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| Caliente--Land o Lakes Florida..Rethink your Next Trip Here |
This is an accurate description of our experience of 7/19 - 21, 2012 at Caliente Resorts in Land O Lakes, Florida.
We were contacted several times by the Call Center representing Caliente Resorts. We decided originally to book a Hotel Room at the resort for the paying normal rate but wanted to stay 4 nights.. because the Hotel was Sold Out Saturday and Sunday nights (7/21, 22) we decided to call back the Call Center and book through them for 4 nights in their "Upgraded Casita" units. Total cost for their "promotional package" was $519 with a $100 Resort Credit after we have completed their 45 minute Resort Tour. We got confirmation and arrived Thursday afternoon ready for a "Great Romantic Vacation".
Upon our arrival it looked deserted, the grounds were unkept and had a Stale appearance. When we arrived at our "CASITA" it was a "TRAIL PARK" area of the resort.. our unit was a Single wide roach infested, no Air Conditioning warped door, stained furniture, and filthy dirty. We decided to complain about our accommodations the next morning during our "tour" and enjoy the rest of the day/night. We headed to the Pool which was nice but very quiet. Stayed for a bit then went back to change for dinner in the dining room, which was empty. We ordered a Filet steak, lobster Mac and Cheese (which was hard dry, in eatable) We tried to salvage the evening in the Disco but was disappointed in the crowd and returned to the "Casita" . We did meet an owner of the resort who mentioned that "Lifestyle Couples" have had problems with X-tasy and they are frowned upon. The Next Morning we went to our 45 Minute Presentation, which was required for their Special Rate...When we completed our presentation and expressed that this type of resort was not for us and we were not interested in Purchasing Today. So we signed off and was expecting a $100 Credit to our account (Which was never credited).
We went to the Pool to enjoy the day and a short time after, we were pulled out of the pool and told To "VACATE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY" We were embarrassed and mortified... We didn't do a thing to deserve this type of embarrassment and treatment... We packed up and left after only 2 nights and noticed a text from another couple we had met, that They Too were Kicked out of the resort after Not Purchasing.!!! and they told us 3 other couples also got removed from the Property.
We realized because the resort was Sold Out.. they needed our rooms for revenue... NOT A GOOD THING TO DO...
PLEASE re-think your next vacation. |
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| by ANGELAW on January 24, 2013 |
| WOW ! Thanks for the info. We were considering Valentine's day there. But after hearing that, we wouldn't even consider it. Paradise Lakes for us ! |
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| by ANGELAW on January 24, 2013 |
| WOW ! Thanks for the info. We were considering Valentine's day there. But after hearing that, we wouldn't even consider it. Paradise Lakes for us ! |
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| by ANGELAW on January 24, 2013 |
| WOW ! Thanks for the info. We were considering Valentine's day there. But after hearing that, we wouldn't even consider it. Paradise Lakes for us ! |
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| by TEXASDUO1 on November 30, 2012 |
| Well after reading all these posts, we had to laugh at the singlewide as the accomodation...REALLY??? Sounds like the owner needs to invest a lot more money into this property...and learn a few people skills along the way. We would never knowingly pay $500 to vacation in a singlewide trailer,or any trailed for that matter! We have listened to timeshare pitches in Mexico and yes they are a BITCH,very aggressive and make it sound like the best investment in the world. Timeshares are just legal extortion. Stay far away! Sorry FUN4LIFE had to deal with such an arrogant and deceitful owner. We will never stay here.Thanks for the info. |
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| by CELTIC239 on November 27, 2012 |
Wow it looks like some things haven't changed. We were attending a Lifestyle convention back in the Tampa area a few years ago when a spokesman for Caliente stated that the resort would provide transportation to the resort, they would supply us with a free lunch and tour and then take us to the airport. We had a late flight back to NY and had a few hours to kill.
We went to the resort and were told to leave our bags in the back of their van. We went inside had a sandwich, meet the tour guy, took the tour but dec d to purchase the "time share". We got the hard sell pitch, it was worse than buying a fucking car. The assistant manager, then the manager it was a real pain in the ass.
Eventually we said we had to get to the airport. The manager was very rude and did nothing to get our bags returned to us. It was only when I said I guess I would have to call the cops did our bags get returned to us. The original tour guy took us to the airport in his own car and apologized.
That being said the place was very classy it just wasn't our "cup of tea" in that it was like Vegas and we prefer going to Paradise Lakes which is more like "Cheers". We have gone to a couple of dances there and met some friends, usually when they were having their ladies free drink specials, and had a great time.
We have friends that went there, didn't "drink the Kool Aid" and refused to sign but weren't thrown out but I do believe that maybe they were paying full price for the hotel rooms to being with.
I wouldn't want to invest any money in a "time share - points club" or whatever they are calling it because of the rude behavior of the management team. If that's the way they treat you when they are trying to get you to buy in I shutter to think how they will treat you after they get about $10K out of you in club fees.
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| by TANTALLBLOND on November 23, 2012 |
| I think they "may" be having problems - Ever though Paradise lakes Nudist Resort down the street is much older the staff and members are really great and the rooms, which most of them are owned privately thru their members are clean and priced right ! I have always had a great time there !! Bill - Marco Island |
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| by OURFUNACCOUNT on August 21, 2012 |
I fully understand and respect "fair and balanced", but you also need to consider that this is not an isolated incident with just one part of the organization. It all goes back to the general manager Steve Dorsey. He was aware of all the poor treatment of the couples that day, and did nothing to correct or stop it.
