Great Value Vacations Reviews
Great Value Vacations is a company that states their mission is to be the North American pre-packaged vacation solution provider to the most desirable vacation destinations in the world.
How Does It Work?
According to their website, GreatValueVacations.com offers their customers premium, pre-built vacation packages to the top destinations in the world.
Their vacation itineraries are designed by travel experts and offer their customers superior accommodations which been vetted for quality and hand picked.
But the main goal of this company is to provide these high quality vacation packages at “great value” prices which will be better than if you were to purchase all the components of the trip separately.
In addition, their technology allows their customers to use a booking system that lets you book complicated vacations with just a couple clicks.
Their website also promises that they will be there for their customers throughout the whole process, from when customers book their trip all the way until they are on the plane home from their trip.
Their support staff will answer questions, provide advice, and generally offer other assistance that you may need.
This company also offers Trip Protection Plans which allows you to cancel your trip for any reason up to 72 hours prior to travel and received a full refund and have access to 24-hr Emergency Assistance while you travel.
Cost & Price Plans
The cost of the trips you find on this website will vary depending on the location of the trip, the number of nights over which your trip will take place, and the number of people who are accompanying you on your trip.
Customers should be aware that all prices posted on their website include airfare, fuel surcharges, airport taxes and fees.
The total price will be clearly displayed prior to any deposit being required. Additional baggage charges may apply.
Full payment made by credit card will be required in order to complete your reservation, confirm hotel reservations, finalize local services, and to issue airline tickets.
Refund Policy
Because of the specific nature of the type of business this company does, the travel arrangements you book through their website will be non-refundable.
Airlines and hotels both maintain very strict cancellation policies in order to reduce their administration costs and still provide competitive rates for their customers.
If you are concerned that you might encounter circumstances which may force you to cancel your trip, their website recommends that you invest in their Travel Protection Plan in order to protect your travel investment.
Customer Service Contact Info
Customers who wish to contact their Customer Service team with any questions, concerns, or complaints can do so by phone at 800-896-4600 or by email at [email protected]
Reputation
This company appears to have somewhat mixed reviews at this time, with many customers reporting that they had an excellent experience with this company and very happy with the trip they took and the price they paid for it, but not every customer felt that way.
It seems as though the customers who had the worst experiences were those who had to cancel their trips unexpectedly due to illnesses or major emergencies and were understandably upset that Great Value Vacations would not refund their money.
This is why it is incredibly important that customers take the time to purchase their available Trip Protection.
Other customers were frustrated because they experienced urgent situations while on their trip and said that the Great Value support team was difficult to get ahold of.
These are definitely things people will want to consider when booking their travel reservations.
Competitors and Alternatives?
There are many other vacation clubs and travel websites that promise to work on behalf of customers to get them a high quality vacation at an affordable price, including well known booking websites like Expedia or Apple Vacations.
If you have any experience with Great Value Vacations or their services, please leave your reviews below.
Great Value Vacations Customer Reviews
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Poor Service
We'll keep booking through GVV
A Great Value Experience!
Lied to regarding flights, caused trauma
BAIT AND SWITCH!
Booked an all inclusive tulum Rivera Maya for 5 nights with air from Miami. Great value has switched the return flight to an early morning telling me that my afternoon flight has been cancelled...NOT TRUE. My traveling companion is diabetic and has to eat, the cheaper, early flight requires a 3am departure from the hotel if not earlier which will not allow breakfast. The afternoon flight has NOT been canceled...Do not appreciate being lied to especially when health is an issue!
We booked a trip to 5 star Hilton Tulum Riviera Maya All-Inclusive Resort with upgrade on 3/31/22 for travel 9/5/22-9/8/22. We received an email 2 weeks ago advising the Hilton overbooked and we were bumped!
They booked us at the Dreams Tulum Resort for the same time period. Problem is the original destination was a new facility...Dreams has been around for years and doesn't have particularly good reviews. I called to discuss but there is no discussion...it's either take it or leave it and no other option!
How does that work exactly? We suspect bait and switch but no way to confirm either way...very disturbing!
They Will Steal Your Money!
As with the other reviewers, I wish I could give them a negative star rating. Same issue with COVID, but they will not let me rebook online and require that I call....several days, several attempts, on hold for literally hours at a time, and finally no choice but to hang up.
I once got through to Tina, who claimed she had rebooked me but that it would take up to two weeks to get a confirmation from the airline, and that they would call me. She gave me a confirmation number, but no follow up email, no call.
