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I think you mean you are APPALLED with their service.
I am sorry this happened to you. You are correct. If renovations etc were planned, they would have known about it far ahead of time and not accepted bookings for that period.
Barring an emergency repair of such magnitude that the whole resort had to be shut down, there really is no excuse for such a cavalier attitude towards their guests.
Maybe the are forced to shut down? Health infractions or the like?
Honestly, I see why you are upset but wasn't Fiji affected by the earthquake and Tsunami? Apparently there was just another earthquake in that region on Saturday.....maybe it has something to do with that?
http://www.tawakilagi.com/2011/03/12/tonga-hit-by-6-1-magnitude-earthquake/
Yes yes, I totally meant appalled. Spell check got the best of me as I typed in rage!
I know this may seem drastic but if it were me...I'd right a letter to the press. ESPECIALLY is they have done it before. It's your honeymoon...you are suppose to be treated like a VIP. I am sorry:(.
I've spend all day contacting people about this:
- The Director or Sales & Marketing, Hudson Mitchell, send a very generic email saying they'd upgrade our room if we rebooked. I responded very candidly, outlining my frustration and inability to rebook. He said he'd elevate it to executive. Who knows if I'll ever hear a peep.
- Email the owner, Tony Robbins, his assistant, and their support line at his motivational speaking events company
- Mailed the body of the email to Tony Robbins at his San Diego head quarters
- Posted a review on Trip Advisor, where I also noticed two other couples had their honeymoons canceled similarly
- Posted a review on The Knot, Wedding Bee, and Wedding Channel's community blogs
- Submitted a complaint to the international BBB for Namale
- Submitted a complaint to the domestic BBB for Tony Robbins
At this point, I don't even care about being reimbursed... I just want them to take ownership for the terrible customer service. Then again, who would turn down a free trip to Fiji!?
post on planet feedback as well. Sorry this happened!
Could you contact BBB, to see if they could help you out? I don't know if there is a bureau like that in Fiji, but it's worth a shot. Good Luck!
UPDATE: After going on my rant not only to the wedding and travel communities, domestic & international BBB, and the owner of Namale, things quickly turned around. Our travel agent called Monday afternoon informing us that Namale will REMAIN OPEN during our scheduled dates because enough customers complained. Wohoo! Not only that, but the General Manager personally called us (as well as other guests, I’d assume) personally apologizing for the miscommunication. He said they were going to do some proactive pipe renovations and those dates where when the contractors were available. He did not mean to tell guests to reschedule, rather wanted his sales team to talk to the travel agents to see if guests would consider it. Potato potatoe. The fact is, he called and was falling all over himself apologizing and wanting to make it up to us, even throwing in a couple’s massage and the option to upgrade to a villa should it still be available upon arrival. We said we’d think about it, which he understood. We spent the rest of the night going back and forth between Namale and Royal Davui (where we booked in the mean time). Both had pros and cons based on reviews and photos.
It wasn’t until I received a personal message from owner, Tony Robbins, that we confirmed our stay with Namale. Apparently Tony read my email at 11:30pm and immediately responded to via audio email. Extremely personalized- referenced us by names, addressed every aspect of my email (renovations? speaking event? etc), and was equally concerned and disappointed with what happened. He said he’s personally look into it, have a member of his office follow up with us, and ensure our stay at Namale be exquisite. I should note, Tony does not get involved with the day-to-day running of the resort, so for him to do so was pretty major, given his other obligations. Crazy that due to enough complaints (and complaining to the right resources) Namale remains open, crazy the GM called all guests, and crazy the owner responded and did so on such a personal level. Impressive.
Given the total experience with Namale, thus far, I’m hopefully. I appreciate their attentiveness and ownership in addressing their poor behavior. I’m still not loving that it happened in the first place, but they surely righted the wrong quickly and remorsefully. We’re headed to Namale at the start of May and I’ll be certain to provide a detailed review upon our return! Cross your fingers for us J
Good update. Sounds like they made a mistake, recognized it quickly, and are doing everything they can to make up for it. I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out.
That is good that it worked out. Although from what I hear Fiji is beautiful even if you are staying in a gutter. I hope you have a wonderful trip!
My name is Bill Keefe and I am the General Manager for the Namale Resort in Fiji.
Carrie131, along with a handful of other guests scheduled to stay with us at the same time, was in fact the recipient of a mis-communication through her Travel Coordinator that originated with us here at Namale. And, she had every right to be upset based on the content of the email. I take full responsibility for the error that occurred, and, as soon as I became aware of the communication that had been sent out I began contacting each and every party that received the email personally.
