Hi,

Not sure if I qualify as an "owner", but I own time shares on the Coast of Maine and in Las Vegas. I traded a Vegas week for a week in November at the Occidental Grand Aruba to celebrate a special birthday for my wife. (I told her she could go anywhere on the planet! I figured I'd end up in Paris or some such -- but she delighted me by wanting to go back to One Happy Island!)

Long story short, I am hearing that paying visitors like it just fine, members who had paid for some super upgrade like it just fine, BUT time share owners: feel they are getting terrible food with the attitude from management that "you paid for all inclusive already -- what do we care if the food isn't fit for pigs and you have to go elsewhere for a decent meal" ... cannot get reservations at the restaurants they want when they want ... an average of 1 hour to check in ... mini bars in rooms left empty or "stocked" with very little, and not until half way through your stay ... rodents (mice) inside the room ... etc. My wife is in tears and the wonderful birthday vacation we had planned sounds like a nightmare.

Please advise at your earliest convenience, since it took almost a full year to get this swap -- I can only imagine what else there is left by now! HELP!


Thanks,



nhjack

Good grief. I wasn't going to reply because, to tell the truth, I have never stayed at the Occidental. But I just can't help myself. The stuff you are describing does not seem possible. I mean, if a fraction of it were true, we would be hearing about it long and loud on this board. Seriously, paying customers and time share owners get served the exact same food in the restaurants. The only complaints I have ever heard about the Occidental were several months ago when it first re-opened after extensive renovations. And those could collectively be described as bugs that needed to be worked out.

Have you ever been to Aruba before? I don't mean to sound presumptuous but I kind of got the impression that you have not. Relax. Aruba is a wonderful place and Arubans are the most welcoming people on the planet. I don't know who is spreading the horror stories or why but trust me; you and your wife are going to have the time of your lives.

__________________
Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Oh boy, I hope I'm doing this correctly:

Hi Charlierat,

So you don't think I'm some nut case: I own 3 time shares, which frankly
says all you need to know ... either I have more money than I know what to
do with (so why would I be worried about the Occidental); or, I know what to
expect to get for what I pay for -- and I expect to get it.

I have been to Aruba only once and loved it. (BTW: My brother owns a time share
in Aruba.) I have traveled extensively for pleasure, including multiple
visits to Hawaii and Mexico ... usually with all-inclusive arrangements.

Here are 3 of the reviews (from May'06 through Feb.'07) that upset my wife.
It's not the loss of that "something extra" that just makes a vacation
"perfect" due to renovations that bothers me ... it's the theme that runs
through all 3 reviews of absolute and total non concern on the part of
management -- especially the "they already paid for it, so who cares if they
can or will eat it" mentality. The 3 reviews were written over a 9 month
period ... February, May, and August respectively. This wasn't a case of
someone having a bad week!

<><><><><><><><>

Occidental Grand
Dec.06 Jan 07
Submitted on Wednesday, February 7, 2007 by: Starr


We spent three weeks at the Occidental Grand Aruba. We are timeshare owners.
I am very disappointed in our hotel. The renos are fine, no problem. Its the
hotel management and food that i have a problem with. The steak and chicken
is unedible. This is what is being served in an all inclusive setting. They
have your money, what are you going to do? They don't care if you leave the
hotel to eat, why would they? As a timeshare owner, I am being forced to buy
AI. I think management needs to realize that all of his guests are NOT
timeshare owners and simply will not return.
The talk on the beach consisted of complaints about the quality of food. If
I didn't own there, I would not return. Don't bother complaining, management
will politely watch your lips moving but thats about it. There is zero
customer service at the management level, truly unbelievable. The repeaters
are trouble as far as they are concerned. We know the quality was better
before the reno.We know what it is supposed to be like. We have been told so
many stories, I can't remember them all, everything from a VIP lounge on
down. Never happened and never will. Oh it may happen if you wish to give
them more of your money and upgrade to Royal Club. They can keep it. Booking
reservations at the restaurants is bothersome. You may or maynot get a
reservation. Fully booked, they say. When you walk in, the place is half
full. Guess its cheaper to feed people buffet.
All I can say is we are so thankful for the staff at the Occidental. They
still manage to make you feel like a special guest. Always a smile, always a
welcome back. Management could really learn a lot about the service industry
from these people,bartenders, servers, beach staff, maids and all others.
They know how to treat a guest. It is sad that things have turned out this
way. With the reno, they had a chance to make it great but they have failed
miserably. This hotel deserves no more than three stars. It will remain that
way until someone takes a long look at the managent they have in place. We
are recieving less and paying more for it.

