Complaint Review: Ramada Plaza Resorts - Ft. Lauderdale Florida

Robin Leach Unpacks Bags:

Pitchman Robin Leach has agreed to put a sock in it and 12 states have settled lawsuits with promoters of these hideous Florida "vacations." But the lawsuits have returned only $200 each to consumers who spent $1000 or more on what turned out to be time-share sales pitches.

We could easily fill an entire Web site with complaints about "luxury" Ramada Plaza vacations that are something else altogether. But why bother? Aaron of Albuquerque sums it up pretty well:

In August 1999 I took the bait of a mail offer for a one-week "luxurious sun-splashed" vacation in Florida, including a "first-rate" cruise, and a vacation in Las Vegas, Aruba, and Williamsburn, VA. I brought my wife and four-year-old full of great expectations to Florida on Aug. 19 only to be quickly dissappointed and embarrassed by the low-end rooms next to the freeway, the rustbucket cruise ship and the intense sales pitch for a one-week time share for a poorly maintained property in Palm Beach for a whopping $30K at 17% interest.

The bottom line is I paid a grand total of $3K for a family vacation I could have easily done on my own for $1.5K. We paid National Travel Services $1197.00 for accommodations that would have cost us about $600. I'll have to say it was a great lesson we've all heard before - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! -Caveat Emptor-

Terri of Hermitage, TN, writes:

Like so many of the horror stories I have been reading, we too have experienced the vacation from hell that Ramada Plaza Resorts-Orlando/Ft. Lauderdale Vacations claims will be "the vacation of a lifetime".

To date, I have been in contact with all of the following:

FLORIDA: State Attorney General's Office; Consumer Affairs; Better Business Bureau; Bureau of Time Shares; Mayor of Orlando; Mayor of Ft. Lauderdale; Central FL Hotel & Motel Association; Dept. of Business & Prof Regulations.

TENNESSEE: State Attorney General's Office; Consumer Affairs; Better Business Bureau; NBC News.

I have also sent a detailed letter with supporting documentation and a copy of the videotape they sent us to the Federal Trade Commission.

As of June, I know that Florida SAG settled on behalf of 17 states for $200 for each litigant. Seven more states (CT, IL, NC, OH, WV, WA, WI) have a class action suit going against these people. Tennessee can't seem to make up their mind as to whether they will file a class action suit on behalf of their consumers.

After returning from our nightmare vacation, I proceeded to call all of the companies involved in this fraudulent scheme to recoup our $6,400.00. Here are the results of the calls and complaints I have received thus far:

ALAMO Rent-A-Car: According to Marsha Samuels the reservation is made by RAMADA and it is their responsibility to advise us of the seating capacity of the car. Therefore, they respectfully denied our request for a refund. My answer indicated that they were responsible under the "bait and switch" theory. If they truly were innocent, they would refund our money and charge RAMADA Plaza Resorts for the so called "up-grade". I have not received an answer.

NATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICES - I have not heard anything about my complaint against them.

RAMADA PLAZA RESORTS - They responded to Consumer Affairs in Florida that they were going to credit our charge card for the initial cost of $1668.00 and they have credited our charge card for that amount. I answered that this amount was NOT sufficient and was a far cry from the $6,400.00 we were out due to their scam. I am waiting for their reply.

RAMADA FRANCHISE SYSTEMS,INC. - When I contacted them, they were aware of the litigation against RAMADA Plaza Resorts and claimed they were misled by Daniel Lambert on how he would use their name in the franchise agreement. YET, they are still allowing him to use the RAMADA trademark to give the scam creditability. They claim that "In accordance with the terms of the Franchise Agreement entered into between the owners of the Ramada Plaza Resorts and Ramada Hotels, Inc., this is an issue on which Ramada Customer Service has no authority to intervene". If Daniel Lambert of RAMADA Plaza Resorts had used the RAMADA trademark for purposes other than was indicated by the franchise agreement, that would be a breach of contract allowing them to sever his use of their trademark. Instead, they continue not only to allow but also encourage the use of the RAMADA name which indicates their participation in this scam.