It was never our intention to cancel anyones travel plans (although based on the email message Carrie131 received from us that is exactly what a person would assume). We simply would not do that. We realize that people invest quite a bit of time, effort and resources into a vacation to a place like Fiji and that once made and confirmed, travel plans are not easily changed. That is doubly true for someone traveling for a wedding or a honeymoon.
Originally, our intent was to simply reach out to the Travel Professionals that had arranged these handful of bookings and to ask them if their clients might be open to changing their travel dates. If yes, great. Namale was offering to cover all additional costs incurred as well as upgrades to accommodations levels and complimentary Spa treatments etc. If not, no worries. But again, the email that Carrie131 received absolutely left her with the impression that she was not being given the option to retain her reservation and I completely understand her reaction.
Due to the date/time difference between Fiji and the US it was about 72 hours between the time that she recieved our email and I was able to speak with her personally on the phone. I apologized for our error and assurred her that we were NOT cancelling her reservation. I would personally guarantee that she and her fiance would have a wonderful honeymoon with us here at Namale. It is also true that the owner of Namale, Tony Robbins, reached out personally to her and her fiance to assure them of the same.
The couple thought about it for a few days and ultimately decided to keep their honeymoon trip in place with us here at Namale. Had they chosen to go elsewhere they would have of course received a 100% refund of any and all monies paid to date. I am very happy to say that we are looking forward to their arrival within the next couple of weeks.
In conclusion, I would just like to take a moment to clarify a few points. Our contacting Carrie131 as well as the other guests to whom this occurred had nothing to do with negative Blog Posts, Trip Advisor reports, or complaints to the Better Business Bureau. We also did not take the actions that we did because people complained. We made an error. Recognized the error, and did everything within our power to do the right thing and correct the situation. We would have reacted exactly the same way even if no one had complained, written a blog post, or otherwise shared their experience with the public. Blogs and websites such as this serve a very valuable purpose. And, I completely understand why Carrie131 shared her experience with you here in this forum. It was not however the motivating factor in us taking the actions that we did. After the error that we had made, it was simply the right thing to do.
The staff and management team at Namale are very proud of the job that we do in regards to taking care of our guests. Before, during, and even after their stay with us. We are also proud of the reputation we have earned in the travel industry as one of the most beautiful and romantic getaway destinations in the South Pacific.
When we make a mistake we do our absolute best to correct things as quickly as possible, always keeping the experiece of our guest(s) as our number one priority.
Wow, what drama! I commend you Carrie131 for being so proactive. Glad it worked out and sounds like Namale will more than make up for your terrible experience so far. I bet you will have a blast! Make sure you update us!
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After extensive research, my fiance and I booked our honeymoon at Namale Resort in Fiji. We were excited about the all-inclusive food & alcohol, accommodations, and activities. We're not couch potatoes, but surely appreciate secluded vacations with things to do, should we so choose. I should mention, we're well traveled and have no trouble setting high budgets for trips (vacations, resorts, or restaurants). If you're going to spend the money, spend it where you'll be pampered- that's our motto!
SIX WEEKS before our scheduled trip, our travel agent was informed that Namale was shutting down for two weeks, during the time of our trip. They offered no remorse, flexibility, or explanation. Most resorts know if they're undergoing renovations months in advance, plus, what resort in their right mind would shut down during the peak wedding/honeymoon season!? I suspect (owner & motivational speaker) Tony Robbins is hosting a convention that week and is making far more money selling rooms for his event and cares little about displacing "regular ol' guests". I even called the resort myself. The clerk said a manager would be in touch. After two days, I received a generic email from the Director Sales & Marketing, Hudson Mitchell, asking us to be flexible (how flexible can one be 6 weeks out!?) and reschedule our trip, never once mentioning the cause of the closure.
What's most fascinating is that upon reading additional reviews on Trip Advisor, this isn't the first, much less, second time Namale has canceled people's reservations. Unfortunately, this appears the first time they've done it within a two month window of travel.
Now we're spent scrambling to find new accommodations in Fiji since flights are already book. Hopefully somewhere will have rooms available, must less ones in our price range. We’re currently looking into Likuliku and Royal Davui. Feedback on either are welcomed!
We are APPLAUDED with Namale's professionalism, or lack thereof, remorse, and customer service. Sure, it seems to offer wonderful amenities and ambiance, but who wants to stay at a resort where they place ZERO value on the guests' experience. This will not be the last time I share my disgust of Namale. Our travel agent will be pulling her contract with the resort since she's equally disgusted by their customer service. I hope others follow suit.
Apologies for the long post, but this is insane and I’d hate it to happen to others.