Remember that short post about a travel agency office? I guess, now I am ready to explain further why I warn you about booking your holidays (in the Philippines) through this agency office.

As you know well, we just had our holiday in the Philippines and to my mistake; I have let this incompetent travel agency book a resort for us. I have personal choices of resorts but since it was the Chinese New Year week, all those resorts were fully booked and so IslandsAccommodation.com recommended a resort which still has available rooms. Olman’s View, Bohol, Philippines—that was the resort they highly recommended. After hearing some of their praises about the resort, I asked a very particular question; “Does it have a beach where we can swim?” Sounds like a very stupid question but you see, the stupid bitch from IslandsAccommodations.com said that Olman’s View is a cliff resort so I wondered if they have a part of the sea where their guests can swim. The very same stupid bitch said; “Yes, ma’am. The sea is just a few steps down and there’s a small beach where you can swim.” I thought OK so I said, I’d take it.

Aileen (that’s her name), said they cannot fully confirmed my booking unless I pay the booking’s total amount. So I said “fine”. But this absolutely incompetent travel agency by the name of IslandsAccommodations.com, doesn’t accept credit card payments. They want the payment in cash. Duh! How ancient is that!? But because I was afraid that I lose the reservation, I agreed. I withdraw the money so I can deposit in their bank account in an almost non-existent bank. It took me a day to find a branch of their bank which is not available in the city where I live so I have to drive to the next province. Can you imagine? Transfer from my bank to their bank will take a few days and I can’t do that becuase they gave me a deadline.  

In good faith, I did what they instructed me to do—pay the full amount by depositing it to their bank account then fax the deposit slip to them. After that, they confirmed my booking.

To cut the story short, my husband and I got to the resort and we were like—how can IslandsAccomodations.com recommend a place like that? Olman’s View is so awful I also wrote a post about them in a separate blog. Olman’s View doesn’t have a decent beach to swim in. A harbour is about 200 meters in front of it so you can imagine how the water is like. Yep, it was totally disgusting. I didn’t complain to the resort because they were not the ones I talked to (although they are also evil). I complained to the freakin’ travel agency. I mean really, how can they recommend a place like that???!? Don’t they understand that for people going to the islands in the tropics, a beach to swim in is very important? And to think that I particularly asked them that question. What that does make of them? A money grabbing company who doesn’t care if their client’s preferences are met. They lie to their clients, take the money, send their clients to that next resort/hotel available and that’s it. How cunning and evil is that?

I complained. Very strongly. I point out their a-holeness and demanded that we be transferred in another decent resort. The stupid bitch from IslandsAccommodation.com denied that she recommended the resort to me. How pathetic and incompetent!

Anyway, IslandsAccommodations.com agreed that we get out from Olman’s and move to another resort. Olman’s View agreed too but not without taking the 50% cancellation fees. Hah!

So we transferred to another resort. We got a standard, non-airconditioned room with NO hot shower and NO freshwater (the water coming out of the faucet is salty) but in fairness, this resort have a lovely white sand beach. Anyway, the room cost 1240PHP/night. That’s the only available room in that resort so we took it. Based on the 3100PHP/night deluxe room we originally booked at Olman’s, I believe we are deserve a refund. But no were not able to get that. In fact, the thick-faced, highly incompetent travel agency wanted to charge us more!?!

I refused to pay the 50% cancellation fees at Olman’s. It wasn’t our mistake. We showed up. We didn’t like the hotel—yes but it’s because we were tricked into booking in that hotel. IslandsAccommodations.com. misinformed us so they should shoulder the cancellation fees.

I argued and fought with the a-holes from Islandsaccommodations.com until they succumbed and agreed to cover our accommodations at Alona Tropical (the resort where we moved into) and not charge us for more money. They refused to give us some refund but fine.

The stories about their stupidity and incompetence in all of my blogs will be the refund.