Sunwing Travel Group
Reviews and Complaints

Hey there,

Not really a complaint but more of a informative message. Send this e-mail to your IT department that handles the website. There is a misspelling and just wanted to let you guys know, that is all. Just looking out. When selecting seats for your flight, seats that are $50 each, well the message says "$50 earch way" it should be "each". Check screen shot. :)

Formal Complaint
Booking Number: [protected]

As a customer I am completely outraged at the experience I endured while visiting The Dominican Republic that I have booked with Sunwing.
After 40 years of marriage, we decided to spend our anniversary by purchasing our dream vacation in The Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, our dream vacation changed into a series of nightmares. Nothing that was presented by Sunwing in regards to the hotel and its amenities was true.
1. The transfer from Punta Cana airport to Be Live Experience Hamaca Garden in Boca Chica took 3 hours and 20 minutes. We were the only couple arriving at Hamaca Garden from Calgary and we were the only ones present on the small 9-person bus after they have dropped off seven people at a resort 30 minutes into the bus ride. No information was provided whatsoever.
2. When we finally got into our hotel room, it was already past 7PM. The room we were provided with was an absolute disaster; the room itself looked nothing like the ones shown on the Sunwing website, the room had a queen size bed with an ancient and holey mattress, the tv was busted and the room had really noisy A/C, the only other furniture provided was an old chair, four small tables and a broken coffee maker. The light in the bathroom was supposed to work on a sensor which didn't work because of this we had no light in the bathroom. After trying to contact the reception several times ( due to them picking up the call and hanging up), we had to go to the reception personally. I was really frustrated by this situation because my husband is legally blind (and after a knee surgery) and we felt that we were completely pushed aside and disregarded by the hotel. When we spoke to the reception they sent a guy to see us in the room. His way of fixing the problem of no light in the bathroom was using the only chair in the room as a stepping stool and to turn off and on the sensor manually. This was the end of our first day.
3. Next day, we lost the entire morning waiting for the Sunwing representative who arrived after almost an hour wait for him, he introduced us to the activities but the main activity we wanted which was the Santo Domingo full day tour was no longer available because they do it on Tuesdays and it was already Tuesday so too bad. Because that was the main thing we wanted to see, he recommended us to another agency for the trip so we could take it on Wednesday. The various information packets on trips and about the hotel were only available in French, Spanish and Russian. There was no English information packets available. The Sunwing representative also introduced us to his schedule in the case we would need to see him again, however after this meeting we never saw him again even though we searched for him various times and we were told each time that he was off. In the afternoon we finally wanted to go to the beach so we went and we were hit by a vast disappointment. The beach that was pictured by Sunwing on their website was for the new VIP hotel while the hotel we were lodging in only had a tiny piece of the beach that was dirty, smelly and overpopulated by the guests of the Hamaca Garden. The large portion of the beach was empty but that was because it was private and belonged to the VIP hotel that was part of the Hamaca Garden, but not really( what you show on your pictures is the new hotel not the one you actually live in while visiting this place = complete misrepresentation!) The next shock came when we returned to our room in the evening in which was a very and I mean very loud noise. Firstly, we thought it was the A/C so we turned it off but the noise remained. So we checked with neighbours but they didn't hear it so we once again tried to call the reception, after several tries a man picked it up and he gave us a number for customer service. This was pointless as no one picked up either. So we travelled to the customer service in person. We formed a complaint about the state of our room and the loud noise in the room and the particular person told us that they have to change our room but not until tomorrow after 4PM. My husband got really angry and then the guy decided we will have new room immediately. New room was on the main floor in the next building, the guy checked the A/C if it was working, lights were ok in the bathroom, the tv didn't work and the minifridge was actually very warm so he plugged it out and put it aside saying they would replace it TOMORROW. The replacement never occurred. So we went to bed. However the A/C was unable to be turned off, it was set for maximum and it would allow nothing for change. To try to counterbalance the cold we had to open the balcony doors and while being dressed in all of our clothes that we brought so we could somehow manage to sleep.
4. In the morning at 5:30AM we went once again to complain about the state of the room we've been provided with. in THREE hours nobody bothered to come so we went back again to the reception and then finally somebody came to fix it. The only thing they fixed was the A/C.
5. There were no activities or live entertainment, only casino and disco after 10pm. Because of the lack of space by the beach we were able to enjoy the water only twice.
6. The way back home was an utter disaster. The lazy loaders that loaded the luggage into our airplane manage to break the door of the plane because they waited sitting on the belt that was loading the suitcases up. Because of this our departure was delayed by three hours in Punta Cana and the pilot announced if they don't fix it we will have to spend the night in Punta Cana Airport, Eventually it was fixed after 3 and half hours.
This was honestly by far the worst vacation we've ever experienced and although we have used Sunwing previously with our trips to Cuba and Mexico and those were good trips, the state of our experience in the Dominican republic is forcing us to give our business to different agencies other than Sunwing. We feel we have been lied to, deceived by what was presented to us and what we actually experienced, the nightmare memories of this trip will haunt us for a very long time. This is the second time we have tried to contact you in regards of our experience. We feel insulted by the lack of your customer service.