On the advice of both the Florida & Tennseess Attorney General's offices, I have contacted an attorney about filing a civil suit. He has admitted we were scammed and have a case. He has suggested that if we get a group of people (at least 10) to go in together and file a civil suit, the legal fees would be shared by all the plaintiffs. We would then be able to go to Federal court to file a suit against RAMADA. I have a wealth of supporting documentation as well as the video tape and the pictures we took of our accomadations on the trip.

We lost one of our two week's per year vacation time as well as the $6,400.00. When we finally reached Orlando, two in the party of three went all to pieces when they refused to give us our "bonus tickets" to Univeral Studios as promised and cried themselves into an exhausted sleep. By this time we had had so much go wrong and with the rising amount of money it was costing us, they were too scared to leave the room that night.

We were continually frustrated by the nonchalant attitude every time we called the Welcome Center number with a problem we encounterd during the trip as we had been instructed to do. Instead of assistance, we were told to submit a letter of complaint to the complaint department. We would have been home before they would have received a letter. The stress of discovering we not only didn't have the accommodations we were led to believe, we didn't have reservations at all. We even explained we had called the week before to confirm our reservations and get directions and were assusred "it was all taken care of". The stress of having to argue about the car and then having to pay $368.20 for a car that was dirty because "it was all they had". Margaret of College Park, GA, writes:

I received a call from someone who said that they were from the Ramada Plaza Resorts. After speaking to the person for a while I truly wanted to get the vacation package he offered, but I did not have the money on my credit card. He assured me that what every I had left on it would be ok, and he was going to help me out. When I asked about the airfare to these different locations I was told that the Ramada Plaza Resorts would assist me in airtravel. It was implied that it was included in the package or a real deal wourd be given to me on various airlines through the connection with Ramada Plaza Resorts.

After speaking to the young man I was transfered to someone else who confirmed that the vaccation package I just purchased was not voluntary. When I hung up the phone I thought I had a good deal. How wrong was I?

At the time I purchased the Ramada Plaza Resorts plan the available credit on my credit card was almost gone. I did this purchase in good faith. Four months before the date my vacation would expire I called the 1-800 number listed on my vacation package. At first I thought to just extend the package because I was going through some economic hardships and knew it was not possible to travel so soon. My package was extended for six months free of charge.

A few days later when my situation go much worse, I called to cancel my package. That's when I had problems. I was told that the 3 days grace period for cancellation had long since passed, and cancellation was not possible. Then I was told the time could be extended on my package since I was having economic hardship. I am out $523.00 and I am living on $100.00 a week.

Jim of Beavercreek, OH, writes:

I'm writing for my father-in-law. Over the holidays I found out he had purchased a cruise vacation through Ramada Plaza Resorts, 871 West Oakland Park Blvd., Ft Lauderdale, FL

Since he had stock previously in Ramada Inns, he did not think twice about the offer he received in the mail and was quite proud of the vacation he had set up for himself and his wife (they are both in their late 70s). He has paid about $1,176 for a 7 day luxury cruise/vacation out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. which includes an upgraded rental car (Alamo) and an outside berth on the cruise ship. The dates are 16 Jan 00 through 22 Jan 00. The dates consist of vacation on 16-18 Jan in Ft Lauderdale; cruise on 19-20 Jan on Premiere Cruise's Ocean Breeze (which I understand Ramada has chartered for two years starting Jan 00); and vacation in Orlando on 21-22 Jan which I think is an option included in the price.

After returning home this weekend, I started to do some research on the Internet on this and found out there were all kind of problems and complaints. He was not told that this is part of a marketing/sell campaign for vacation condominiums, and they would have to attend a meeting (sales pitch) on 17 Jan. Also I understand there are additional costs including port charges of up to $390, rental car parking, etc., etc.. He was led to believe the price he paid included all expenses.

I also understand the hotel and ship accommodations are "less than luxurious" and in some cases downright atrocious. I don't think this is the type of luxury vacation/cruise he had in mind for the both of them. To date he only has a voucher for one night at an unspecified hotel. I also understand there are 8 state-led class action lawsuits against Ramada Plaza Resorts (including Ohio). He is checking on what he can do to cancel, but it appears that he would forfeit $100 each plus "other deposits Ramada made" (amount is unspecified) and the remainder, if any, would not be returned, but held for a future vacation through them.

