silverlim

No reply from CBR or the GM himself for the past 12hrs. They didn't mention a refund on their last reply. This is totally a fraud.

Aventine

I can't imagine how they think they could keep the pre payment and not fulfill their guest obligations...

wolf72

A few weeks back, I told a story about a former GM I worked for who got bumped out of his room and floor because the Sultan of Brunei and his entourage were flying in. He was told he had to move out of his room/floor and the hotel would help him do it for him if he wanted (he was away at a meeting and this was after lunch he got the call from the reservations manager, not the GM).

He was livid and they merely moved him, but never offered any freebies/free upgrades or even a voucher to use for future stay's.

He and the company never went back again to the hotel or sent staff to stay on corporate trips anymore.

The damage from these things can be very very severe for hotels like these who don't realize unless they take care of their guests and if they need to book out the hotel, go out of their way to apologize and make up for it.

**On a side note, I got hammered by other forum members who complained that he could have/should have just done what the hotel asked him to do which was bizzare to me without complaining.

wolf72

They are not willing to even return 100% of what you paid? This is seriously very very bad business and very very bad for ANY hotel to do.

I would escalate this seriously!

wolf72

Only the French would do something like this....seriously. I have had some really bad experiences with French ownership/management in the past at hotel stay's, so it does not surprise me they are trying to bump the OP out of his hotel stay in such an arrogant and typically French way.

scented

And I thought by now the GM must have reached out and asked for a time to speak to you over the phone to find a solution. This is absolutely despicable.

Please keep us updated... I wonder what the outcome will be. Is this the way Cheval Blanc treats guests spending 35,000 USD over 10 days?

Nizar

Surely they will at least refund the full amount ?

In addition to this, as a gesture of good will, if they want future business from you (and the others on this forum) they should either:

-Offer a fully comped stay at another time (of your choosing)
-Offer a stay at a comparable resort that matches up with your dates

scented

I agree, but you also have to consider the timing. From what I read, their trip is imminent now any day and part of a larger itinerary. Aside from compensation, they need a solution now for their Maldives sojourn!

Aventine

I wouldn't stereotype the French like that. I've met DB GMs of all nationalities.

blueline7

Very sorry to hear about this. I would be absolutely livid, as I know how much forethought and expectations go into such a trip, financial considerations aside. I imagine that they have plenty of the money from the sell out to compensate you adequately. For what it is worth, One & Only is fabulous, but obviously not satisfactory given that you decided to go with CB.

tcmb99

Cheval Blanc is now off the list of hotels to choose from in Maldives, forever.

You must consider yourself lucky in a way because this happened during off season at a location where amazing hotels are plenty. Just go to One and Only or Four Seasons and have yourself a great time. Imagine if this happened at some remote location with only 1 or 2 good hotels.

While legally there is nothing you can do, as hotels can now overbook and cancel for no reason in most countries, there is still a lot of pressure you can put on them. They cancelled your reservation because someone paid incredible amounts of money to buy out the whole place for that period. Telling them you will go to the press, forums, luxury sites as well as complain to their HQ until you are satisfied can get you a lot. And you deserve to be compensated as much as possible. Even you writing about what happened here will cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars, as now a lot of the members here will simply book elsewhere not to take a risk. Considering a week trip there costing around 20k, they are looking to lose a lot of potential future revenue.

If this happened 3-4 months before your trip I could show more compassion the the hotel, but they did this a very short time before your trip, so they deserve no mercy. Almost any decent ultra-luxury hotel would refuse to sell out the whole place with such short notice even if the place was %20 percent full.

luxtrvlwrks

I am so sorry that this happened to you silverlim. Take the time to think about what would truly be a successful resolution for you. Then, I would be absolutely clear about what you want in terms of compensation. Have your advisor communicate that to the hotel, and go up the chain as necessary.

Kagehitokiri

if 50% discount has 'no limit' that could add up to a lot of room nights / value, even if there continue to be special offers in future like free night offers, good ideas from Michael82 and jonjparr

surftb15, from link: "If the guest arrives"

delays in refunds happen, although there was one report here of disputing a credit card charge

re other cases, IIRC there have been cases of incoming guest 'compensating' impacted guests

curious re legal/etc differentiation between canceling at/before arrival.

there are reports here of amanjunkies adjusting the dates of their aman stays, and i dont recall them mentioning getting huge compensation offers. i dont recall if some were offered to stay during the buyout if they wanted.

much of the time i dont think one would want to be only guest not part of buyout. that could be exceedingly unpleasant. especially if security details or if all restaurants/areas are filled all the time.

good comment from a travel agent. can you comment really vaguely on what you/others have seen in these cases? or just clarify how often luxury properties do this?

wolf72

Could the OP contact his credit card company and try to work with the CC company to cancel the transaction of payment by showing the CC company the email from Cheval Blanc?

wolf72

I have only ever met French GM's who were total asses. Not all obviously but the one's I had issues with were all French. Make of that what you may.

Maybe you were lucky/unlucky.