In Reply to: bank transfer vs credit card payment posted by ruthrat on Monday, 17. October 2005 at 17:45 Bali Time:
I agree that the prepayment policy at the Tegal Sari is most unfortunate. I also booked with them for early November, and being in a rush as usual did not read all the small print. I assumed that when I sent my passport photo and details, they would hold it and charge me at the end of our visit, as is the custom at some Hotels in the past. We have travelled and backpacked all over Asia many times, so I was most upset to find that 2 days after the bombing, (whilst we were still deciding whether to go or not) the total amount for the whole holiday disappeared from my bank account. I was less than impressed and sent off a stern email. I recieved a reply saying this is standard procedure at the Tegal Sari, and if we wanted to cancel we had to do it within 14 days of our trip and they would refund in full, otherwise let them know immediatly, so our room could go to someone else.We have decided to go to Bali as planned for our special anniversary, but as all our bridal party group have pulled out, we will be on our own. Still nice though, a second honeymoon?? Anyway we have stayed in Ubud many times at plenty of lovely places, so will be keen to see if this hotel deserves the reputation it has on this forum. I wonder if they would be so arrogant if the forum made a change to it's favourite hotel status. I have booked with a nicer hotel in Sanur, and got a lovely email from the Manager thanking us for coming to Bali after the bombing, and they have upgraded our room, and no deposit,and no credit card details required. Makes one wonder.