Beachbum4life

Ku screwed up our hotel reservations for an upcoming november trip to Anguilla. We now have airline tickets but no lodging. We can either cancel our trip or book at the following places:

We now have the following choices:
- Rendezvous Bay Hotel (ocean room not standard)
- (1 or 2 bedroom villas) Choices so far are Bayberry, Villa Elegante,
Thye House, Tradewinds, Tranquility.

This is our first time to Anguilla. If you had the choice to stay at Rendezvous Bay or one of these Villas what would you do? We don't want anything dreary (I've heard mixed reviews about the RBH rooms.)
We are a couple in our 30's.

Lorio

Not familiar with the other places.... but did stay at Rendezvous Bay this past March. We had a oceanfront villa. Although the place was VERY dated, it had a very nice charm to it. The beach is amazing and it's very nice to open your doors in morning and step directly on the beach. We normally stay at 4 to 5 star places so we a little nervous about RBH but once you relax and get over the dated part of the unit, you'll love it. The restaurant at Rendezvous Bay is also very good - you can walk down the beach as well to Cuisuinart which we did one night for dinner.

Enjoy....

Lori

Carrybean

Why doesn't KU help you if they screwed up your reservations?

Carrybean

That came out wrong. What I mean is, they should be scrambling to find you an as good or better place to stay since they screwed up - not that the folks here aren't happy to help you.

MarionCK

Beachbum,

I'm so sorry that this has happened to you ! I'm hoping that Howard C and Mary D will offer their advice.

I happen to be an RBH fan and think you would be happy there. Beach front villas are the way to go there.

If you want to be on Shoal Bay East...Shoal Bay Villas, right next door to KU, might be an option. Also, a little further from the action of Shoal Bay East is Serenity Cottages. I hope they are still up and running.

As an aside, I'm wondering if KU has offerend any help, or compensation for their error ? If not, they SHOULD have. I had a MOST unpleasant experience there when it was Shoal Bay Beach Hotel. Check your credit card carefully...VERY carefully.

Good luck....and think about spending the money to talk with Bart, directly, to explain your situation. If the man can help you, he will

Marion

caribtraveler

Am I confused by thinking that Ku is a sister property to Cap Juluca? If so, if Ku truly made the mistake, can't they put you up at Cap Juluca for the price of Ku? I know Cap Juluca is a higher end property but if it's the company's mistake...

MarionCK

caribtraveler,

Yes that's the *spin* on KU . That it's a sister property to CJ...but it 'taint so ;-) Howard will inform us all of the connection....but I believe management and ownership are quite separate.

My cynical mind remembers that KU may have had some interior designers who did work at CJ...all the white 'ya know. But in terms of management, they are not connected.

Howard, help us out here ? And feel free to scold me if I have fact confused with fiction ?

Marion

caribtraveler

MarionCK: If you're right, bummer for Beachbum4life then! I hope I didn't raise his hopes for nothing. I'm probably the confused one.

Penndale

Marion you are in the know, Ku was/is? mangaged by CJ (not sure exactly if that
is being done at present or if it is still mangaged by the Sue Ricketts Cap team)---and yes it is owned by someone else. At this time I am not sure if Ku is a sister property, or a distant relative!!!!

Ku has become very popular. RBH is a
charming place--the way Anguilla use to be, and should be! Bart the manger is wonderful. The beachfront units are very nice---and so is their location.


That is a shame Ku messed up---
and they have great prices. Did you
leave a deposit, did you talk to
the general manager, etc. Can they
help you at all?

Penny

Beachbum4life

Here's what happened. I booked Ku online. I went to their website and clicked on book/reservations. There was only one type of unit available for when I wanted to go. Perfect, I booked it. I received the confirmation from International Vacations that the reservation had been processed and that I would receive another confirmation in a couple of days. Based on that I booked my flight. I checked my credit card statement and had been charged TWICE. No big deal, I called and that was taken care of. After about a week I really started to wonder about why I had not received the confirmation email. So I called Ku directly and was told that they did not have my reservation and that their computer system had been down for a couple of weeks. My question was WHY WERE THEY TAKING ONLINE RESERVATIONS AT ALL, IF THEIR SYSTEM WAS DOWN. Ku told me that it was not their problem and that it was International Vacation's problem. I totally disagree. I was linked to IV from the Ku website. They are holding themselves out to be a part of Ku or minimally their agent. After that point Ku has not been helpful at all.

International Vacation tried to book me in La Sirena at the rack rate!? I told them that I believed that I had the right to be compensated or at least be put in a comparable or superior hotel. I was ignored. Needless to say, I will never again use International Vacation or Ku. I don't understand how service businesses feel that they can get away with such poor service, but I am thoroughly disgusted. Oh, one last thing, the topper is that this had all been related to a surprise 40th birthday vacation for my wife, which has been ruined because of all the legwork, phone calls that this has involved. Thoroughly disgusted.

MarionCK

There's nothing like current events to bring up painful history.

