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Re: Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies (by Linde H.):

My husband and I went to Vidanta Riviera Maya in late October and were targeted. Staff literally and deliberately stalked us until we agreed to have "breakfast" with one of them, except it was a "membership update" meeting instead. It was only supposed to last "about an hour" that lasted all day long! They told us there was an "issue" with the membership corporate was looking into, so we needed to sit tight until it was cleared. In the meantime, Jean Marc (the sales guy) told us about how Vidanta was now selling fractional properties -- tangible, deeded properties as long-term investments that were NOT timeshares. We got a tour of one of them, he showed us a website of various versions of them in Mexico, etc. Too bad it was all a lie. They didn't feed us or give us anything but margaritas, which is illegal in that country and the U.S., which I later found out. My husband is hypoglycemic, and I was in need of some meds (which were in the hotel room I didn't have access to). Both of us were very tired, and there was still that membership "issue". I was told if I just signed for the purchase of a fractional property (which I could cancel "at any time"), they would upgrade our room the next day and release us to enjoy our vacation. Little did I know they had attempted to charge the entire amount of a down payment on my debit card, which they had on file, which engaged a fraud alert with my bank. It caused a huge problem with my financial institution, and I hadn't turned my cell phone on for international usage, so it soon became a cluster. I was waning fast, so like sharks in the water, they began to circle. They separated me from my husband, who needed food (fast), ushered me to the basement to be alone with some man in a room. I became really scared, didn't know where my husband was, and began to truly fear for my life. I was told to initial and sign and then I'd be returned to my husband -- it was really, really creepy. From being stalked and dragged out of a restaurant, taken against our will to a sales office under false pretenses, then separated from each other until docs signed. Now I'm trying to get the money back that was illegally charged and taken from my bank account under duress. I was told I had five days from the time of purchase, which would have been the Monday after I returned. Except that wasn't true, it was from the time I signed, which was during the time I was there. They had lied to me, so I couldn't go home and change my mind. I did try to change our flights and leave early, because while we were there, we felt like we were being followed all the time. It was creepy. Honestly, this company is a huge scam, and they definitely target people. I was told they probably knew all about me before I arrived, such as checking my name, property I owned online, what my husband did for a living, etc. With the Internet, nothing is private anymore. There are so many other options out there, so why would you choose Vidanta? STAY AWAY, people!!!!!!!! I'm out thousands of dollars now, hard-earned money I'll never get back from these criminals...and that's what they are: common criminals.