| Address: mumbai |
| Website: orchidvacation.com |
I purchased a three-year holiday membership from Orchid Vacation for approximately ₹70, 000 after attending a family event where their representatives presented the membership and made attractive representations regarding hotel quality, availability and convenient holiday bookings.
Unfortunately, my experience after making the payment has been very different.
I have managed to use approximately seven room-nights, but only after considerable difficulty. From an early stage itself, I wanted to cancel the membership because of the difficulties I was experiencing, but I was told that there was no cancellation/refund option.
Some of the problems I experienced include:
• Difficulty getting through to customer support and unanswered calls.
• Delayed email responses with additional conditions and restrictions.
• On several occasions, I was told that rooms were unavailable through Orchid Vacation, while I could see rooms available for the same dates on publicly accessible hotel booking platforms.
• In some instances, the rates quoted through the membership appeared substantially higher than the rates publicly available online.
• On one family trip, the hotel confirmation was provided at approximately 1 PM for a 2 PM check-in on the same day, creating considerable uncertainty and inconvenience for my family.
• After paying approximately ₹70, 000 for a three-year package, I was subsequently asked for an additional ₹14, 000 in connection with another two years/booking, which I am seeking clarification on.
• When I asked about cancellation, I was told that there was no cancellation scheme.
I am currently pursuing the matter through the appropriate consumer grievance channels and am retaining the relevant payment records, booking communications, hotel availability screenshots and other supporting evidence.
I have also found recent Consumer Commission proceedings involving Orchid Vacation/Vacations concerning complaints about holiday memberships, accommodation/booking difficulties and deficiency in service. These proceedings are publicly available and I am mentioning them only as relevant background, not as a claim that every consumer's circumstances are identical.
My purpose in posting this is simply to warn prospective customers: before paying for a holiday membership, carefully verify the cancellation/refund terms, hotel availability mechanism, actual pricing, additional charges and booking conditions in writing.
Please do your own due diligence and read the complete membership agreement before making any payment.
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