Really disappointed in our family vacation we took in January and even more disappointed in how Sunwing is handling this situation. The resort is owned by Sunwing and you guys should take more responsibility for your product.
We had 11 family members on this trip and spent a lot of money. The resort it's self was lovely, but 2 out of the 5 rooms we had should not have been rented out. We asked for other rooms, but the rooms they showed us were just as bad.
Mould was everywhere! Growing on the walls, up the curtains and it even stained our pillow cases. I now have a chronic cough do to black mould. There was blood stains on our bedding and we were locked out of our room 9 times. We lost a whole day of our vacation because we went for breakfast and the couldn't they couldn't get us back into our room until 3:30. We had no bathing suits, books or even money. Whole day waisted!
I have been told several times that no compensation will be given. Do you really think that these issues are acceptable in a 4 star resort.?

We were in Jamaica for a destination wedding. We were at Rui reggae when a fire broke out. We were getting our lunch and the kitchen buffet area filled up with smoke. Being a fire fighter I tried hard to get my broth out. But he kept filling his plate as the smoke hit the ceiling and travelled down. I stood at the door to keep it open. So people would get fresh air.
We later were given minutes to pack and were put up at another resort.
I spent a lot of money to enjoy myself. This event has stayed with me and has ruined the memories of Jamaica and the wedding.

Hello,

I was visiting the Bahama this week - I stayed at the Riu Palace Hotel on Paradise Island between May 14th and May 18th 2017.

I had booked an excursion for snorkeling with the "Flying Cloud" Boat on May 17th - departure time from the Hotel was 1:15pm. The sales representative was Tameka.

I bought 2 tickets -$80 USD each.

We began to snorkel - it was very windy, the water was very, very choppy - it was difficult to swim - the waves and choppiness of the water caused my life-jacket to push up against my neck - causing me to choke - I immediately left the water and returned to the boat. As I took my seat - I also noticed other passengers returning from the water with the very same complaint.

I also noticed that the operators of this tour seemed aware of what was going on - but still continued with this excursion. There didn't seem to be any concern for the safety of the swimmers.

Note: I've done this type of excursion before (on Paradise Island) and I have never had such an unpleasant experience as this one.

I would like to request a full refund for this excursion.

If you need any further information - please contact me - at [protected]@yahoo.com.

Regards
Sheila Menichetti

I am writing this complaint on behalf of a friend of mine, Isabella McVean Cary, who became a widow a few months ago and certainly did not need this extra stress put on her.