<><><><><><><><>

Aruba disaster
May 27-June 3
Submitted on Sunday, October 1, 2006 by: Heather


I would just like to post my recent experience to the Occidental Grand
Aruba. I happen to be a member of the Allegro vacation club and thought
fellow travelers would like to see what happened to me and my friends and
how the situation was handled.

The following is a letter I posted to the president of the vacation club and
then his response From May 27-June 3

I and two friends stayed at the Occidental Grand Aruba. I was in utter shock
as to how guests are treated at this resort. It took over one hour to be
checked in. Apparently there was only one person checking in vacation club
members. Upon check in at approximately 3pm, I requested a cot to be sent to
the room (#2917). When I came back at 10pm there was still no cot. No one at
the front desk answered the phone and there was no answer at housekeeping. I
had to go to the front desk and the clerk called housekeeping on her cell
phone. The cot finally arrived 20 minutes later.

No drinks were in my room upon arrival. It took me from Saturday (May 27)
afternoon until Tuesday (May 30) afternoon to have water, Diet Pepsi and
premium beverages sent to my room. Housekeeping told me I had to purchase my
drinks and a later phone call to the front desk yielded the response "That
will be taken care of by the vacation club tomorrow." Mice were in the room.
The shower handle broke off in my hand while I was turning the shower on.
The food is nearly inedible. The Desire restaurant offers the worst dinner
at the hotel. Fresh vegetables came from a can and the steak is paltry.
Apparently, you need more staff at this hotel.

When waiting to be seated at a nearly empty breakfast buffet, everyday was a
15-20 minute wait. There were more empty tables than seated tables, so I am
unsure of why service was slow. I kept being told to speak with a man named
Carlos. Saturday I was told that he would be back Sunday, and Sunday I was
told that he would be back Monday. Finally, on Tuesday I found Carlos and he
told me he had been in the Dominican Republic discussing problems such as
mine. He kept saying that a woman named Myrna was at the hotel to help, but
Myrna was nowhere to be found. I gave my list of complaints to Carlos and
all he offered was an apology and 15% back (which amounted to $290).

I brought friends to this resort under the pretenses that this resort was
totally refurbished after having been closed for a year. The hotel was still
under renovation when we arrived. When I booked this resort in December, the
website listed is completely different from the website that is listed now.
There is no spa nor is there a dance club. To top it all off, Carlos called
my room and requested that I meet him Friday morning in the lobby. I waited
at the appointed time and he did not show. I found him in the vacation club
sales office where he then proceeded TO TRY AND SELL ME AN UPGRADE!!!!!!! I
have paid nearly thirty thousand dollars to belong to the vacation club. To
this date, I have enjoyed my stays at the various resorts (Xcaret, Grand
Flamencos Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, Jack Tar, Playa Dorada, Grand
Cozumel, Allegro Cozumel and I will be going to the Grand Papagayo this
November) but this resort is atrocious. Its price is second only to the
Royal Hideaway and I have never experienced such apathy towards clients.

I brought two friends with me who were considering joining the club based
on my reviews, but after attending this resort they reconsidered. This did
not seem to bother Carlos in the least. I am not looking for a "freebie",
but I feel that half-price is fair enough. Please consider reimbursing me
and my two friends for the poor service and hotel conditions that we
encountered. To be fair, we already received a 15% discount due to a letter
that was sent out from Allegro and we did use what facilities were
available. I would gladly apply the $290 dollars that Carlos deemed worthy
of my and my friend's inconveniences towards this effort. This resort would
be wonderful if it were brought up to the standards of your other resorts.
As it is, the price is much too high for what is being offered. Thank you
for your time, I look forward to your reply,

