Back in Nov 2016 we used two privilege weeks to stay at Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an in Mexico. I kept meaning to post an update about that trip but never got around to it. I've decided I won't except for the fact that a reader of this blog ended up at the same resort at the same time so we met up for some drinks one night. I have to say that was a very cool experience. Thank you Frank!
During that trip they did ask us to sit in to another sales pitch and at some point I may write a post all about that but now that some time has past I'm not sure if I remember enough detail to do this.
The reason I'm not going to bother writing about my trip last year is we are booked in to the same resort for two weeks on Dec 3. I've decided I'll instead try to post daily during that trip ... For the next bit this blog will become a resort review in addition to being about the club. I think it may be helpful for anyone reading this to get an idea of what it's like to be a club member at this resort.
This year we booked way back in February. We asked for two membership weeks for the last two weeks of the year our gold membership would allow and got it no problem. This will be our first trip using official member weeks although last year we got some amazing upgrades so I think except for the price we experienced all that membership weeks have to offer. The reservation process went very smooth.
On November 9th however, I tried contacting the club to book our air transfers and could not get through. It took almost a week to get through. I did ask for an explanation and they responded that they were extremely busy as well as had a long weekend. This right after the US election ... Not sure if that is a coincidence. In the end all was well.
I received an email from our pre-checkin concierge last Saturday - exactly 2 weeks before our check-in date - asking about what a la carte reservations we wanted and room requests and such. This is an improvement over last year as they emailed me 5 days in advance then.
So my next updates will be live on location (in 11 days 😁). Since we were here before I can tell you this resort is amazing. It is an adult only resort so my posts won't be able to comment on family travel concerns. We have learned a few tips along the way that I will share so hopefully any future travellers will get a better idea of how the club works.
****** UPDATE Dec 10, 2016 ***** Google blogger is being nothing but trouble for me while I'm in Mexico so I will have to update after returning.
3 comments:
Hello Lenny
Have you had anything that amounts to success with the privilege club?? I unfortunately or fortunately just signed in but I have only paid half so far, the rest is going tombs paid off over the next hear. If these guys don't pass the sniff test I will cancel the payments and loose the original balance... yep not fun put at least it reduces the pain.
Let me know thanks formany information
Hello, my husband recently bought into Bahia Privilage Club. We bought 10 weeks, and received 2 free weeks ( we pay airfare) at a Privilage Club in D.R. as well as 2 free weeks at RCI of our choice. On my return home I read all the negative reviews about it being a scam. The scam it seems is that the cost may be more than the new member anticipated, or the difficulty in getting exactly the date requested. Hey, when I heard scam I thought I was about lose my house or my first born. I felt ill. We chose to join because it will encourage us to travel now that we will be retiring in the next year. We'll have lots of flexibility for dates and locations. If the price is the same as booking through a travel agent it's not so bad., although we were promised great savings.
We plan on using the 10 weeks in 2 room or 2 weeks increments. The RCI hopefully will come in handy for trips to NYC, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa which are driving distances from where I live.
Thank you for giving me a little relief through your experiences.
I'll keep on following your blog. I too will let you know how my membership is going.
We visited Bahia Príncipe Ambar Green, adult only for 2 weeks. I was impressed with everything. ( food, service, cleanliness, entertainment) Just make sure your room is on the pool side because there is construction behind the hotel.
Totally agree with Lucy Ann. We are the members of GBP privilege Club from March 2013. Yes, it is not cheaper than last minute vacations but it encourage us to take vacations and spend them somewhere in tropical destinations.
We use membership weeks or combined with preferable rate week. Normally we spend 2 weeks on vacation to save on air fair; additionally one week is not enough to enjoy the ocean; the palms; the warm weather.
Service is outstanding; you feel like a VIP. In Mexico we prefer staying in Coba but are able to use all resorts' facilities; beaches and restaurants.
Yes, I prefer to use US or Canadian transfer companies to go from airport to resort because it is cheaper; I am browsing for better air fair but that is it.
We spent a few weeks via RCI and we liked it.
All in all we were not happy with purchase of the Membership at first time but very glad that we did it when speaking from experience with Privilege Club.
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