He was never told of this, and it was only divulged in the paperwork he received after making his second payment on 10 Nov 99. Given it is 11 days prior to the "luxury vacation/cruise", is there anything he can do to recoup his money?

Laurie of Franklin, WI, writes:

I was told I would get a week vacation for four if I put down $500 over the phone with a credit card and $500 when I booked the trip. As an added bonus, 3 nights in Vegas, 3 nights in Aruba and 3 nights in Williamsburg, PA.

I went ahead and put it on a credit card because I assumed it was a reputable company (Ramada). I haven't even taken the Florida trip because I heard so many horror stories over the Internet about this company. I assume I can't get my $500, but it's better than spending a couple thousand and having a "disaster" vacation. If there is anything I can do to get my money refunded, please let me know.

Benjamin of Waltham, MA, writes:

This is a copy of a letter I wrote to a Consumer Information Specialist for the State of Massachussetts.

I have been having an incredibly tough time dealing with a travel agency I took a vacation from about 9 months ago. Basically, everything that was promised in the vacation, was not delivered, and when all was said and done, me, and 8 other friends of mine were left with a big bill, and a vacation that was more agonizing than enjoyable.

I got a letter in the mail telling me that if I called this toll free number I could receive a vacation for free. So of course I called, and spoke with a VERY pushy saleswomen, who convinced to take the vacation, which would only cost 600$+. She told me that if I didn't say yes right then, that the offer would not exist for me again, so it was either now or never. So I made the mistake of saying "now".

The itinary of our vacation was that we would arrive in Ft. Lauderdale and stay at a "Luxury" hotel for 4 days/4 nights on the beach. We would then proceed to a "Luxury" cruise line to the Bahamas for 3 days/2 nights, and finally finish our trip staying in Orlando for 2days/1 night. The only other accommodation we were supposed to receive was a free rental car for the week.

One other thing to note, was that because of the number of friends who were accompanying me on this vacation, we had to purchase THREE seperate packages, because one package only accommodated 4 people, and we had 9 people in all.

The day we arrived at the Ft. Lauderdale was a disaster. We had to take a bus to ALAMO Rent a Car, and realize that our free rent a car was actually not free. We ended up haggling with the Travel Agency for 3-4 hours to get them to give us more than ONE car because surely 9 people and their luggage could not fit in ONE car. I ordered THREE packages, and therefore should have gotten more than one car.

The travel agency was supposed to send us these "vouchers" to use at the rent-a-car, hotels, etc. for everything that we paid for, but they didn't send us the vouchers for some reason or another, so that at every stop, we had to get the travel agency on the phone and get them to fax the vouchers to the different merchants. This usually took 2-3 hours each time, and it happened at the 3 different hotels we stayed at, the Alamo Rent a Car, and the cruise boarding.

After we squeezed into our TWO rent a cars, which we ended up spending a total of 620$+ for the week, we proceeded to our beach front luxury hotel we were promised. We arrived at this poor excuse for a hotel, that was about 20-25 minutes from the beach.

I proceeded to get the travel agency on the phone to find out what the hell happened, and after about 2-3 hours, convinced them to get us a room at the Sheraton Yankee Clipper on the Ft. Lauderdale beach. That hotel was very nice. Probably because it wasn't a Ramada.

Then came time for the cruise. The Salesman for the travel agency convinced me to take their ship called the "Ocean Breeze" instead of the Carnival ship we were supposed to take because supposedly the "Ocean Breeze" was a nice ship, with more things to do. When I first saw this ship, the "Ocean Breeze" that I was supposed to be boarding I almost cried.

It was a over-sized garbarge barge. The first thing I noticed about the ship was its swimming pool, which was a 5-ft by 5-ft hole in the floor. We were promised a "stateroom" with luxury accommodations, but, you guessed it, there was no luxury about it.

In fact, the Travel Agency didn't reserve enough rooms for all of us. We only got two room, which slept three each, for the nine of us. That means 3 of us had to sleep on the floor for the cruise. THE FLOOR! Can you imagine going on a cruise and having to sleep on the floor?!?

The rooms themselves were disgusting. They looked like stow-away cabins. They were about 5' by 8' closets, with tiny skinny bunk beds that folded from the walls, and NO window, another thing we were promised. The ship apparently was built in the late 50's and boy did it feel like it was.