She went to Club Amigo in Cuba, May 5 to May 12, 2017. Booking #[protected]
On the Saturday evening she was sitting in the main lobby and had to use the washroom. She left her umbrella and hairband on her table and a few minutes later when she got back they were gone.
On May 12th, she turned her luggage which contained her cell phone over to the person who has the key for the luggage room as she had to be out of the room for the new arrivals.
When she returned home at 3:00 am Saturday, she decided to check her cell phone. When she opened her case, the phone was gone.

Since Sunwing uses this property, it needs to speak to the property management about this issue to screen their employees better.

What should have been a week to regroup for my friend instead became an upsetting holiday.

Linda Scioscia

Hi,

Yesterday I flew from Toronto at 20.10 to Vancouver 10.15. Booking number - [protected].

When booking my seat previous to the flight I selected seat 18a, after it was confirmed it changed to 17c. I wasn't happy that I had to pay for a seat that I did not select, when the seat I had chosen was available. Would be greatful if I could get a refund.

Thanks,

Charlotte Bower

May 6th to 13 Confirmation number [protected]
I writing you on be half of myself (Elizabeth) and my husband(David). We decided to book the Lucky Five Punta Cana deal as it was indicating that it was a five star resort booking. We had stayed at the Royalton 2 years ago and it was a five class resort, it was one of the resorts mentioned, another good sign we thought. This however was not the case as I am about to write about.

We arrive at the Now Garden Resort with no issues. We were directed to our room. Our room had a desk-tv stand but did not have any draws for our clothes. The closet had 5 cubby holes one was larger at the bottom. Two of the cubby holes housed, one the safe and the other an iron and hair dry. Leaving two to put our folded clothes in. On the opposite side there was a rod but no hangers. We called to receive hangers and at that time I decided to return to unpacking later and go to the pool. When we return the hangers were on the desk-tv stand. I had to place the round hook for the hangers on the rod. We noticed at that time there was only a desk chair in the room and no comfy chair or at least one more chair to sit in. The air conditioning was set very low at 18 degrees. That night my husband slept with a hoody to keep warm. We attempted to lower the air but this did not work. The next day we asked someone to have it turned up to 20 . Later they had adjusted it to 22 degrees. We like to take an afternoon sleep and found this difficult as the construction ( big machinery) were making quite a bit of noise. When we inquired about this they said they could do nothing about this as it was not their property. We received phone calls at 10 pm asking how our stay was going, we were trying to sleep as we get up early and go to bed early. They could had a different time to ask such questions? During our stay we killed 4 spiders and several centipedes in our room. The washroom had an open concept to it. The sink was open to the bed area. The door to the toilet had a gap at the top so if one had a bowel movement everyone got to share this.

The pool walk ways were being worked on.So some days we would hear sawing rather than music.The pool bar ran out of draft beer five out of seven days and we were never offered cans of beer instead. We got beer from the lobby ourselves.

The Nexus/Sunwing rep.Emanuel was very nice to us on the Sunday but later that week when my husband wanted to clarify flight departure and were we needed to be when going back to the airport he was rude. Emanuel point to a large book case that housed several binders and before my husband could even ask about where we were to be pick up he walked off. The time for us to see our rep were between 0830 and 1030 am . My husband was there before 9 am.

The restaurants menus were no better than what we received at the 3.5 resort we stayed in last year.

We had a hotel rep try to get us to go to their meeting we. declined but the next day the bothered us again about this.

When leaving to go to the airport .The driver was dangerous and careless in that he pulled out twice into oncoming traffic. When we got to our departure gate we were seated in none air conditioning for 2 hours. There is an air condition area but we were not in it. The whole plane smelt like body odor for a 4 1/2 hour flight.

