Tourists who were planning a trip to the Maldives were disappointed when they had to change their plans because a Saudi prince booked out three entire resorts on the island just for himself.
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud reportedly too over all of the five-star resorts for almost a month. The 78-year-old heir paid $30 million for the resorts of Anantara Veli, Naladhu and Anantara Dighu from February 19 to March 15, the Daily Mail reports.
This means that regular travelers had their trips cancelled. Some took to sites like Trip Advisor to complain. A traveler who was supposed to stay at the Antantara Veli resort wrote, "Our reservation was cancelled with NO notice and we were informed only AFTER we contacted them. Back in December we booked the Anantara Veli in an overwater pool villa for a four night stay in early March. Three weeks prior to our departure we emailed the Anantara Veli to confirm our airport pick up and a few other details. As a result of our email to Anantara and a call to our booking agent we finally learned that the hotel had simply cancelled our reservation and, I assume, those of many others. They did this without apprising us of this cancellation."
"Here's what Anantara finally told us: In essence they said they now have a booking for the period including 19 February until March 15 which, after negotiations, developed into a request for total private island buyout of Anantara Veli and Naladhu.
'Not "I'm sorry", not "we should have notified you", now "how can we make it up to you". Just "this is now the situation"."
The traveler said he was offered to stay at a less desirable resort, but he turned it down.
Anantara released a statement saying, "At Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, the wellbeing of our guests is always our primary concern and we consistently seek to address and allay any queries or concerns that are brought to our attention. Whilst we are not at liberty to discuss individual reservations or visits, we would like to share that on the rare occasion that a change occurs in the status of a booking, we try our utmost to ensure the guest's satisfaction throughout the process."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
