I am yet another victim of the timeshare scam perpetrated by Mayan Group/Grupo Mayan and The Grand Mayan Vacation Club at their Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace resorts. From my perspective, the timeshare sales program at these resorts is nothing more than a criminal enterprise designed to separate foreign tourists from their money. There is nothing these people won't do in order to make the sale. Then, they are trained to give you the run-around and offer you crumbs when you approach them about their unethical sales practices. And, unfortunately, there is little recourse against these unscrupulous people, since U.S. law is of no help, the credit card companies side with the fee-generating business, and the Mexican consumer protection agency has no teeth to impose a resolution.
My story is a familiar one. In December, 2008, I was traveling with my extended family in Mexico and agreed to attend the sales presentation at the Grand Mayan resort in Cabo San Lucas. At the conclusion of the presentation, I stated to the Grupo Mayan sales representative, Alex Lehan that I was not interested in purchasing a Grupo Mayan timeshare because they were for properties located only in Mexico and because they were expressly unavailable during school vacation periods. I mentioned that the only interest I had was to travel together with my extended family, during school vacations, to high-end properties around the world, not just in Mexico.
At that point, Brent Underdahl, another representative of Mayan Resorts/Grupo Mayan, joined us. I again repeated the reasons why I had no interest in purchasing a Mayan Group timeshare. Mr. Underdahl explained that even though the Mayan timeshares being offered were not available during school vacation periods, they could be exchanged for very high-end properties located throughout the world that would be available during school vacation periods. He bragged that the Mayan Group was associated with the best exchange companies who were connected to the finest properties in the world. He asked me if I was familiar with and would be satisfied exchanging Mayan Group timeshares for properties known as the Residences that are affiliated with the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton and the St. Regis Hotel chains. I am familiar with and am satisfied with the quality of the Residences affiliated with the Four Seasons and Ritz Hotel chains, having been solicited to purchase them in the past.
Beware of timeshare sales from Grupo Mayan, Vidanta Golf, Grand Mayan, Grand Luxxe and Grand Bliss in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico. Grupo Mayan has a sales staff and ownership that outright lie about the timeshare features, benefits and course design especially as it relates to golf. After buying several weeks a year at the Grupo Mayan properties which included access to a great Jack Nicklaus designed 18 hole course it has been ripped up again and again and poorly hacked apart to fit in more hotel buildings packed with golfers getting up to 16 free rounds of golf per week to enitice time share property sales.
The back nine was torn up a few years ago and only 14 holes were open while new buildings sprouted up. When the course was finally redone they started tearing it up again adding terrible temporary greens in the fairways and ruining great holes to tear out sod to move grass into new locations. Over years of visits I rarely ever was able to play a fully functioning 18 hole course.
In the contract it clearly states that ""The company agrees not to modify the vacation units that are the subject of this contract in any manner that significantly and adversaly affects its use by Member"". Well, the only thing that I've seen happen to this Jack Nicklaus course over the last 9 years is significant adverse modification.
They do shot gun starts on both 1st and 10th holes and its common to have up to 4 foresomes waiting on a hole (yes that's 16 golfers) standing around waiting to tee off on one hole. The course management never tells you when greens and fairways are getting torn up, punched, scraped and there is always some kind of construcution ruining the golf layout. And trust me you'll never see a golf marshall doing anything of any consequence to move golfers along because there are simply too many people put out on the course at any one time.
Additionally, you are forced to pay extra for a fore caddy even though you have to take a cart. The morning tee time start process is a complete goat rodeo with people fighting over trying to get the starter to put them into the golf cart que. There is no place to hit balls in the morning near the 1st and 10th tees. Although there is a really nice pratice facility at the complete other end of the property but you cant get to it before you tee off in the morning so you cant warm up or even putt at all. In the late afternoon when it would be perfect to take out kids to learn they have no twlight or kids rate and they shut the course down early right when it's a great time to go out with kids to golf.
