Meeting Point rep at Labranda Mares Hotel. We were looking to book a boat trip so thought we would ask Yildiray. We explained to him that we wanted to go on a boat trip that we had looked at which was the Mega Diana. We explained that the four of us wanted a relaxing day laying on sunbeds whilst visiting the swim stops etc. He told us NOT to use the Mega Diana as it was really bad now and that he knew of a much better boat. He insisted that the boat would be great for me as I’m in a wheelchair and have mobility issues. He also advised that they offer a vegetarian lunch option and asked if omelette was ok. I said that would be fine. So, we booked the £35 each all-inclusive boat trip, and were told to meet at reception at 9am on the day. We arrived ready for 9am, he then moved the time to 9.15. Ok, we thought no big problem. We get to what looks like one of the oldest boats on the marina, MonteCarlo II Being later meant that people had already bagged the best loungers but not only that, there was no way that I would have been able to climb the old steep stairs to get to the sun loungers. Our friends went upstairs and managed to find two loungers left which were together and not broken. Myself and my husband stayed downstairs and had to sit in the shaded picnic table area for the day. The wooden benches have a lip which digs into your legs and have a plastic cushion. There was no vegetarian option, they just give you more of the salad and pasta. Both sadly were not nice at all. And you get a chunk of dry bread. We asked for rum and coke, no rum. Asked for whiskey and coke, no whiskey. Asked for gin and tonic, no tonic! You can have chips at extra cost and ice creams at extra cost. The actual staff on the boat are nice and it’s not their fault that we were completely mis-sold a boat trip that was neither appropriate or that good! So please do your own research on the trips and not get fooled into parting with your cash for a complete lemon just because the rep gets commission! We spoke to Yildiray on our return that day, he was defensive and said that I would have been ok to get up the steps etc. He wasn’t really interested so we asked to speak with a manager as the day was a complete let down. We were told to come back at 9am the next morning to see the Manager of Meeting Point – Ahmed Azun. We were there promptly at 9am and were asked to come back again at 5pm as he couldn’t make it. We returned again at 5pm, to be told after waiting a while, that he couldn’t make it and would be there at 10am the next morning!!! (You can see how this works!!) So, we returned yet again the next day and did meet the manager. He was very defensive and told us that the boat is better than the others and that I would not have been able to get up the steps on any of the other boats etc. We discussed that we had looked at the other boats whilst they were all at Turunc and they all had wider stairs and better access. He kept disputing what we were saying so we suggested that to stop all this going round in circles, if he would refund my ticket then we would leave it at that. He asked about the review that I HAD already put on Tripadvisor, and whether I would be removing it. I asked why and he replied that I would need to remove it before he would give me a refund!! He said that there would be someone around at 6pm to give me a refund. We returned at 6pm and were promptly told AGAIN that no refund would be given until they could see that the review had been removed. So, I had to remove my review there and then. Blackmailing customers is never a good thing to try. HOWEVER – whilst all this stress and nonsense was going on, we were having to deal with the hotel guest relations team. They asked us not to put a one-star review as it affects the hotel ratings. We explained that it was for the behaviour of the Meeting Point staff but were told that they have NOTHING TO DO WITH THE HOTEL AT ALL, so this should not be reflected in the one-star review. There were two members of the guest relations team talking to us and saying that they could lose their jobs etc if I didn’t change the review. I advised them that I would update the review once the complaint had been resolved. They left with that and shortly later, the guest relations Manager (Burak, I believe) came over. Again, talking round in circles about putting on a 5-star review to reflect the hotel as the Meeting Point team are nothing to do with the hotel, and that I should put the review on elsewhere. We asked if he was aware of what they were touting in the hotel and he said no, we suggested that he check things out because it’s only fair that hotel guests are made aware of these things, and if they don’t see reviews, they will never know. It is fair to say that the guest relations manager did nothing but harass us to change/remove the review and was not in the least concerned about the awful experience we had had. He went on about it affecting his algorithm and that because it’s late in the season he can’t pull it back etc etc. We had to ask him 3 times to leave us alone because he would not go, kept talking over us and just ignored anything we said. This was the real shame as it has greatly affected the star rating, I was going to leave when updating! So, Burak, maybe not harass your guests in the future! If the trips organised by Meeting Point are ‘nothing to do with the hotel’, then why advertise them on the hotel Facebook page?? We understand that the poorly reviewed Meeting Point are placed in hotels by travel companies and that this is beyond the hotels control, but hotel guests deserve to be made aware of what goes on within the hotel. THIS IS NOT A COMPLETELY NEGATIVE REVIEW; We found the reception/bar staff/servers/ cleaners were all brilliant and do a wonderful job. In hotel entertainment team work hard too and all do a great job. The hotel is in a beautiful location and has lots to offer. Food is plentiful and lots of choice. I was very grateful that the reception staff were able to organise an accessible room after we found out that the bungalows we had booked are not really bungalows as such and have lots of steps to get to them. Overall, the holiday was enjoyable, we went to Marmaris and Icmeler – Icmeler was so quiet it was lovely! It was just a real shame that it was marred by the attitude and behaviour of certain staff.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.