LivingSocial/Fiesta Americana Resort Bait & Switch Scam

UPDATE: I contacted LivingSocial about this issue, and they responded in a timely manner, and offered a partial refund, which I feels remedies the situation.  I am leaving this post up to tell the story, and to alert people that they should always be on guard for issues like this, but at least LivingSocial has made a good effort to rectify the situation.
My wife and I recently returned from a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, where we stayed at the Fiesta Americana Grand Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort.  We purchased the resort package through “Living Social Escapes” (archived as PDF in case Living Social removes the page).  As excellent of a time we had while enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful beach, some of the items included in the offer we felt were misleading and blatantly untrue.

Under one of the bullets in the “escape kit” it states: “Daily Continental Breakfast, Afternoon Cocktails, and Hors D’œuvres at the Grand Club and Free Upgrade to Grand Club Level for First 50 Vouchers Sold”.  This gives the impression that daily continental breakfast, afternoon cocktails and hors D’oeuvres are included in the package deal and that the first 50 vouchers sold will receive free upgrade to Grand Club Level.  After being denied the continental breakfast, we spoke to the front desk.  The front desk people read it as “all of the items in this statement are only for the first 50 people.  This is a very tricky and misleading statement. Furthermore, in the body of the webpage, it states

“You’ll know you’ve been good this year as you enjoy meet-and-greet services and private ground transportation from Los Cabos International Airport, private check-in and check-out service, daily continental breakfast, and a $600 resort experience credit.”

This states nothing about the “first 50 vochers sold”.  We probably would not have bought the package had we know that the continental breakfast was not included, and instead found a package that included the amenities we were looking for at the right price.

Under another bullet it states:  “In-Room Bottle of Wine and Canapés Daily”.  When we first arrived, there was a bottle of wine and a plate of canapés in our room waiting for us.  The reminder of the days, there was no wine or canapés.  When we asked the front desk about this, they told us that a bottle of wine was only supplied on the first day and that Living Social lied about that in their ad. One front desk woman even admitted that the statement was a bait and switch tactic.

Overall, we are very unimpressed with Living Social’s misleading tactics.  We would love to be able to take advantage of the wonderful offers they have available, however they have lost a lot of our trust.

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