Help! What Should have been A Dream Vacation has become a NIGHTMARE!!

I love a good deal as much as the next penny pincher but sometimes things happen that make me wish I would have just gone ahead and paid full price and save myself the headaches. In January of last year my fiance and I purchased a deal via Living Social for 6 nights in Belize at the Almond Beach Resort. For 6 nights excluding airfare we paid $695 not an extravagant amount of money but in today's economy every penny counts. We decided in September we would take the trip around his 50th birthday in December. He contacted the resort in September to make the reservations, we were booked! We spent $1,000 on plane tickets. We thought we were all set. Paul asked me to contact the resort to confirm our arrangements because we were leaving at the end of the week. Upon calling I noticed that the Living Social clearly states that we purchased 6 nights in an Ocean View room at Almond Beach Resort, yet the confirmation that was emailed to us came from Jaguar Reef Resort, and I noticed we were being charged an additional $50 for a 2 bedroom suite for the 1st night and then the following day would be moved to a Cabana for the remainder of out stay. We also needed to pay an additional $123.62 for Round trip transportation to and from the resort/airport. So our $1700 trip is now up to $1873.62 not including taxes and the $25.00 per day resort fee. So I contact Almond Beach to find out exactly what it is going on, the representative there tells me that they are "sister resorts" located on the same property but Almond Beach's room has more modern Furniture and better views. I explain that our voucher was clearly for Almond Beach so how could someone from Jaguar Reef book the reservation. She goes on to explain that the representative should have checked the voucher number because Jaguar Reef and Almond Beach were running simultaneous Living Social Deals. I asked were there rooms available for the time we were coming and she explained they were sold out. I thank her for her time and explain that I am not happy. I contact the representative at Jaguar Reef that made our reservation her name is Yolaine. She explains that she took the reservation, I asked why didn't she check the voucher number before booking since thats the procedure per the rep at Almond Beach. She said that "We are so busy, and people keep calling and calling I must have forgot." Hmmm ok! So I tell her I wanted to go over our arrival time so our transportation could know what time to be there. She says she will send me an email with the info I say ok. This is what I get mind you this is 2 days before we are leaving and this trip was booked in September.

Dear Guests,

The most convenient way to get to our resort is a 20 minute commuter flight from the Belize airport to Dangriga airstrip. Maya Air Charges $148 per person round trip for this flight and we can then arrange shuttle service from The Dangriga airstrip to the resort ,35 minutes drive and cost $123.75 round trip for up to  2 people . If you would like my assistance in booking the flights and shuttle, I will need the names of everyone traveling and the international flight arrival and departure times out of Belize airport. I can include the above charges on your confirmation sheet and you can call our toll free number 1-888-731-1132 to provide credit card details for payment.

Best regards,

Yolaine

My first reaction reading this was what the Hell is she talking about! I thought we needed to get to airport, get a taxi go to resort, check in and be on the beach by noon. That's how it usually goes. I ask her to call me to discuss, and apparently the resort is located 2.5 hours by car from the Belize International Airport which if you decide to have someone drive you can cost $225US each way and that was the cheapest quote I got. So now our only option is to take a 15-20 minute flight that ends up costing $141.00 per person so we're up to $2155.62 not including taxes and resort fees or the fact that we haven't even got there yet! At this point I am beyond pissed and ask Yolaine why was this information not sent to us or mentioned to us when we booked in September she responds "When I sent the confirmation to Paul I accidentally attached it twice instead of attaching the transportation info in addition" (The note posted above in red) I also asked her why wasn't this posted on the voucher, or made clearer by Living Social she claims that both resorts have asked Living Social to state this information when the deals run but they refuse. So we contact Living Social and after 4 email exchanges detailing everything this is what they send us this morning

Thank you for your patience. We’re sorry to hear you ran into some issues redeeming your Almond Beach Belize voucher. Our Merchant Services team was able to reach out to the merchant and discuss your concerns.  The initial contact and reservation was made with the Jaguar Reef, not Almond Beach.  Since the reservation was made with the wrong location and the voucher was not redeemed properly, we're unable to credit your account.  We also looked into your concern about the additional airfare. We understand there is an additional flight required to get to your destination. Airfare for this deal is not included.  There is good news. Although Almond Beach did not have any availability, Jaguar Reef agreed to accommodate your reservation and accept the voucher as payment.  Since the Jaguar Reef and Almond Beach are sister properties you will still be able to enjoy the same restaurants, beach and amenities. Although this may not be the outcome you were hoping for, we wish you happy and safe travels.   If you still have questions, please reply to this email.  Thanks for LivingSocial! Stephanie | Consumer Services | LivingSocial | help.livingsocial.com

I have 2 major issues with this number 1 I know that I was not going to walk to Belize so of course Airfare would not be included, but there was never mention that we needed to book additional flights once we got to Belize and secondly you say that We Did Not Redeem the Voucher Properly so we cant be refunded but the good news is they are sister resorts? WTF we didn't redeem the voucher improperly the property that you used redeemed it improperly and we didn't find out until after the fact. I do not know the best way to handle this situation because this trip has cost so much more than we anticipated having to spend. I really think Living Social should be clearer with the Merchants they deal with as well as the customers because I really felt like we got shafted on this so called Deal! We are leaving tomorrow I hope I am blinded by the Beauty of Belize that I will forget all the nonsense that has gone on in the last 72 hours. 

What Would You Do?

The Diva