? Moon Palace, Cancun, Mexico

My wife and I and our two kids (4 and 8) will be going to the Moon Palace,
Cancun, the first week of May this year. Any reviews or advice?

Thanks,
Jeff

Moon Palace Experience



Here is a summary of my experience at Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. I am
writing this as a warning to anyone visiting Cancun to avoid the mistake I
made.

Let me first state that Moon Palace is an absolutely fabulous resort. It is
definitely plush and elegant. The pool, disco, food, entertainment are
great.



When we first arrived at Moon Palace, we were approached by what appears to
be representatives of the hotel who are there to advise you of all the
available amenities that the resort has to offer. These representatives are
stationed throughout the main lobby. We were already aware that the package
we booked through American Airlines included two tours. They advised us that
we were invited to a breakfast the next morning and they would show us all
Moon Palace had to offer.



The next morning, we slept in after staying up late and assumed we missed
the breakfast until they called and said that we still had time. We
hurriedly got up and ready to meet the representative we had met the day
before. She then brought another lady to meet us and tell us that she would
be having breakfast with us and tell us all about the Resort. Breakfast was
fine and we made small talk with the representative about how we liked
Cancun and where we were from and stuff. After finishing breakfast she asked
us if we'd like to go on a tour. I am in a wheelchair and she said we would
get a golf cart to carry us around the resort so we could see the whole
place and the new addition to Moon Palace called Sunrise. We felt this would
be great since it would make it easier to get around and discover the places
we liked best and where we wanted to spend our time.



At this point we were still oblivious to the fact that what we were taking
part in was a sales pitch to purchase a membership to the Moon Palace much
like a time share purchase. The tour included seeing the Presidential Suites
and Sunrise, etc.



At the conclusion of the tour, we were taken to this very festive room where
many other people were there and we could have drinks or whatever we wanted.
Here we realized what was happening but had already been wrapped up in the
whole thing. We were told that a membership was normally this exorbitant
price but that they were offering this special deal for Founding Members
since Moon Palace Sunrise was brand new. Of course we immediately had
reservations about this being something we probably could not afford. We
were then introduced to a finance manager who was extremely nice. Before it
was all over, it was down to a cost that didn't seem too unreasonable since
we would have a membership for 20 years and it could be financed with
monthly payments.



We were advised that we would have to make a down payment though of about
15%. We told them we didn't have the resources with us to make a down
payment. Then they asked if we had credit cards. We were told that they
could get a portion of the down payment on a credit card and that after we
got home we could do the rest with a check or whatever-they trusted us. We
handed them several credit cards since we were unsure of credit limits on
certain cards and such. This was a MISTAKE!!!! By this time, we should have
just got up and left and said we were not interested.



After we were pretty much sold on the deal we were told that as members we
got to come to the resort at special "preferred rates". This was the first
we had heard of this part of the deal. We were told that we would have
access to the Presidential Suites and such and eligible for free weeks after
making so many payments and the like. We went ahead with the deal anyway
signing a contract and everything without too much time to look it over and
think about it. Basically, we made a very DUMB decision. By this time we
were just ready to get out of there and get to the pool since this was our
first day in Cancun.



Immediately, we started discussing what we had done and that we probably
could not really afford all this and got caught up in all the glamour of the
resort. Also looking over the "preferred rates" we determined that they
really were not all that special since we came to Cancun on an American
Airline package which included airfare, airport transfers and everything. As
members we would have to pay the preferred rates plus our own air and
transfers. Basically, this was NO DEAL.



Unfortunately, this ruined the rest of our vacation second guessing what we
had done. We approached the finance manager and expressed our thoughts, but
he convinced us that this was an excellent deal and that he gave us a much
better deal that others were getting. Boy, were we gullible??



Before leaving Cancun, I approached the finance manager one more time and
expressed that we had thought it over and really wanted to cancel the
membership. He convinced me to wait until I got home and he would call me on
Sunday or Monday at the latest and discuss whether we still wanted to
cancel. BIG, BIG MISTAKE!!!!



When we got home, we had a message on our answering machine from one of our
credit card companies warning us of what theat thought might be fraudulent
activity-but the charges had been denied. It seems they had attempted to
charge a total of $28,000 US dollars but all were denied. This was enough to
tell me not to trust this company. At no time did we authorize this amount.
Only a down payment amount. I immediately tried to call the finance manager
on Monday since he had not called on Sunday. I was told he was not in. I
called back and attempted to speak with the lady we met with when we signed
the contract. I was never allowed to talk with her. I called back for the
next several days attempting to speak with either one but was either placed
on hold indefinitely or bounced from one person to another. We immediately
placed the other charges for the down payment in dispute with out credit
card companies. I also faxed a letter to them (number on business card)
expressing our desire to cancel. Finally, several weeks later a
representative from Moon Palace contacted us to see if we were going to make
the payments. I advised them of my fax and that we decided we could not
afford this membership. I was told they did not receive my fax and that the
contract made no provision for cancellation. I immediately faxed another
copy of the letter. This was the last I heard from them.



