chicagocat

Just received a "booking contract" from a travel rep at www.luxuryretreats.com. A few concerns… there is no address for the Villa. It literally reads: Property Name: villa x Region Punta Mita Destination: Mexico number of bedrooms: 5 number of adults: 6
There is no other descriptive language for the villa, nor a reference to the website.
The rental fee is listed ($14,000), taxes: "0" (we were told they were included). The security deposit can be taken as a credit card deposit. They only accept wire transfers or certified check for the 14k.
Our dates of travel are within the nonrefundable dates for cancellation, so payment is due immediately for confirmation of our itinerary.

Under general terms: "This agreement will be governed by the laws of Barbados and any disputes must be referred to a Barbados court."

Has anyone every dealt with this company? My friends want to stay at this Villa but I cannot sign this contract. Thanks for any perspectives and feel free to let me know if I should post on a different forum…

offerendum

Didn`t sound too good. I woudn`t pay them Money unless a few people here know them.

MSPeconomist

If you pay by wire transfer or certified check, you have no recourse if something goes wrong.

How did you find this outfit?

An address could permit you to look on google maps or even check ownership and real estate tax records as well as any required licenses for short term rentals in the jurisdiction.

chicagocat

My girlfriend did an online search for a villa, luxury retreats.com has a nice looking website. Apparently they have listings on flipkey.com, too. A brief google search doesn't turn up much more.. She has been corresponding with an "agent" there that has an email address of [email protected]
The company is Luxury Retreats Management Inc with a Quebec address for the bank account. Phone 514-393-8844, US 877-993-0100

We have a backup plan! I am holding the 3 BR beachfront at the St Regis for our dates…

If anyone has any legal experience and wants a copy of the "agreement" I am happy to fax/send.
For now, I'm the deal breaker for our group based on these concerns.

SanDiego1K

Is the property in post one a different property than the St Regis Punta Mita? If it is one and the same, I'd contact the StR directly and ask if the other company has authority to lease its villa. I had a too good to be true price once for a luxe property in Vietnam. I was very suspicious, so contacted the hotel directly. Surprisingly, it was legit and my mind was at rest.

ABG

For what it is worth.... they are a real company and I am very aware of them. But I don't have access to their financial statements nor can I prove they are forwarding the funds to the villa owner as they are just a broker. They skirt the local Quebec Gov't consumer protection laws (OPC) somehow which would normally offer you full protection for your travel purchase

SanDiego1K

Article about the company

ridefar

Are their offices physically on reservation or treaty land? That would be the easiest way to accomplish what you describe...

pricesquire

FWIW, if you're interested in a reputable villa rental company, head over to Villas of Distinction. Used them 2x, great people to work with, and customer service is on-point.

http://www.villasofdistinction.com

ABG

Not that i'm aware of.

chicagocat

Thank you for the referrals for reputable businesses that arrange villa rentals. The St Regis villa we arranged is via Amex FHR. I'm curious to hear about other experiences with this "luxury" service business.

Mkolb59