Vacation Charters Ltd / Mountain Laurel Spa and Resort

Located in the Pocono Mountains in PA, I was invited to a timeshare presentation and 2 nights/3 days at Mountain Laurel for $99.00, along with coupons and a gas voucher (Feb. 25-26). From my first moment with the timeshare staff until the minute I left, I found them to be rude and actually harassing. To start, I had called at 1:00 in the afternoon to let them know I would be arriving late. The woman at the other end of the phone thanked me for calling but I had not gotten an "authorization number". It hadn't been offered and I did not have their letter of rules and regulations in front of me when I made the call. So their first issue with me was that I didn't have the number. Next, I had met up with a friend and her daughter for the day but was accused of keeping them with my son and myself overnight. They watched as I handed her the key to go to the bathroom, they watched as we booked spa treatments and they actually harassed everyone during the stay. After explaining myself and the situation on more than one occasion, they "met" me in the lobby of the spa after a massage to get my paperwork and inform me that I had to register my friend and pay a fee. Since my friend was not staying there I was not going to pay a fee and since they were so miserable I had no interest in the timeshare aspect of the stay. I told them that I would be checking out immediately. They wanted to charge my credit card because I was not staying for the sales speech the next day. I offered (and subsequently did) return all their vouchers. When I went back to the room to pack, my son (8 years old) was scared because someone kept knocking at the door and calling the room. The facility itself was mediocre at best, the timeshare managers were obviously in the wrong profession and their rudeness and harassment were not to be tolerated. (My friend had booked a service at the spa, but they informed me it was for guests only - that would have been acceptable if that was stated in any of their literature.) I am a current timeshare owner (elsewhere of course) and have come to expect a very different level of service. In addition, as a customer/consumer I expect to be treated with respect. No "felonies" were committed other than the fact that I did not have my authorization number! The timeshare staff were actually abusive and it should be publicly noted so that others understand they can pursue timeshare options in a much nicer environment.