So to say this was a five star hotel flight vacation is not true. Please reply to this as we are very upset about this

Travelled to Punta Cana from St. John's April 24, 2017 to Dreams Punta Cana for 14 days. On Monday May 1 we had to move to Dreams Palm Beach because of a rainstorm that caused damage to our resort. We had paid for a room upgrade upon booking. We were advised that this upgrade would be honored at Dreams Palm Beach. It wasn't! They refused. Said we didn't have our Hotel Voucher for an upgrade - well no because it was taken by Dreams Punta Cana. Brought it up on my phone but they wouldn't listen or look. We were put in a room on the back of the resort on the 2nd floor. We walked through the stench of sewer for the first 4 days. I tried to find a Sunwing Rep but to no avail. I tried to call Sunwing using the app I downloaded but it wouldn't work. We paid $60 USD for a cab to the other resort. We were told the bus wouldn't pick us up until 7 PM - another vacation day gone! We took a cab and found out later they moved other guest via taxi free of charge. So we lost our room upgrade, paid for a taxi to move and could not find a Sunwing Rep or contact Sunwing via the app. We talked to front desk and the concierge without success. We would appreciate a refund for our room upgrade and the cost of the taxi. Our booking #[protected] email [protected]@gmail.com

May 9, 2017.
I would like to speak with someone regarding this. can you please contact Michelle Power at [protected]. The flight attendant was a male and he refused to give me his name and he didn't wear a name tag. I travelled with my husband and 9 year old daughter and just came off vacation and his behavior and attitude was awful at the end of my trip.
I would like to speak to someone as this matter deserves the attention of a person and not having to write out such a large complaint. I WILL put in writing after I speak with someone. And just to add, it didn't just affect me but he was also this way toward other elderly travelers.

thanks for your time and I look forward to speaking with someone.

I am home all day today but after today, I am not available until 5 pm Newfoundland time.

My husband and I booked our preselected and prepaid seats on May 7, 2017 at $40.00 CUC through Sunwing Representative at Memories Varadero Hotel.
Upon our arrival May 8, 2017 at the airport, we discovered that our seats had been assigned to another customer. We explained the situation to the airline, providing our receipt. Unfortunately there was nothing they could do at the time. We were advised to go through Sunwing to find resolution.
Our preselected and prepaid seats were 8E and F flight number WG697 from Varadero, Cuba.
Please see attachment with proof of payment.

Regards,
Ms Natalia De Jesus Tavares Sousa
natalia.[protected]@albertahealthservices.ca

The flight was parked on the tarmac for hours (5) with no answers, no water and 50 degree heat.
The trip to Manitoba due to low fuel, was not accident, it was planned as i now see this has been an ongoing thing for sunwing.
Peoples health concerns were ignored on the plane.
The hotel was not what they said it was.
Horrible service, ive been trying to contact someone there since feb and they will not get back to me

I got food poisoning while on vacation in Puerto Plata Dominican Republic April 16-23rd 2017. I believe I contracted food poisoning from eating in the public Buffet restaurant on site. I informed the hotel manager; John of the incident in detail regarding the food poisoning. He informed me that there was nothing they could do for me; that I was to contact customer service at Sunwing. I reported it online through your website when I returned. I am following up with that report with this email. I have yet to speak or hear from anyone at Customer Service at your end regarding this unfortunate incident. I would like to receive some compensation for this food poisoning; as it severely affected my ability to maximize on my vacation enjoyment. I was sick in bed for 2 days with terrible stomach aches, headaches & dizzyness.
My flight details are as follows- Left April 16th- Flight WG410; Returned April 23rd Flight 411. My Booking Reference is- [protected]- Paul Essery- paul.[protected]@gmail.com- Phone- [protected]

Ma grande valise samsonite a été bossée sur le côté. J'ai pris les photos des collants d'enregistrement de ma valise. Je ne me suis pas rendue compte à l'aéroport de l'état de ma valise, car je voyageais seul et que mon fils était gravement malade. J'ai communiqué avec mon agence jeudi et j'ai reçu le lien pour la plainte hier. Mon numéro est [protected]

On a holiday to Saint-Maarten, we booked at our hotel : the Riu St-Maarten an excursion to go sailing to St_Barths with the Nexus rep at the hotel. The excursion was for Feb 6 2017. That morning the excursion was cancelled due to bad weather, and we were leaving to go back home on Feb 9 so we could not rebook. The same day my boyfriend went back to the rep to get a refund, the rep told him he would sent the relevant info to the Nexus office, he even wrote `Refund`on the initial receipt. Up to this day we never received a refund, ive phoned, sent e-mails, fecebooked Sunwing, Next tours in Mexico (the office is there) and no response they keep passing us off to somebody else, the amount was for 281 u.s. I would appreciate a reply that is not an apology but an answer.