THE REPLY: Subject: RE: Aruba disaster Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 11:50:30 -0400
We are certainly having problems with this hotel. I believed we rushed to
open it well before it was time. The manager is taking very seriously
comments such as yours to try and improve things that are not working. I'm
not sure how, given your list of complaints Carlos offered an upgrade, but I
guess he will explain that to me. Unfortunately I cannot approve a 50%
reimbursement. The 15% offered or any amount is usually not enough to pay
for a bad experience during vacations neither I am justifying any possible
failures my people or the hotel staff could have had. But companies do not
give back money for services rendered; they have to cover their expenses
(good or bad service does not cost less or more). I can tell you that we are
working very hard at getting this hotel back in shape. I apologize to you
and your friends for any bad experience my people were not able to solve.
Regards

<><><><><><><><>

Occidental Grand Aruba
Aug 26 to Sept 2 2006
Submitted on Monday, September 4, 2006 by: Brian


Date Of Stay- Aug. 26th through Sept.2 2006
History- Bought timeshare in 2001, Mandatory All Inclusive.
I would like to begin this review saying that we are Midwestern (Wisconsin)
residents who frankly do not need or want too many frills. We just want what
we pay for and do understand that any business can have a bad day or you can
have a bad experience on any given day at any hotel or resort. My wife and I
both travel for work and have eaten at many fine restaurants for business;
from the Four Seasons in Paris France to some of the top exclusive
restaurants in Greece. We know what a 5 star restaurant is and we know what
good down home cooking is. We have been around as they say. With this in
mind I will try to be fair in our review of our trip and the Occidental.
This was our 4th time to Aruba in 4 years. We had my mother in law with us
and I wanted this trip to be very nice as she had never been there. We flew
United out of Chicago. It was a good flight and on time. I had e-mailed our
taxi driver and he was waiting for us when we arrived. He is a nice man and
provides very good service and is also very knowledgeable about the Island.
We arrived at the Allegro and I was really looking forward to the glass of
champagne that we were supposed to receive. Not that I needed champagne just
that I thought it would be a nice touch. It never happened and I was told
later that the bellhop couldn't serve everyone as he also is delivering
luggage. Do you not think that they would maybe have things a little better
organized than this? I though so but I let it go.
We waited in line to check-in, as there was no special area for vacation
club members to go to as we have been told there would be. As we approached
the counter we gave our name and he pulled our paper work. On top of the
paper work highlighted in Yellow were the words mandatory all-inclusive.
This was no surprise, as we knew it. The person checking us in then asked if
we were going to buy all-inclusive?? I said do we have to? He said no and
that we could do just the drink package for 45 and if we decided to eat at
the resort pay for a meal ticket and go to a restaurant. I said sure- I
would do the drink package for myself my wife and my mother in law who was
staying in our banked unit from the previous year. He took our credit card
and ran it through. We signed it and we were ready to get our wristband. The
guy goes into the back office to find out what color wristband we get and
comes out with Myrna. She is the rep from the vacation club. She is probably
the hardest working, most concerned individual that works there. She should
be running that place- it would defiantly be better. Anyway- she in forms us
that we have to buy all-inclusive as per our contract and I said no problem.
So they run our credit cards through for the balance and we receive our
black wristband.
The bellman was standing near patiently with our luggage and now is gone and
our luggage is sitting there on the cart. I ask another guy there if he will
bring it up and he says Nick will when he returns so we head off to our
unit. We go to the unit my mother in law is staying and I want to show her
how every thing is all inclusive now and that her fridge will be full and
there will be a liquor cabinet on the wall. We get inside and the liquor
cabinet is empty and so is the fridge. I tell her I will call and we head
for our room. We get inside and we have liquor and inside our fridge we have
2 cans of Pepsi, Balashi, Diet Pepsi and Seven-Up. Also 2 bottles of water.
I thought I will have to call to have them fill it up later.
I am paying all-inclusive and should have what I want where I want it I
thought. (I did end up calling numerous times for this and they never got
filled. I don't know why but they only stock what we got. 2 cans and bottles
of each. This is a rip-off- how can they charge you all inclusive and limit
you?) Also, my mother-in-law never got water until the third day, when
finally, after she had called down twice, I went to the front desk and
demanded it. The ice machines weren't working either – until Wednesday when
they finally stocked the coolers with little bags of ice. We were told upon
check-in that we could make dinner reservations for 4 nights, but had to
wait until 9:00 a.m. the next day.
When I went down to make reservations, I found out that certain restaurants
are closed on certain nights, and tried to make a reservation at each of the
4 specialty restaurants: Mexican, asian (Zen), Italian (L'Olio) and Desire
(steak and seafood). The first night we ate at the buffet and the buffet is
a buffet. It is the same thing just about every day and night the food was
the same. They do use the food over and over and over. Mexican scrambled
eggs are the previous days scrambled eggs bacon sausage and peppers