Over a month later, and several email requests from me, no response from them. This is a TERRIBLE Company, DO NOT GO WITH THEM!
Refused Refund for COVID 19
Great Value Vacations refused to issue a refund or future credit on the tour I had to cancel because of COVID-19. My total loss was $1,605.00, including airline extras. They offered me a future travel credit of $492.00, to be used only for this particular tour AND IT HAD TO BE BOOKED WITHIN FOUR (4) DAYS after the cancellation date AND the price may go up!
During the two year period of COVID 19 I have canceled travel plans with Delta, Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Cruises and Trafalgar Tours. Each company has given me a 100% refund or future credit with no restrictions on itinerary. Great Value Vacations is at best unethical or far worse. DO NOT book individual or group travel with this organization.
Great Value Vacations is HORRIBLE! Run Away.
Azure Beach Resort, Costa Rica
Great Value Vacation..... Stay away from this company.
My experience based on their recommendation
Azura Beach Resort is to a two hour drive from the from the Airport on very dangerous roads.
All inclusive means food and drink only, nothing else.
The rooms, are spacious with a great view of the Infinity pool and ocean.
No hot water last three days. Maintenance staff is nonexistent
No turn down service, getting towels is near impossible.
Elevator failed to work once.
Many people sick with diarrhea.
The beach is terrible. Garbage everywhere.
Jelly fish are a real concern.
Awesome wildlife. Beautiful birds, iguanas, wild horses, and monkeys
Staff
Restaurant staff are ok and speak A little english .
Front desk staff and concierge really struggle with english making it hard to communicate even basic needs
Food: Fair
Drinks: good but they ran out of vodka and tonic two days ago.
Several guest got sick with vomiting and diarrhea after a meal in the restaurant.
SAMARA
Three ways to get there from resort
1 The safest, take a taxi if you can find one, we couldn't
2 Walk, on the road extremely dangerous due to narrow roads
3 Walk the 45 minutes on the beach. During low tide you must cross a rapidly moving river, about two feet deep. At high tide about four foot deep. (Not advised)
The town of Samaria is typical of other towns like those ilike those would find n the Caribbean.
The people are very welcoming and kind.
It has many little shops and restaurants.
Overall: Azura Beach Resort is a nice building with poor service, maintenance
Would I go back to Aura Beach Resort or recommend to someone else No way!! Great Value vacation grossly misrepresented this resort.
Great Value Vacations are a great value!
We have been using Great Value Vacations for a number of years. We use them when we want to go to a few cities and want to be on our own. They are exactly what their name says. A great value!
We recently got back from a trip to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. All the air, rail and hotels were booked and ready when we arrived. We had no trouble. The hotels were all clean, safe and really nice.
The hotel in Prague was right near the Prague Castle and was very quaint. The hotel in Budapest was very nice and had a super spa area to go visit after a long day touring. Because they are such a value they do not provide a lot of personal assistance but that is how they keep their prices so low. But when we called a couple of times they helped us answer our questions quickly.
OK so far
Just got the 3rd or 4th email update from GVV. They have not sent spur of the moment info as many would like but they get to it. Our trip was canceled Mar 2020 as well. Ireland, so a hefty price tag. No refund just credit. First they said it needed taken by June 2021, I said no way, we can’t travel then. Then they said it needed to be taken by Dec 2021, that I can work with. The email today said Dec 2022.
When I called back in March they were busy as hell dealing with peeps on a vacation at that time, so VERY BUSY. While I understand wanting money back, I’m not surprised it isn’t their policy. Nor is it a LOT of businesses policy. I have yet to actually take a vacation w them so my review may change. But in these uncertain times, they are ok in my book.
Customer Support
Do Not Book With This Company
Have been trying to resolve booking/cancellation issues related to Covid-19 with Great Value Vacations (GVV) for several days. Received a call from their representative Tina today. She informed me that our trip for June 1, 2020 has been cancelled by the vendor, but they cannot issue me a refund, only an $8,700 credit for future travel within the next year.
Because Airlines (United in our case) are receiving U.S. government bailouts due to Covid-19, they are required to issue REFUNDS to customers in order to receive the bailout. Great Value Vacations is not passing the refund on to their customers.
My $8,700 should not be used to keep GVV in business. The airline refund is a refund of my money, not theirs. The way they are treating their customers, they probably won't be in business a year from now, then what happens to my $8,700?
This is not an isolated dispute between GVV and myself. Check for other consumer reviews on Google, TrustPilot, Trip Advisor, Pissed Consumer and the growing number of consumer complaints on the Better Business Bureau website.