using Virtuoso to make travel arrangements?
 

I'm interested in getting as much feedback as possible on this organization. I've always made our reservations directly with a resort or hotel and have often been able to get pretty good rates by kind of leaning a bit. I'm wondering how "real" Virtuoso is, i.e. whether they really do manage to score various extra amenities, or whether one can do as well on one's own. I'll be booking a Peter Island trip in the next couple of days. Thanks for in-put.

I still wish I'd hear from people who've used Virtuoso, but I was curious so I telephoned them. Turns out the rates they quoted for Peter Island were significantly MORE than the rates quoted by PI itself. I.e. they didn't show any rate discount for 5 nights or more, whereas if booked directly, the rates go down. Perhaps Virtuoso works better with some resorts than with others?

I have always booked on my own in the past.. but last year for the first time I decided to book with Virtuoso and I can't say that I could see myself doing it again...

We didn't get any special rate from them, actually it was the same rate quoted to me from the resorts directly. We did get a cookie platter and a sarong and T-shirt because of their "relationship" with the resort- but in my opinion, I didn't really care about that.

For the most part, I am the type of person that researches every aspect of a trip, reviewing forums, finding out all the information I can on a place before I book. I felt like I knew much much more than the agent that I booked with last year.

I guess it's just a choice of whether you want to use a Travel Agent or not, I guess they are there to help support etc if you need help while on your trip but I guess I just didn't see the value or benefit in using them. (They even promised to have a bottle of wine at a restaurant for us and never delivered it- and when I said something to them upon my return they acted like they didn't know what I was talking about! UGH!)

We didn't book thru them this year. Maybe they are good for really involved trips like Safaris or Travel through Europe but I don't think you need them for a caribbean trip.

Thanks, Travcarib. That's my sense too (and yet I've heard some people say that booking through them got the Caneel buffet breakfast thrown in for free; hard to believe, but maybe true....)

We used them last year for a trip to the One and Only resort in Paradise Island. It got us a free breakfast each morning which would have cost us about $50. The room rate was the same as booking online, so it was worth it. I usually go through the resorts too, but I went for the breakfast. It was worth it. I have no complaints with them and will check in the future to see if their deal is better. They do send great catalogs and brochures to us now...more junk mail, but they are fun to look through. Good luck!

I made reservations for Caneel Bay through virtuoso (I ended up cancelling though and stayed longer at our villa rental) and the price was the same as Caneel's price and it DID include the cold breakfast buffet at no extra cost. I had read about it on a tripadvisor review. The reviewer gave the name of the agent from the Virtuoso affiliate he used. I called her and she made all the arrangements.

-Bill

You can check Virtuoso rates at over 650 Virtuoso Hotels on Classictravel.com
www.classsictravel.com/lance

Over 60 offer Instant Upgrade at the Time of Booking!
http://www.classictravel.com/instant-upgrade-hotels

Lance55 resurrects a 6 year old thread to make his first post that plug his hotel booking website.

Poss:

Used Virtuoso for the first time this past spring. I had to do all the legwork and kept chasing my representative to get answers on pricing for different resorts.

In the past, I have driven myself crazy with the amount of research I do prior to making a decision on where to go and where to stay. It was my understanding that you only needed to tell your Virtuoso rep what you were looking for on a vacation and they would research, recommend and price out. Not so much.

We stayed at an all inclusive, therefore the free breakfast offered at other resorts what not applicable. We did not receive an upgrade upon arrival even though the resort was 60% occupied and we had to pay a 35.00 pp charge as the representative booked our flights.
Additionally, there was no savings booking through this organization. Could have done it all myself for the same price sans the airline ticket booking fee.

The only plus I see in using this organization is the fee breakfast.