mushrooms etc from the omelet station. Not 5 star or even close in my books
but we ate it.
It was good the first couple of days but to be truthful it got old after 2
days. Sunday night we ate at the Zen which was the Japanese specialty. They
seat you around a hibachi table (7 people) and the chef does his thing. We
had the three of us and another couple married for 50 years. They were very
nice. The show the chef puts on is very nice but I wish the food was just as
good. It wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular. They charge 70.00 for this
per person if you didn't have all inclusive and I don't think it is worth
it..
The food was very similar to what we would get at a Japanese buffet here in
Wisconsin for 11.99. During the day my wife lounged by the pool and I walked
around and visited some casino's. Made some and lost some. I also walked
around our resort being nosy. There are a lot of things not finished and
some things missing such as some glass doors missing, painting not done etc.
I also spoke with some staff I hadn't seen in two years,
How can I say it – they are down in the dumps. The place lacks fun now. I am
not going to mention names but they told me that all they hear are
complaints. People are pissed off. I thought maybe it was just us Americans-
but I spoke with people from England, Spain etc who could not believe the
place. Most everyone I spoke with who did not own a timeshare said they
would not return and regretted being there. The people with a timeshare want
out or changes made- especially to the all-inclusive part.
We also ate at the L'Olio's on Thursday night. The service was very good.
Our waiter was from Colombia- very nice guy – worked hard and deserved a tip
which we left. The bread was very good, the salad was good but when it comes
to the main course it sucks. It is bland and lacks something- when you are
done eating it seems like you just left a fast food Italian place. It's hard
to describe but it all just lacks any spark. After this meal, we decided to
cancel our reservation at Desires and went downtown to eat Iguana Joes (see
below) instead.
Wednesday night they had a Managers party or something to that effect. They
never told anyone we found out walking by. It was a nice gesture, I met the
Hotel General Manager Miguel Eugene. We spoke a little but I will tell you
right now. They do what they want and no matter what we as guests or as
timeshare owners say they are not budging. It is like they cannot see there
hand in front of their face. Of course Carlos Pancheco was there. Talking to
him is like talking to a wall. All he does is talk around things. His answer
to everything was to upgrade. More money yada yada yada.
I also work in sales and I hope to God I don't sound like him. We were told
that the reason the dress code was put in place was to preserve furniture
and because the A/C was cold. Gimme a break. Then the General Manager
stepped in to say it was to create ambience. Aruba has a great ambiance
already and it doesn't need Occidental trying to refine it. There was just a
sense of uneasiness while we were there. I think it was coming from the
staff. I really feel for the workers. Not the people in white shirts but the
workers. They are not happy- I think you had to be there before Occidental
to understand.
We had some great meals but unfortunately they were all off the resort. We
ate at Texas De Brazil. I love it there – although a bit pricey- 170.00 for
3, we had deserts and drinks we didn't have to have but the food and salad
bar are great. We also ate at Iquana Joe's downtown. I had a native Aruban
dish called keshi yena. It is chicken and gouda cheese. It was so good. The
best.
The lethal Lizards are also great. All in all it was a great time. It is
just sad that the Occidental didn't contribute to it other than the friendly
I mentioned earlier. I told Carlos Pancheco that the best compliment anyone
can give a business is to recommend them to family friends or fellow
travelers. I cannot honestly do this. There are much better places to stay
than the Occidental such as Radisson or the Wyndham I believe. There are
people that have posted negative reviews and I thought boy- how can things
be that bad.
I have now rethought my position and yes they are. The worst rip-off the
Occidental is doing is the all inclusive. It just doesn't seem to sink into
these people that they are making a bad situation worse by making people eat
substandard food at a resort that is going through growing pains. I, like a
lot of others regret being at this resort now where before we loved it.
Things they could do: Do not require all inclusive Do not force people to
wait in line to make reservations for restaurants that they leave
dissatisfied If you want to call it 5 star then provide 5 star amenities-
such as ice and a stocked fridge In Aruba formal wear is not the norm but an
exception- change the policy Lighten up- we want fun not a morgue
One last thing, we went to Radisson to gamble a little, and the general
manager of the casino approached us because he saw our wristbands. He asked
how the Occidental was doing and at first we just said "okay". He then
stated he had lived in New York for the past several years and after
chatting with him a bit we wanted to tell him the truth. We were very honest
about our likes and dislikes. He just shook his head, and told us that the
past 11 people that he has spoken with that were staying at the Occidental
had the very same problems and were also very dissatisfied. His exact words
were "the Occidental is in trouble". He said it is well known all around the
island and he felt really bad for the timeshare owners. We also had the same
experience with our cab driver. He didn't want to say anything before we had
the chance to experience it ourselves, but when he picked us up on Saturday
to take us to the airport, and we told him how we felt, he said it is so
well known that people are very unhappy about the changes at the resort.