Grupo Mayan Reviews
I am yet another victim of the timeshare scam perpetrated by Mayan Group/Grupo Mayan and The Grand Mayan Vacation Club at their Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace resorts. From my perspective, the timeshare sales program at these resorts is nothing more than a criminal enterprise designed to separate foreign tourists from their money. There is nothing these people won't do in order to make the sale. Then, they are trained to give you the run-around and offer you crumbs when you approach them about their unethical sales practices. And, unfortunately, there is little recourse against these unscrupulous people, since U.S. law is of no help, the credit card companies side with the fee-generating business, and the Mexican consumer protection agency has no teeth to impose a resolution.
My story is a familiar one. In December, 2008, I was traveling with my extended family in Mexico and agreed to attend the sales presentation at the Grand Mayan resort in Cabo San Lucas. At the conclusion of the presentation, I stated to the Grupo Mayan sales representative, Alex Lehan that I was not interested in purchasing a Grupo Mayan timeshare because they were for properties located only in Mexico and because they were expressly unavailable during school vacation periods. I mentioned that the only interest I had was to travel together with my extended family, during school vacations, to high-end properties around the world, not just in Mexico.
At that point, Brent Underdahl, another representative of Mayan Resorts/Grupo Mayan, joined us. I again repeated the reasons why I had no interest in purchasing a Mayan Group timeshare. Mr. Underdahl explained that even though the Mayan timeshares being offered were not available during school vacation periods, they could be exchanged for very high-end properties located throughout the world that would be available during school vacation periods. He bragged that the Mayan Group was associated with the best exchange companies who were connected to the finest properties in the world. He asked me if I was familiar with and would be satisfied exchanging Mayan Group timeshares for properties known as the Residences that are affiliated with the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton and the St. Regis Hotel chains. I am familiar with and am satisfied with the quality of the Residences affiliated with the Four Seasons and Ritz Hotel chains, having been solicited to purchase them in the past.
Beware of timeshare sales from Grupo Mayan, Vidanta Golf, Grand Mayan, Grand Luxxe and Grand Bliss in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico. Grupo Mayan has a sales staff and ownership that outright lie about the timeshare features, benefits and course design especially as it relates to golf. After buying several weeks a year at the Grupo Mayan properties which included access to a great Jack Nicklaus designed 18 hole course it has been ripped up again and again and poorly hacked apart to fit in more hotel buildings packed with golfers getting up to 16 free rounds of golf per week to enitice time share property sales.
The back nine was torn up a few years ago and only 14 holes were open while new buildings sprouted up. When the course was finally redone they started tearing it up again adding terrible temporary greens in the fairways and ruining great holes to tear out sod to move grass into new locations. Over years of visits I rarely ever was able to play a fully functioning 18 hole course.
In the contract it clearly states that ""The company agrees not to modify the vacation units that are the subject of this contract in any manner that significantly and adversaly affects its use by Member"". Well, the only thing that I've seen happen to this Jack Nicklaus course over the last 9 years is significant adverse modification.
They do shot gun starts on both 1st and 10th holes and its common to have up to 4 foresomes waiting on a hole (yes that's 16 golfers) standing around waiting to tee off on one hole. The course management never tells you when greens and fairways are getting torn up, punched, scraped and there is always some kind of construcution ruining the golf layout. And trust me you'll never see a golf marshall doing anything of any consequence to move golfers along because there are simply too many people put out on the course at any one time.
Additionally, you are forced to pay extra for a fore caddy even though you have to take a cart. The morning tee time start process is a complete goat rodeo with people fighting over trying to get the starter to put them into the golf cart que. There is no place to hit balls in the morning near the 1st and 10th tees. Although there is a really nice pratice facility at the complete other end of the property but you cant get to it before you tee off in the morning so you cant warm up or even putt at all. In the late afternoon when it would be perfect to take out kids to learn they have no twlight or kids rate and they shut the course down early right when it's a great time to go out with kids to golf.