Hi there,

I recently took a flight with Sunwing and had a very pleasant experience, on April 8th 2017 on a flight from Orlando to Winnipeg via Nassau. However, I left a personal item on the plane and immediately tried contacting Sunwing about it. I was given the correct department number to call, and did so. I was told no one from Sunwing was in, and to leave my information so that they could get back to me. So, I did this, and never received a call. I tried calling several more times, but no one answered and I left several messages with all my information and still no one returned my call. Next I tried e-mailing about the issue and received one reply asking for details, which i immediately provided and then I never heard back again from this person. I sent several follow up e-mails both to the original responder, and brand new ones in an attempt to get a response from someone else. Still nothing. I sent a final e-mail two days ago to yet another department and have not heard anything.

I am very frustrated that no one will respond to me, and give me any information regarding my lost item. It was not something small, it was an expensive electronic device that I would very much like to be returned, if at all possible. I understand that it is my own fault for leaving it on the plane in the first place, but I have never received such poor (altogether absent!) service from an airline. All I am asking is that someone ANSWER me and keep me updated about the situation. I find it hard to believe that the item is gone, since the flight I was on was not a connection, and the crew must have found it in my seat pouch.

Please, please please, have someone reach out to me to explain why I have been ignored over and over, and I would REALLY appreciate if someone could actually assist me with my problem. I took this flight over 3 weeks ago, and I have no idea what is happening with my lost item and I am beyond frustrated and upset.

I can be reached by e-mail or phone, ANY TIME. I really don't believe that I am asking too much, and I have been polite and patient up until this point.

My husband and I arrived at the Iberostar on February 20th, 2017. This was not my first choice all-inclusive, but because we wanted to visit our two best friends and travelling buddies, we booked through the same travel agency (Valente Travel Windsor) as they did to be with them on their last week of their stay at the Iberostar. So, this couple that we travel with (for over 40 years) had arrived one week earlier and were roomed in building #14. Of course we asked to be roomed in the same building and the check-in desk accommodated us with a ground floor room # 1405 just below our friends room in 1441. We arrive late on that Monday and did not connect with our friends until the next morning. When I saw my friend the next day I was shocked at the way she looked. She was pale and complaining of an upset stomach. She excused herself several time that day to run to the lady's room. I checked on her a few times but she could not even answer me due to the vomiting and diarrhea she was experiencing. Her husband and I were up with her the whole night. Early the following morning we called the Hotel doctor and after he examined her, he told us that she was severely dehydrated due to the diarrhea and vomiting and needed hospital care. An ambulance came to our building #14 that morning and took her to the hospital in Cancun. I called her hospital room and my friend said she had many tests and was on IV to replenish lost fluids. The hospital MIR and other tests concluded that her bowel was inflamed due to food poisoning. Several days passed and my friend was either in her room, at the hospital again for the second time, or in the bathroom. Her vacation was ruined, her husband's vacation was ruined and both my and my husband's vacation was ruined. On Sunday the 26th of February I asked to speak to the Iberostar customer service rep. She listened to me for 15 minutes complaining about the food poisoning, but she did nothing. I explained that the food poisoning was serious and that there should be some kind of compensation for my friend. The rep basically said that she would look into it. I said that we were leaving the next day and I wanted to get an answer before I leave. She said she would need all the receipts and proof of the two hospital stays, two ambulance receipts, two taxi bills and tests. We gave her everything, but she kept insinuating that my friend had a "preexisting condition" . So I replied, " is it possible for my friend to get severe diarrhea, projectile vomiting, book a flight on Sunwing and wait 6 days to complain about it"? She did not reply. Two months have past and STILL NOTHING. We paid $3, 330. to visit our friends at the hotel that poisoned one of us so I never got to see them, and they paid over $6, 000 to be there for 2 weeks. We still received no compensation, not even an apology. The rep told me that we are "lucky" Canadians to have great medical insurance to cover all the expenses, and I told her that we were unlucky Canadians to have chosen the Iberostar all-inclusive vacation. My friend did not eat anything outside of the Iberostar Hotel compound (except when she was in the hospital), so where is the accountability here? I'm sure this hotel has insurance too! We expect to have this trip refunded and a written apology from the Iberostar Hotel.
Our Booking no. is [protected]. Our friends are Pietro and Dominica Toniolo Booking No [protected].

