Mayan Palace Timeshares Visa SalesVentas Riviera Maya Hostage tactics, overinflated prices, Cancun, Riviera Maya Nationwide

We have been to other time share presentations in the past and have always taken pride in the fact that we were able to hold out, and not give in to the hostage tactics they generally use to try and get your money any way they can.  We were always just as committed as they were to walk away with the free gift as they were to poke our eyes out.

In Cancun they get you at the airport when you step foot out of immigration.  You barely have a chance to look at what lies outside the front door when you are bombarded with English speaking people all wanting to help you get a ride to your hotel and sell you  a tour or excursion.  Since it was our first ever trip to Cancun (August, 2013) and we definitely needed to book tours and excursions anyways, we decided to listen to the speel and see what he had to offer.  Afterall we needed a cab to our hotel anyway.  Intermingled in the discount flim flam tours he presented us the whole intention of the charade finally came out.  It was a free buffet and transportation to a beautiful resort and a great discount romantic sunset dinner tour.  We went along and since we were not planning on buying anything but souvenirs felt safe to submit and play along.

 Even the cab driver who was commissioned to pick us up the next morning to drive us to the 90 minute presentation tried to warn us in his own humble way that we were going to be taken and he hated taking people to this place because his fee was also discounted and he felt guilty knowing they were going to try any take us for alot of money.  We assured him that we were only going for the free buffet, prize and discount dinner offer.  No worries and thanks for the friendly local advice.

 Then began the parade of sales people starting with the obvious rookie instructed to not only take our eyes out, but a couple of limbs as well.  He escorted us to the tasty food buffet and began asking us all the required questions about our lifestle and plans for the future.  He had to have been all of 19 years old so we may have been too bright and overeducated for the con job he had to offer us.  He showed us the Bliss and Grand Bliss units, pools and more pools, but never any part or the ocean or beach.  Once we turned down his starting offer in the $100,000 range complete with circles, squares, triangles, lines, arrows, bullet points, and dots he had to turn us over to his manager, who also could not speak without drawing a new set of diagrams and stick figures.  His concern was that his protoge was not able to close the deal so he was there to offer his special expertise to the sales pitch. I was especially taken by the total mind control tactics, white paper covering the windows so you could not be distracted or enjoy the view, the furniture placement, etc. etc.  

The price would come down several thousands with every new sales scammer we got but we stayed firm and continued to say no and we want to go enjoy our vacation now, thank you and let's get the heck out of here.  I guess they tried every lie and tactic they could dream up with us but they refuse to let you go or even let you go to the bathroom.  They followed me there and back.  I thought it odd or that she had to go to the bathroom too, but after reading another article on the same presentation I see it is planned that way.  They don't want you to sneak out the closest exit. They even bring on the salesman with a Britsh accent to appeal to any shred of possibility they can to sell you something but even he didn't convince us to buy.  

The very last sales person Roxanne Quintana was a fellow Texan from El Paso who was the absolute used car sales rep of the bunch who was only into rock bottom deals, complimenting any and everything she could even without knowing much about us or our lifestyle.  She promised us so many things that we are just now finding out are nowhere near true.  The clincher for my frugal, accountant husband was the promise of selling back the weeks that we were not planning on using at approximately $900 per week so "all we had to do was call and say we wanted our money because we were not going to use our 2 bedrrom unit."  An accountant's mind works quick when figuring out money and especially a return on investment.  

Come to find out the $7400 we ended up buying for is a discount vacation plan that won't get you any more savings than if you were to comparison shop for your vacation.  The 2 bedroom unit was also a lie, even though they mentioned it as they were talking over the contract, the best we can get is a one bedrrom unit for $399 for the week at their resort.  The $900 refund that all 5 sale reps mentioned is a complete fantasy and does not exist in the vacation club option only in the timesahre option.  This was even highlighted by Roxanne and her brother over and over both before and after the sale so there was no misunderstanding in what we heard and what the promised.  

Our decision to purchase has been a regretful one and if we had not been so anxious to just leave and not so busy thinking of how the selling back of weeks could get us our money back we would have seen it for the waste of money that it is.  The resort is not as spectacular as they want you to believe it is and it is sad to know that these people know their psychology better than I do and that is what my degree is in.  Bottom line is that there is no way to profit from this type of scam and they are there to get as much money out of you as they can without any hesitation to straight up lie to you.  Beware and just avoid them altogether at the airport.