My credit card a visa card honored the dispute and credited my account
back.My roommate had used two credit cards a visa and a MasterCard. The visa
account was credited but MasterCard refused since they said it was buyer's
remorse.



We chalked this up to a lesson learned and a little loss of money. We didn't
hear anything back until several weeks ago. We had a "courtesy call" from a
collection agency in Mobile, Alabama calling to see how we intended to
handle this situation. We were advised that they were doing the background
legal work for Palace Resorts and that they intended to pursue this legally.
We were told that we had several days to call them back and make a payment
to bring our account up to date or else that would take it to the next level
and investigate our credit history, our places of employment and in comes,
etc.. If we did not make a payment the account would had much additional
fees such as legal fees, penalties and such. The representative advised me
that I would LOSE if this went to court and that the Mexican contract would
be forced to be honored.



I contacted several lawyers seeking advice and was told that it would be
difficult for them to enforce that contract here. They felt that the
contract should have a recission period. I have not retained an attorney yet
but did decide I am not paying anything more yet.



I am sending a letter detailing all events to the collection agency along
with all documentation-letter expressing desire to cancel and such and
advising them not to contact me again, under the Fair Debt Collection Act. I
guess at this point I am in a wait and see mode.



I mainly wanted to put this in writing to hopefully WARN others to just
avoid meeting with the representatives. It isn't worth it and you will end
up regretting it. Enjoy your vacation and don't get involved.





"Jeff" wrote in message
...
My wife and I and our two kids (4 and 8) will be going to the Moon Palace,
Cancun, the first week of May this year. Any reviews or advice?

Thanks,
Jeff

My wife and I stayed at the Moon Palace and loved it. Great rooms and food.
We did our homework and new to stay away from the time share people. Like
Cletus said, you just need to stay away from them. Be firm with them and
tell them you are not at all interested. They do offer you extra tours and
other perks to come to breakfast and listen to them. Some people may choose
to do this and collect the free stuff. We chose to not take any part in it.
Our goal was total relaxation. We did not want to spend half of our day
wasted with these people.

Don't let this warning keep you from going to the Moon Palace. Just be
aware that they will try to sell you on the membership.


"Cletus Stripling" wrote in message
...
Moon Palace Experience



Here is a summary of my experience at Moon Palace in Cancun, Mexico. I am
writing this as a warning to anyone visiting Cancun to avoid the mistake I
made.

Let me first state that Moon Palace is an absolutely fabulous resort. It
is
definitely plush and elegant. The pool, disco, food, entertainment are
great.



When we first arrived at Moon Palace, we were approached by what appears
to
be representatives of the hotel who are there to advise you of all the
available amenities that the resort has to offer. These representatives
are
stationed throughout the main lobby. We were already aware that the
package
we booked through American Airlines included two tours. They advised us
that
we were invited to a breakfast the next morning and they would show us all
Moon Palace had to offer.



The next morning, we slept in after staying up late and assumed we missed
the breakfast until they called and said that we still had time. We
hurriedly got up and ready to meet the representative we had met the day
before. She then brought another lady to meet us and tell us that she
would
be having breakfast with us and tell us all about the Resort. Breakfast
was
fine and we made small talk with the representative about how we liked
Cancun and where we were from and stuff. After finishing breakfast she
asked
us if we'd like to go on a tour. I am in a wheelchair and she said we
would
get a golf cart to carry us around the resort so we could see the whole
place and the new addition to Moon Palace called Sunrise. We felt this
would
be great since it would make it easier to get around and discover the
places
we liked best and where we wanted to spend our time.



At this point we were still oblivious to the fact that what we were taking
part in was a sales pitch to purchase a membership to the Moon Palace much
like a time share purchase. The tour included seeing the Presidential
Suites
and Sunrise, etc.



At the conclusion of the tour, we were taken to this very festive room
where
many other people were there and we could have drinks or whatever we
wanted.
Here we realized what was happening but had already been wrapped up in the
whole thing. We were told that a membership was normally this exorbitant
price but that they were offering this special deal for Founding Members
since Moon Palace Sunrise was brand new. Of course we immediately had
reservations about this being something we probably could not afford. We
were then introduced to a finance manager who was extremely nice. Before
it
was all over, it was down to a cost that didn't seem too unreasonable
since
we would have a membership for 20 years and it could be financed with
monthly payments.