We flew from toronto to Bahamas April 6 and there were issues with the plane so we had to get off and wait for a few hours then there was the bomb scare so a few more hours. We were supposed to be at the resort by 10 am. Got there around 330. The couple we were with the spouse had a fall and we asked for help from sunning reps at the Rui no help also they were delayed once again on our flight home on April 26. Said they blew a tire. We were sent to the airport and our flight was delayed and there was nothing open at the airport. I'm sure they new this before hand and they could have let us stay st the resort. They were supposed to have wheelchairs ready in toronto but no once again. Poor service all around

I recently stayed at the Royalton Riviera Maya I purchased luxury Suite Ocean View Terrace jacuzzi Diamond Club let me start by saying the resort itself is a beautiful property what's your customer service and Butler Service was one of the worst I've ever had I've traveled all over the world and believe me Royalton will be the last place that I would ever stay the food at the restaurants was mediocre at best the Diamond Club service was horrific my butler hid from me and my family members who also stayed with your property I don't know how such a beautiful place could have such terrible service and cleanliness issues this property was touted as a four-and-a-half Star Property I would be glad to give it less than one star I hope that in the future you address these issues

Dear Sunwing
I recently got an email apparently from your Fraud & Loss Prevention [mailto:[protected]@sunwing.ca]

Unfortunately they are asking me to send my credit card data and ID info over email, which is a very insecure medium.
I do not mean to insult you, but I have no way of know if it is a scam or not, and this is enough information to access and empty my bank account.

I’m surprised that an established company would ask for such information over email and in addition the message only gives me 4 days to give all my info before I lose my tickets. These are both common moves of an internet scam, so I hope you understand my reservations.

Please can you verify that this is a legitimate email (below) from an office for Sunwing, then I can send you the required information.

Regards
Alan Jacques

From: Fraud & Loss Prevention [mailto:[protected]@sunwing.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 11:06 PM
To: UTS Library
Cc: Fraud & Loss Prevention
Subject: Sunwing Reference [protected] - International

Dear client,

Reference – Booking number – [protected]

Thank you for choosing Sunwing Vacations for your travel arrangements. Your credit card has been used for payment on the above noted reservation. For security reasons, especially potential credit card fraud, and to avoid cancellation of this file, we ask that card holders on bookings with an international billing address complete the attached Credit Authorization Form.

Once completed, please email this form along with copies of 2 pieces of government issued ID and copy of your credit card (front and back copies required) to [protected]@sunwing.ca. If you'd prefer, you may fax to our secure fax at [protected].

Full and final payment, plus the receipt of this form in our office, will activate the availability of the e-documents 28 days before travel.

*****Please be advised that if these documents are not received by 4:00pm EDT April 24, 2017, your reservation will be cancelled*****

We appreciate your understanding of this protective procedure.

Sincerely,

Rosa Acevedo Salinas | Fraud Analyst
Sunwing Travel Group
Tel: 416.620.4955 | Toll Free: 1.877.877.1755 ext 4055
27 Fasken Dr, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M9W 1K6
www.sunwing.ca