When we arrived in Nassau at 10am. we were told that we had to be back on the ship at 6pm for departure to Florida. What happened to the 3 days/2 nights in Nassau? We were only allowed one day, and didn't even get to experience the night life. The rest of the time we spent on the rust-ridden ship. There are more details that I could get into about how aweful this trip was, but I think I explained the major ones.

After calling up Ramada Plaza Resorts, they assured that if I wrote a letter of complaint to the "Compliance Department" I would get some sort of a refund. I did this 3 times, and had my friends do it as well. Every time I talked to a customer representative, they gave me the run around, telling me it would be handled next week, or that they had to put me on hold, and never took me off hold, or that I'd have to speak to a superviser who wasn't there, but would call me back when they were. Every time they told me just the things I wanted to hear just to get me off of their back, and it almost worked. I almost gave up after 2 months of nagging them, until I read on the internet, a similar story of someone who had almost the same experience as me, and it re-vitalized my energy to try and receive some sort of compensation for this disaster of a trip.

I ordered a product - in this case, it being a cruise, and I feel I did not receive that product. I came home after the trip feeling more stressed out then before I went on the trip, and that's NOT the purpose of a vacation. Anyway, I hope you can help me resolve my problem, or at least lead me to someone who can. Thank you for taking the time to read my complaint

Joseph of Woodhaven, NY, writes:

We purchased a land and cruise vacation from a solicitation in the mail about a terrific offer. We tried to schedule the vacation in October for February by mail with the material we got. Time passed and we had not heard anything from them. We repeatedly tried calling the 800 number given to us and were put on hold, disconnected and so forth.

Sometime in January my wife got in touch with Steve R. who told her that the vacation we had purchased was not what we expected because Florida Travel Network had been sold to this Ramada network and that it was up to them what they offered us. In order for our vacation to be worthwhile we would have to spend another $300. Still, he informed us that he would not be able to guarentee our dates until Jan 20th when he would personally call us to let us know.

The 20th passed and no phone call. Today Jan 24 we attempted all day to get in touch with the travel network and were told that our vacation plans were not guarenteed. We were then transferred many times and finally disconnected from the call shortly before the place closed.

We paid originally $598 to purchase the package which included a 3 day 2 night cruise and4 days hotel. In making the reservations we had to pay an additional $318 in taxes and fees that we were unaware of at the time of the package purchase. Then we paid an additional $300 to make our vacation again resemble the one we had paid for. Each step along the way we told ourselves that we had paid so much up until now and did not want to lose our money. We paid all of this to now be told that our plans are not aranged. I am a physician and have to plan my vacation in advance and this ruins it, not to mention the time and calls spent to try to contact this company.

Jeffery of Geneva, IL, writes:

I purchased a certificate for a 5 day 4 night stay on Maui for 2 from Davis R. on Ebay. He signed over a certificate issued by Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines which he told me to mail to Ramada Plaza Resorts.

After sending in the certificate (which had my Visa number on it), they called me and said that Imperial Majesty was out of business and that they are trying to be the nice guy and cover vacations for them and Maui was not available.

They offered me a 3 night stay in the Poconos after making a $50.00 deposit by check and I would get the certificate back after attending a timeshare presentation. I never mailed the check. The place I talked to went by Mini Vacations PO Box 223, Brandon, FL 33509, Mini Vacations says that the certificate was only good for a year when it states 24 months. I am out the $290.00 I paid for the certificate and I will check the Visa statement for phony charges.

Judy of Big Flats, NY:

I did some research via internet before I confirmed final reservation dates and read that there are several class action suits against this company. And that people who actually went had terrible conditions. It was not as was billed. I do not want to send any additional money to complete this trip.

I planned this trip as a special time for my sister and I to get away together. Our mother passed away last year and we wanted to spend more time together since we live in different states. Now I am out $698 and have to make other plans. I am ashamed to let my sister know how I was duped.

There may be class action suits and there may be regulatory agencies going after some or all of these companies but each of these individuals should sue in Small Claims Court to get back the funds.

Just look here for link refrences~~~>>>

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/ramada_plaza.htm

that says it all.