In Reply to: I need your advice.. Help me.. posted by kramyx on Saturday, 30. October 2010 at 01:51 Bali Time:
Sorry guys, i copy paste the wrong one, this is the right one.
Hi guys?
Just came back from Bali a few weeks ago.My friend and I, 14 of us stayed at 2 villas that was reccommended by a friend's cousin at Jalan double six and a villa near Seminyak Square. I was the one who plan the trip, settle the villas, in other words, i run the show.
The villas were managed by a group that me myself never heard before.
So, we book the villas, pay the upfront and so on. As there were many of us, they gave us 2 villas, and we were told that the distance between the villas is only 10 minutes walk, and we thought it is fine. After the upfront were made, I received the itinerary that was forwarded from my friend. So, i started checking the map. The first time I see the map, i was pretty shocked because the map is not up to date. Fine. So, I ask them, what is the villa name, they said there is no name. The address, Jalan Double Six. I'm shocked! Jalan Double Six is like 1km, and where should we find the villa. So, i tried goggling about the villa, nothing. The updated map, no such place.
I kept quiet because i do not want to offend my friend. The other villa, worst! I can't even see the map. All i can see is, there is a big word on the map which says, Kerobokan. We were told at first that both the villas were at Seminyak. Again, i kept quiet.
1 week prior to our departure, i received a message from them, if i want to arrange an airport transfer to the villas. The cost, USD$40 per van to the villa. They even tell me that it is kind of hard to find the villa as the lane to the villa is small. They also tell me that taxis cannot enter the lane since it is small, BUT, THEY ARE GOING TO FETCH US WITH A 6 SEATER VAN. Make sense? No! So, i told them, that we will find the villa our self upon reaching there, since I'm pretty familiar with the place.
When we reach Bali, we took a cab from the airport and went straight to Jalan Double Six. The fare, 70,000 Rupiah. We told the cab we are not sure about the specific address. So, we drop down at the end of Jalan Double Six, where Villa Coco is. Time: 1300hrs. We started searching for the villa. We showed the map to the Villa Coco guard and ask him the direction. What he said really shocked us. He said there is no villa on the spot where it is marked on the map except for Villa Coco. Now the question is, is Villa Coco the place we are going to stay? Obviously no! Off we went, down the road searching for the villa. Time: 1330hrs. It is scorching hot by now with our luggage and stuffs. While we were walking, we saw a small lane that enters Tune Hotel. We decided to give it a try. The lane is pretty small, may be that is the lane the owner of the villa told us. As we were walking, we say a security guard that guards the small lane. He came to us and offered some assistance. We told him that we are finding a villa and, he directed us to a house, a semi-detached 2 storey bungalow. On the gate, there was a notice that says, 'Villa for rent. Call D*** at +62****** for enquiries.' The guard told us, may be this is the villa we are searching. But, there was no one around. We do not have any key to go in. I called the number and a woman answered. I told her that we have booked the villa and we want to check in. She told me that she had passed the key to another person named, Zie. And she was shocked to hear that Zie was not around to welcome us. So we waited. Time: 1430hrs. I receive a message and she introduced herself as Zie. She said she will be reaching in 15-20 minutes time. So we waited. While waiting, I talked to the guard that directed us to the villa. I asked him if he know where is the other villa we have booked. I told him it should not be far from here, like what the owner had told me. When I showed him the address, he was shocked. He said the villa is around 6km away. I was shocked too! I was wondering if it is possible to walk 6km in 10minutes. No way! He suggested that we rent a motorbike to make it easier for us to travel from one villa to another. So, we decided to rent 8 bikes for 6 days at a nearby bike rental. Price for the bike: 2 million Rupiah. And we pay for it. Time: 1600hrs. No one showed up. I message Zie again. And this time she said she is in Tabanan and asked us to be patience. 'WE HAVE TO BE PATIENCE'. Fair? I don't think so. So i went back to the security and talked to him about the villa. He said he have a spare key to the villa (he should tell us that earlier). So he went and takes the key and opens the door for us. We went it and, nice! It is a nice villa. Some of my friends took a rest, and some of my friends even slept. We are still waiting for Zie to come and pass us the key. As I need to collect my custom surfboard in Canggu, i took a bike and went straight there. My friends stayed behind. When i return again at 1730hrs, my friend told me that Zie just left with another friend to the other villa in Kerobokan. When my friend finally came, he said the other villa is far away, around 20minutes drive not walk. We did not complain. That night, we went to the villa and it is really far, located somewhere near Seminyak Square, to be precise, just opposite Mutiara Bali Resort.
So our trip went on until the 3rd day, Zie messaged me and asked me to hand over the remaining money for the villa. We met her at the villa and hand over the remaining the money. As there are 14 of us, it will be a little difficult to collect the money. She had to wait a while since we have to count the money. She said she was in a hurry. Why? Because it is Saturday night and she want to go clubbing? Professional? No! After collecting the money, she left.
And our trip went on. Finally it's our time to go back. Our flight was a morning flight, 0700hrs. We left the villa at 0455 hours. There is no one from the villa around that we can check out with. So, what I did, I left 1 key in the villa dining table, and another key I passed it to the security guard who guards the lane to villa, remember? Sounds right? I think so. And off we went back to Singapore.
It had been three weeks since we left Bali. Just now, when I open my email message, I received an email from Zie. She told us that we have to pay her USD$85 because we lost the key to the villa and 2 towels. Isn't it too much? I told her I had passed the key to the security guard and we are not going to pay for the lost unless she will be willing to pay half of our bike rental because we have to rent the bikes to transport us to and fro the 2 villas since she lied to us about the 2 villa distance.
Now, my question is, if you guys are in my shoe, are you going to pay for it? Can she take any action if we decided not to pay the money? I really need your advice. Thanks in advance.