-----Original Message-----
From: Aruba Bulletin Board at VisitAruba.com [mailto:bb@visitaruba.com]
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 1:49 PM
To: jack@adidea4u.com
Subject: Reply to thread 'We've Been Hearing A Lot Of Really Bad Complaints'

Dear nhjack,

charlierat has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled -
We've Been Hearing A Lot Of Really Bad Complaints - in the Occidental
(Allegro) Resort forum of Aruba Bulletin Board at VisitAruba.com.

This thread is located at:
http://bb.visitaruba.com/showthread.php?t=7237&goto=newpost

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Good grief. I wasn't going to reply because, to tell the truth, I have
never stayed at the Occidental. But I just can't help myself. The stuff
you are describing does not seem possible. I mean, if a fraction of it were
true, we would be hearing about it long and loud on this board. Seriously,
paying customers and time share owners get served the exact same food in the
restaurants. The only complaints I have ever heard about the Occidental
were several months ago when it first re-opened after extensive renovations.
And those could collectively be described as bugs that needed to be worked
out.

Have you ever been to Aruba before? I don't mean to sound presumptuous but
I kind of got the impression that you have not. Relax. Aruba is a
wonderful place and Arubans are the most welcoming people on the planet. I
don't know who is spreading the horror stories or why but trust me; you and
your wife are going to have the time of your lives.
***************

Regards,


nhjack (Jack)

Thanks, Jack. As I said before, I didn't mean to be presumptuous.

__________________
Once in a while you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Hi Nhjack,

The AHATA (Aruba Hotel and Tourism Authority), will be notified in hopes that they will do something about this. It really sounds terrible, and I only read a couple of paragraphs. Thank you for pointing this out. I will keep you informed of any new progress regarding this situation.

Thank you!

Hi LocalLisa,

Sorry to take so long to respond ... busy, busy, busy -- and "vacation planning" somehow gets pushed further and further back on the old "To Do" list!

My brother, an Aruban time share owner, gets together at regular intervals with a group of other Aruba time share owners in Massachusetts. My situation was discussed at a recent get together. The general consensus of the group is that:
a) With Time Shares in general, the term "upgrade" basically equates to the word "bribe" ... or at least has the same fishy smell as being forced to pay extra for what you previously thought you had already paid for -- but are in no position to say "no" to.
b) Since it's a very special birthday for my wife, and a once in a lifetime event, I should swallow my anger, call the Occidental, and ask for possible upgrades, and spend additionally whatever I could afford.

You mentioned notifying The AHATA, for which I thank you. Hopefully, however, my name wasn't mentioned. We are pretty much "stuck" with the week we got and at that particular hotel.

Again, thank you for concern!


Regards,



Jack

I've been an owner in Aruba for 12 yrs and have never heard a bad word abouth the Occidental. I own 2 weeks in Aruba and 1 in Vegas
As for what you said about "upgrade" being a bribe.. I have to assume that you purchased an All-Inclusive package.
My Resort doesn't require a "bribe". If I wanty to upgrade for a 1-2 bedroom, There is a charge.ALL Timeshares have these, So I don't really understand what your getting at.
Quite honestly, I wouldn't ask for any upgrarade, Don't do the All-Inclusive,unless your a very heavy drinker, And spend the $$$$ you would for any upgrades and do dinner out. To many great restaurants to be stuck at a resorts pig trough..lol..Just kidding.
Like I said, I've never heard a bad word abouth this place

Arube OCt2007 and April/May 2008...Can't wait