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Nightmare holiday booking!
I'm not sure if I am posting this in the correct place or not so apologies if not.
We booked a holiday to the Maldives in October last year and found out via Facebook 2 weeks ago that there will be building work which will mean ⅓ of the length of the island will be closed off, we paid extra to upgrade to a la carte all inclusive and one of the 6 a la carte restaurants will also be closed (one of the most recommended and one of only 2 situated on the beach) along with one of the 6 bars, a picturesque much photographed jetty, some of the best beaches on the island will be closed off and the main draw, beachwise, i.e. the sandbank will only be accessible by boat and the buffet restaurant and reception for that end of the island are closed (the latter two do not affect us directly) The work begins on 17th may and we travel on 23rd and will consist of "approximately 70 new villas will be built whilst deluxe beach and water villas will also be dismantled and replaced. These will be taken down by hand although machinery including small diggers and power tools will also be used. Machinery and supplies will be brought in via a dedicated jetty leading to a fenced off area."
We have been in touch with our agent, Travel Counsellors and also direct with the tour operator, Kuoni to be asked to be either moved to a different island on a similar package or to cancel for a full refund so we can rebook elsewhere but Kuoni are refusing as prices have increased since we booked last October and an equivalent package with Kuoni is now substantially more, we are unwilling to pay more for the simple fact that the holiday was at our maximum budget to start with, but is available at a much smaller increase with other operators.
We have been offered, along with all other Kuoni guests, a resort credit of $600 per room for our stay but this doesn't really benefit us as we have the top package in any case, it can be used in the spa (right next to the building works so not the usual relaxing experience I would have thought, we are not really spa users anyway), to buy lobster & champagne (we are not bothered by either), to pay for trips (there are two included in the package anyway) and also on the overpriced tat usually found in the gift shop (again not of particular interest).
My main question is are we within our rights to cancel for a full refund, Kuoni are adamant that the disruption will be minimal but we paid a premium to be on an island we could walk the perimeter of, if we had simply wanted a beautiful beachfront then we could have gone elsewhere and saved an awful lot of money, they are refusing to allow us to cancel with a refund, we have asked to be moved to a different island which is a very similar price on a downgraded all inclusive plan but to take the $600 resort credit with us to pay towards $1400 + tax cost of upgrading to the a la carte all inclusive on the new island but they have also refused to do that as the $600 is coming from the island not Kuoni themselves.
I would be so grateful if someone could let me know exactly where we stand.
Thank you in advance.
We booked a holiday to the Maldives in October last year and found out via Facebook 2 weeks ago that there will be building work which will mean ⅓ of the length of the island will be closed off, we paid extra to upgrade to a la carte all inclusive and one of the 6 a la carte restaurants will also be closed (one of the most recommended and one of only 2 situated on the beach) along with one of the 6 bars, a picturesque much photographed jetty, some of the best beaches on the island will be closed off and the main draw, beachwise, i.e. the sandbank will only be accessible by boat and the buffet restaurant and reception for that end of the island are closed (the latter two do not affect us directly) The work begins on 17th may and we travel on 23rd and will consist of "approximately 70 new villas will be built whilst deluxe beach and water villas will also be dismantled and replaced. These will be taken down by hand although machinery including small diggers and power tools will also be used. Machinery and supplies will be brought in via a dedicated jetty leading to a fenced off area."
We have been in touch with our agent, Travel Counsellors and also direct with the tour operator, Kuoni to be asked to be either moved to a different island on a similar package or to cancel for a full refund so we can rebook elsewhere but Kuoni are refusing as prices have increased since we booked last October and an equivalent package with Kuoni is now substantially more, we are unwilling to pay more for the simple fact that the holiday was at our maximum budget to start with, but is available at a much smaller increase with other operators.
We have been offered, along with all other Kuoni guests, a resort credit of $600 per room for our stay but this doesn't really benefit us as we have the top package in any case, it can be used in the spa (right next to the building works so not the usual relaxing experience I would have thought, we are not really spa users anyway), to buy lobster & champagne (we are not bothered by either), to pay for trips (there are two included in the package anyway) and also on the overpriced tat usually found in the gift shop (again not of particular interest).
My main question is are we within our rights to cancel for a full refund, Kuoni are adamant that the disruption will be minimal but we paid a premium to be on an island we could walk the perimeter of, if we had simply wanted a beautiful beachfront then we could have gone elsewhere and saved an awful lot of money, they are refusing to allow us to cancel with a refund, we have asked to be moved to a different island which is a very similar price on a downgraded all inclusive plan but to take the $600 resort credit with us to pay towards $1400 + tax cost of upgrading to the a la carte all inclusive on the new island but they have also refused to do that as the $600 is coming from the island not Kuoni themselves.
I would be so grateful if someone could let me know exactly where we stand.
Thank you in advance.