Even after following up to him, his response to me was "piss up a rope" and he refuses to comment or present his side of the story in the forums, even when given ample opportunity.
I am glad a set of people have a good time there, but I have a feeling it is a good value for those that do only nightly visits. They would benefit for a small nightly cost, while the residents and weekly guests pick up the burden of costs for the facilities, etc. This must explain why they focus their deceptive and high pressure tactics just on those areas.
The main point of this was to raise awareness and suggest people steer clear of any "invite" to come to Caliente with any sort of condition tied to it. Everyone can make their own choices, and most appreciate the heads up when things go horribly wrong for others.
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| by SFLFUN on August 20, 2012 |
| Bump |
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| by EDUARDO122854 on August 17, 2012 |
| sorry to hear about your bad experience. We LOVE Caliente. Maybe next time you should meet up with us, IF there ever is a next time LOL..... Ed & Dee |
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| by SFLSEXYCOUPLE on July 24, 2012 |
| Single wide really is that a joke....... We were thinking of going, thanks for the post we and our friends are now not going. what a joke.. really a doublewide ops singlewide for 500.00 I guess after 20 guests the time share is paid for... wheres motel 8.. |
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| by OURFUNACCOUNT on July 24, 2012 |
Sandy .... I completely agree. All I can comment on is our experience as a reference point.
Like I said, we would have enjoyed ourselves and possibly even came back. The resort is not 5 star, but it is unique and we make the best of where we are. We could have been one of those happy customers or reoocurring guests. That no longer is possible.
But, it seems like a lot of people are happy like yourselves - which is great ! Makes it even more curious why this happened on Sat to a minimum of 3 couples and why were singled out.
Getting a complex now ;-)
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| by DSINTPA on July 24, 2012 |
| Casita is Spanish for single wide... |
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| by OURFUNACCOUNT on July 24, 2012 |
Just to expand on the comment regarding the owner/manager/CEO Steve.
We are one of the other couples that were kicked out (for no explainable reason) that started the other thread on the other site. I know this may look complicated with multiple posts, but it is because so many couples were affected and are vocal about their experience.
Anyway, I asked Steve via email to explain the resorts actions and why he did not contact us to apologize and make things right.
His response was for us to "piss up a rope". He claimed that since he offered us to return to the club (even though he gave no justification why we were originally forced to leave immediately, we were packed up, in the process of getting new accomadations, pissed off and lost all trust in Caliente) ... he thought that was being very generous of him. He did acknowledge he read all these posts, so access or awareness of them is not an issue.
He still has not responded to why we were all kicked out .. bizarre. I am open to multiple sides of a story too. Like I said, we do not know why we were forced to leave, so we hope by him "coming out of hiding", that it might give some insight to why our vacation was ruined.
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| by EUROMEXCOUPLE on July 24, 2012 |
ADMIN from another website invited Caliente to comment on a very similar thread. So far they have not. But, there are always 3 sides to every story. Yours, theirs, and the truth.
So, Caliente, please, join in and clear up any misconception.
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| by LAUGHINGLOVERS on July 23, 2012 |
| Explicit image available, join sdc.com to view I Could have sworn I posted on this blog. Do moderators ever delete posts? Anyhow, thanks for the review, it matters! We've been considering Caliente, but not after the reviews we've been reading. Sometimes these places just don't realize how good and bad word can spread in the lifestyle community. |
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| by RNR4FUNPA on July 23, 2012 |
Word of advice: NEVER do the timeshare presentation. First, you are on vacation so enjoy the vacation without the sour taste of a timeshare. Also, they say 45 minutes to 1 hour tour - promotion - preview - whatever they want to call it, turns out to be a 2 - 3 high pressure sales pitch. Save your time and energies - forego the timeshare presentation. It's just not worth any cash or other inducement.
Second, timeshares are probably one of the worst kinds of investments one can make. Think about it, if it was such a great investment people would be banging on the sales office doors to buy one - rather than having to resort to high-pressured sales people lower on the ladder than used-cars salesmen to push sales. Also, there is a HUGE market in timeshare resales (at huge discounts) .... if it was such a great investment, why is it marked down in resales rather than appreciate in value like a good investment would?
Third, you can do better than timeshares for vacation deals if you plan out your vacations anywhere from 3 to 6 months out. Learn about best days to book flights. Get on several hotel chains e-mail lists. Get your self Gold or Diamond status on your preferred hotels. Actually, use your Credit Card reward points, frequent flier miles, and frequent hotel points. You can get REAL deals this way, rather than phony timeshare deals (which are really NOT deals if you put a cost on your aggravation).
We have been on several vacations where the flight and hotel was paid for by frequent flier miles and hotel points. (Benefit of being a business traveler of sorts I guess). A vacation with free flights and several nights free hotels is quite more enjoyable than a paid for one ( sort of a beer always tastes better when free) .... You can enjoy paying for better meals and drinks then.
Fourth, I would have complained to the highest manager on duty at the resort side of the house - (Not the timeshare managers) and I would lodge a complaint with the ownership.
Fifth, get even - post it on Tripadvisor.com. You will give them MORE negative publicity than just complaining here.
R from RnR |
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