For those on this board who read CCOL Anguilla back in 2003...my nightmare at Shoal Bay Beach Hotel, now KU, is well documented.

I'm not exaaggerating when I say I was held as a financial hostage, and money was never recovered when I checked out as quickly as possible. What was most distressing was the emotional/physical control. Phone in the romm was disconnected so that I couldn't call for a taxi. I went to a close restaurant (hyperventilating and in tears ) and a taxi was called for me to take me to RBH. The Taxi was not allowed to park on SBBH property, but the kind driver managed to get me out of there.

Is this at all relevant to KU in a transforamtion ? Perhaps not...but if any of the original staff remains, I'd be very wary.

Beachbum it is distressing that you were planning something special that now seems to be negatively tainted. "Pollyanna" here says better to know beforehand than later, and we will all help to make something special happen for you

Marion

mah1980

What an odd turn of events. If a hotel has an outside company handling their bookings, then the booking company is the hotel's agent which means that any negligence of the booking company becomes the negligence of the hotel.

That analysis is unnecessary though in this case because if Ku's reservation system was down for several weeks as they indicated, why would they not shut down the online booking option to prevent confusion. That is negligence on Ku's part. It seems that they should do something to rectify the situation, starting with being interested in resolving it. How about getting you a room at CJ?

If I were you, I would not give up on this issue. Isn't there another really active Anguilla forum (west indies online but I don't know the site)? I'm sure the management frequents that site. Post on that site, and indicate to the Ku management that you are willing to contact the ombudsman at Conde Nast traveler (concierge.com) detailing their negligence.

Another issue- when and how much did they reimburse you? I know that it seems irrelevent, but they should add interest to the amount that you paid. For how many days they had your money they were essentially profiting from your payment.

If you go away quietly nothing will happen. I know it's a pain, but if you make it clear that you post on this forum and many other forums where prospective Ku customers frequent, you will get better results from the clearly disinterested management.

Good luck and I'm sorry about the mess!

Beachbum4life

Thanks I appreciate the well wishes and agree that generally an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. (Or something like that)

HowardC

Ku is run by a management team called Cap Juluca Property management. It consists of about 5 people including Sue Ricketts and husband, Delroy from Carimar and two others. Except that the guests at Ku' have access to Cap there is no other connection. The first thing I would do is call Ku' and talk to Sue Ricketts and explain the problem. She may not be aware. Secondly I would look into Carimar on Meads Bay beach to see if they have anything available in Units 1 or 6. They are suites with kitchens. You might also look at Turtles Nest on Meads Bay. It is very nice. In April they were in the second phase of building but that should be pretty complete in Nov. Ask for a unit that is in the west side of the building which is away from the construction. Units are very nice and have kitchens.
Marion--the staff at Ku' is all new and everyone I met is great. The nasty person behind the desk that gave you such a hard time is gone. Forgot her name. The units are really nice. In fact we are staying there for five nights in Dec courtesy of a Luxury Link auction. As for Villas I might suggest 28 Degrees North in Sandy Hill One Bedroom--Perfect for two People. Great view and infinity pool.

Beachbum4life

Hmm, I agree that there is a negligence/agency issue, especially since there was a direct link on Ku's site - no broker argument can be made. I have posted in a couple of different sites and have emailed the Ku website instructing that it be forwarded to management. If I am not responded to I will call. I did not know that there is a Conde Nast ombudsman and will definitely be in touch. Thanks for the information.

HowardC

P.S. You might check out www.anguilla forum.com threads for other accomodation options

MaryD

On another forum I suggested that RBH is the way to go -- after an unfortunate experience, Marion is the best person to tell you that they provide the necessary TLC. I have never forgotten her story about Bart & the staff's kindness at RBH -- they're special people there. I, too, would pursue it thru the management, though. I have heard good things about Ku, spent a few hours at the 75 foot bar last season (okay, maybe more than a "few" hours) and this seems out of line with what I saw & what I've heard.

Having said all of that, with that sparkling turquoise water 20 feet from your front door, RBH is the clear winner.

P.S. to Howard: "28 Degrees North???" Anyway, I happen to know that whatever it's called, it's booked in early November (picture me in the infinity pool at 18 Degrees North VERY shortly).

HowardC

OOPs !!! Mary--Senior moment. Of course it's 18 Degrees. 28 North used ot be a restaurant on Provo. Are you aware that Chris and Denise the 28 Degrees owners are now living on Anguilla ??

MaryD

Oh yes and I am so jealous. We're also going to try Turtle's Nest this trip -- I'll let you know.

MarionCK

Howard: Thanks for your clarifications I always count on you for knowledge !

Penndale: New screen name ? I'll have to click on it to see where you've been ;-)

Mary D : A 75 foot bar deserves at least a few hours...if not musical bar stools

MAH : When I need an attorney, will you represent me ? You always give the BEST advice in a clear and concise manner....a welcome rarity these days

Beachbum: Please let us know how your plans progress. Lots of folks here hoping that you'll find a special place in Anguilla

Marion