonio Gonzalez. After rudely denying my concerns about noise and food poisoning (with violent, senseless shouting and insinuations that I was lying), Juan offered a “discount” of $230 per person.
Seeing no sense in talking to scammers, I requested contact number for Sunwing in Canada (as I discovered I cannot reach 1-877 numbers from Cuba). Mildre refused, claiming she did not know how to contact the Canadian office. I asked to be transferred to her supervisor. Mildre claimed Juan cannot talk to me, and that no one at Varadero knows how to contact Sunwing Canada – a clear lie! When I repeatedly asked to talk directly to Sunwing Canada (since no Cuban representative took least responsibility), Mildre became highly agitated and threatened to “call the Cuban police and immigration.”
I demanded to know on what grounds: “Did I hit you? Did I touch you? Did I threaten you? Did I shout at you?” She dared not reply. I promised to report her threats to Sunwing in Canada, and if necessary to Cuban authorities. This appeared to agitate her greatly. She transferred me to Juan, who also claimed that contacting Sunwing in Canada is impossible.
Moments later, Mildre returned and asked “would you accept my apology?” I repeatedly asked her “did you threaten to call the police?” After lying many times, “no, I didn’t say that, ” Mildre finally admitted it, “yes, I did, I did say it.” About half-hour later, she came back with Juan’s offer: Sunwing will offer “free tickets” if we sign an agreement “not to complain” (their words). Attached is the form they tried to make us sign.
We refused such a coercive document, and I demanded immediate release of the tickets. Mildre stalled for about three hours, insisting that she can begin to prepare tickets only with our signatures.
Disgusted (and being notified that the internet was finally fixed), I went upstairs to write an email to Sunwing Canada. Mildre came running up to tell me that Sunwing will yield the tickets without condition. She appeared very agitated and asked me several times to log off the computer and “shut down everything”. Within next hour, I was given three return tickets. I demanded that my mother and brother be given the Premium Elite seats I purchased for return trip; A cautious male Sunwing representative met me at the airport next day, and facilitated this.
I was promised seven days of quiet vacation for my family, and purchased the Jibacoa package in this belief; What we received were four sleepless nights, constant aural agony, food poisoning, extortion and threats from criminals that are Sunwing “agents”.
You can read the CBC article below documenting Sunwing Vacations’ exploits in scamming customers:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/01/03/bc-sunwingpackage.html