We were advised that we would have to make a down payment though of about
15%. We told them we didn't have the resources with us to make a down
payment. Then they asked if we had credit cards. We were told that they
could get a portion of the down payment on a credit card and that after we
got home we could do the rest with a check or whatever-they trusted us. We
handed them several credit cards since we were unsure of credit limits on
certain cards and such. This was a MISTAKE!!!! By this time, we should
have
just got up and left and said we were not interested.



After we were pretty much sold on the deal we were told that as members we
got to come to the resort at special "preferred rates". This was the first
we had heard of this part of the deal. We were told that we would have
access to the Presidential Suites and such and eligible for free weeks
after
making so many payments and the like. We went ahead with the deal anyway
signing a contract and everything without too much time to look it over
and
think about it. Basically, we made a very DUMB decision. By this time we
were just ready to get out of there and get to the pool since this was our
first day in Cancun.



Immediately, we started discussing what we had done and that we probably
could not really afford all this and got caught up in all the glamour of
the
resort. Also looking over the "preferred rates" we determined that they
really were not all that special since we came to Cancun on an American
Airline package which included airfare, airport transfers and everything.
As
members we would have to pay the preferred rates plus our own air and
transfers. Basically, this was NO DEAL.



Unfortunately, this ruined the rest of our vacation second guessing what
we
had done. We approached the finance manager and expressed our thoughts,
but
he convinced us that this was an excellent deal and that he gave us a much
better deal that others were getting. Boy, were we gullible??



Before leaving Cancun, I approached the finance manager one more time and
expressed that we had thought it over and really wanted to cancel the
membership. He convinced me to wait until I got home and he would call me
on
Sunday or Monday at the latest and discuss whether we still wanted to
cancel. BIG, BIG MISTAKE!!!!



When we got home, we had a message on our answering machine from one of
our
credit card companies warning us of what theat thought might be fraudulent
activity-but the charges had been denied. It seems they had attempted to
charge a total of $28,000 US dollars but all were denied. This was enough
to
tell me not to trust this company. At no time did we authorize this
amount.
Only a down payment amount. I immediately tried to call the finance
manager
on Monday since he had not called on Sunday. I was told he was not in. I
called back and attempted to speak with the lady we met with when we
signed
the contract. I was never allowed to talk with her. I called back for the
next several days attempting to speak with either one but was either
placed
on hold indefinitely or bounced from one person to another. We
immediately
placed the other charges for the down payment in dispute with out credit
card companies. I also faxed a letter to them (number on business card)
expressing our desire to cancel. Finally, several weeks later a
representative from Moon Palace contacted us to see if we were going to
make
the payments. I advised them of my fax and that we decided we could not
afford this membership. I was told they did not receive my fax and that
the
contract made no provision for cancellation. I immediately faxed another
copy of the letter. This was the last I heard from them.



My credit card a visa card honored the dispute and credited my account
back.My roommate had used two credit cards a visa and a MasterCard. The
visa
account was credited but MasterCard refused since they said it was buyer's
remorse.



We chalked this up to a lesson learned and a little loss of money. We
didn't
hear anything back until several weeks ago. We had a "courtesy call" from
a
collection agency in Mobile, Alabama calling to see how we intended to
handle this situation. We were advised that they were doing the background
legal work for Palace Resorts and that they intended to pursue this
legally.
We were told that we had several days to call them back and make a payment
to bring our account up to date or else that would take it to the next
level
and investigate our credit history, our places of employment and in comes,
etc.. If we did not make a payment the account would had much additional
fees such as legal fees, penalties and such. The representative advised me
that I would LOSE if this went to court and that the Mexican contract
would
be forced to be honored.



I contacted several lawyers seeking advice and was told that it would be
difficult for them to enforce that contract here. They felt that the
contract should have a recission period. I have not retained an attorney
yet
but did decide I am not paying anything more yet.



I am sending a letter detailing all events to the collection agency along
with all documentation-letter expressing desire to cancel and such and
advising them not to contact me again, under the Fair Debt Collection Act.
I
guess at this point I am in a wait and see mode.



I mainly wanted to put this in writing to hopefully WARN others to just
avoid meeting with the representatives. It isn't worth it and you will end
up regretting it. Enjoy your vacation and don't get involved.





"Jeff" wrote in message
...
My wife and I and our two kids (4 and 8) will be going to the Moon
Palace,
Cancun, the first week of May this year. Any reviews or advice?

Thanks,
Jeff