BEWARE OF ESTANCIA PROBLEMS
 

We are in the unenviable position of trying to retrieve a deposit from Estancia Villa Maria. The monies have been wired for a few months, but we are well within the cancellation period. Does anyone know of a government/ or other consumer watch-dog group in Argentina to help us in getting our money refunded?

hi parzmom,

Sorry to hear of your problems. If Avrooster or Scarlett don't come up with the answer, I suggest you try the Argentina Forum at Trip Advisor. One of the Destination Experts there, Marulandia writes alot about consummer protection issues and has made specifc references to a specific body that I think deals in such things.

Good luck
raquel

If you will post this same information on Trip Advisor, there are several very knowledgeable people re: consumer protection law for tourists. Marulandia(sp?) in particular knows her stuff.

Raquel..we were thinking the same thing!

I have contacted the Estancia Villa María's management and made them aware of this thread.

We'll see what their reaction is.

Have a great time in our country, parzmom.

Thanks all. I have posted my sorry dilemma on trip advisor as you suggested.

Parzmom: I would be grateful if you give us the URL for those "pretty dreadful reviews of Estancia Villa Maria" you have read. Thanks.

tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g312741-d646773-r21940804-Estancia_Villa_Maria-Buenos_Aires_Capital_Federal_District.html

Here are two very recent reviews, one from a New York resident, another from a Seattle resident. Is it possible that language miscommunication is the problem with the Estancia. Regrettably, we do not speak Spanish!

Too bad about this !
I have never heard of this place, we hear mostly about Dos Hermanos and Santa Susana .. which seem to be the most popular and certainly quite beautiful.

From our experience living in BA, I never expect anyone to speak English and I would not think many people out on an estancia would.. although there really should be at least one person in charge who can speak English.
I hope you get satisfaction from your complaint and that they make some needed changes.

Curious...I have had difficulty retrieving this title when doing a search in the Argentina Forum. The only way I can access this thread is doing a search on my name. Is anyone else having this problem?
Again, thanks all for your attentiveness to our travel problems.

Parzmom: this forum's search feature works terribly, to put it mildly, or doesn't work at all, which should explain your problem.

Parzmom:

Your original post isn't tagged with a particular country, so it only shows up when no country is specified.

Thanks to all who became involved in our travel woes with Estancia Villa Maria. I am most delighted to report a happy ending as they have informed us that they are making an exception and are graciously returning funds via wire. I am grateful for the power of this travel community and to those who so conscientiously answer queries on Argentina on a regular basis. AV, SCARLETT, DRDAWGGY...you are trusted guides! Thanks again.
We look forward to our future travels in BA and environs.

I congratulate you on the happy ending, parzmom and thank you for your words above.

Four days ago, I posted the following: "I have contacted the Estancia Villa María's management and made them aware of this thread. We'll see what their reaction is."

Tomorrow or Sunday, I'll explain what I did and what I suggest doing to avoid this kind of problem.

Well, as promised above, I have written almost an "essay" (LOL) on this subject, but I decided to post it in a separate thread, to help readers who may be interested in the "cancellation policy" subject.