Semiahmoo resort
Semiahmoo resort, golf and spa is how they advertise their “resort”.( a hotel by wyndum) Our son and daughter-in-law have been in the process of getting everything ready for a wedding. They needed to sign a contract and Semiahmoo explained to the couple that they could provide the catering, the facility, etc WITH THE UNDERSTANDING that the couple had to GUARANTEE a minimum of 9 families would book rooms at THIS HOTEL. (The couple were told they would get a discount for the rooms since the hotel was being paid to the have the wedding and dinner, etc) Couple being new to this process believed this hotel was being honest. A couple of items that stood out where that the “taste testing”. The couple was told they could pick two entrees, two salads and two proteins to taste out of a menu with 8(or so) entrees. I thought that was odd to restrict the taste test to only two of each item to taste, when the reason for the “taste test” is for the couple to have a small bite of each and then choose what they like for the wedding dinner. I contacted the lady to ask about this and explained that my own “taste test’ was a bite of each item and I was able to choose from, having the knowledge now to pick the dishes for my wedding dinner. I was told that is not their procedure. That their Chef makes delicious meals and they don’t HAVE TO choose the meals they taste. Again I said I understood what she was saying, but what I was trying to ask was how they expected the couple to get a true sense of what there was for them to choose from without having the opportunity to TASTE TEST what they were to choose from. The lady said that they would be happy to schedule “another” taste test…but the couple would have to pay additional money for any other “taste tests”. Then I was told that they give them a full meal of their choice. I couldn’t understand the purpose of a Full meal, especially if it wasn’t something they liked. Why SAMPLES of each weren’t provided. The lady just kept repeating herself that any other taste test the couple would need to pay an additional fee. I was getting nowhere so I moved on to the next problem that was encountered. Knowing that this hotel had told the couple that they would be getting a discount on rooms. (these rooms were to be put under their account so they could see that a min of 9 families had reserved rooms) If this did not happen the the couple would be charged FULL PRICE for all the other events (dinner, reception, wedding) we went online to reserve a room at which time the room price stated that the price included all fees. So I was shocked when I went to reserve the room and noticed I was going to be charged for the room, resort fee and taxes. This all came to much more than what the couple had been told. I looked into what this same hotel’s rate would be if I was to reserve a room through a different site. I was COMPLETELY SHOCKED! On any site I looked at the rooms would have been over $100 less. I asked why their site was charging OVER what was told to the couple, and also, where was the “discount” for families of the couple If we can get the rooms cheaper through other sites. I was given this answer- “On the booking page, it does note “fees included”, but the taxes are a separate item when contributed to the final cost of the room. When the reference of fees is made, this is to our resort fee which has been discounted for the weeding block by $15 per room, per night. Unfortunately, we are not able to change the wording to be “taxes & fees included” as Wyndham does have control over the wording and formatting of the listing. Based on our Best Available Rate on our website for that weekend, it is currently $389, the wedding rate provides an 18% discount, presenting a lower rate than any other on our website currently.” I then simply asked if they would give the couple “credit” for rooms reserved but through cheaper site. I was told they don’t work with other sites. I felt the lady was getting extremely upset and asked if she could look into this so that the couples families didn’t get over charged when trying to reserve rooms. I asked if she would either text me or call me and I have received NOTHING! This is an extremely poor way to handle a couple’s most important event in their life together. If any other couples plan on getting married here…don’t sign ANYTHING until you look around!!!
By Valerie