Guest reviews Voyages Desert Gardens Hotel

by NZRohan London, United Kingdom

Extremely Bad Customer Service

I had the most disappointing experience at the Voyagers Desert Garden Resort during my stay during the Christmas period 2019. This was pre-pandemic and so there were no staffing issues. As a surprise Christmas Present we had planned to travel to Uluru for a family sunset helicopter tour along with a Night at the Field of Light experience and a one night stay at the hotel which was booked in July 2019. The experiences and the hotel stay were all booked directly with Voyagers (although they try to deflect responsibility to third party service providers as much as possible when things go wrong). Firstly, when I printed the confirmation I realised that lines had disappeared from the original tour description including the indigenous performance at the Field of Light! This was one of the main attractions promised and no one had notified us of any changes. I kept copies of the edited versions but the hotel team were unable to explain why the pre-paid itinerary had changed. Secondly, Voyagers contacted me on Christmas Eve informing us that the helicopter experience Christmas present which was booked for 4 people would no longer be possible due to a technical error. They offered to either cancel the flight or to take 2 separate helicopters but the latter option involved one couple having to wait 40 minutes in the desert (40+ degrees) whilst the helicopter collected the second couple. This was frustrating because the special family helicopter ride together was not possible. With little time before Christmas and no real alternative options we agreed to proceed with the helicopter with our family split up. It was such a shame that there was no proactivity to mitigate the inconvenience caused, in particular an umbrella for shade for the two people in our party who were required to wait in the hot desert, should have been offered without prompting. Lastly, after travelling for 2 days, we finally arrived. We followed instructions to wait in the lobby but nobody arrived to collect us. We were left waiting in the hotel lobby. The hotel staff claimed they didn’t know the reason for any delay initially and ducked all responsibility, despite being a Voyagers hotel. Eventually we contacted the third party helicopter provider as they were the only people to pick up the telephone. The helicopter provider informed us that our flight and the Night at The Field of Light was cancelled due to unforeseen weather conditions. The helicopter provider informed us that Voyagers customer service alerted them to this fact and also informed our hotel 2 hours prior, but nobody from customer service, the hotel or the helicopter provider contacted us to let us know (and I have still not been contacted!) The reception staff initially denied receiving any information but then later advised that they put up a note on the door for all guests. Not only was this contradictory advice but also very unprofessional not to contact every person affected on the tour, beginning with the people due to be collected first from the lobby. The reception staff refused to do this, including the deputy manager, because they stated that this was the responsibility of a different Voyagers ‘experience’ team, which was unavailable out of hours. So no guests would be contacted, informed or let down gently that their night had been cancelled. Instead they would just wait until realising that nobody was coming to collect them. Birthdays, Honeymoons, Anniversaries and Christmas celebrations all down the drain for so many people. The reception team refused to accept that a note on the window in one language was poor service and poor communication. Overall, I was terribly shocked that my family travelled across the world to see Uluru, spending thousands of dollars and Voyagers couldn’t be bothered to contact us promptly for any of the three issues above. We understand that technical, weather and safety issues cannot be avoided but feel we deserved to receive a more professional service. We were never contacted by the Voyagers team the following day, not even the experience team. We had to chase our refund and by the time it arrived we lost a lot of money in transaction fees and because the exchange rate had changed. Examples to improve in the future; - When things go unavoidably wrong, please try to help formulate an alternative plan with disappointed guests rather than shrugging shoulders and all responsibility - If Voyagers Hotel reception staff truly feel they are different to the Voyagers Experience Team, with no knowledge or information on hand to assist with tour problems out of hours, may we suggest that a member of the experience team should be available at all hours of tours operating? - There was no appreciation for travellers tiredness, expense and frustration and no recognition of the desire to see the main attraction of Uluru. For example, hotel staff could have produced a map, informed us that although our trip was cancelled we could go on a self guided entry to the park and see Uluru at sunset. We did not know this and this would have been an easy suggestion to salvage the evening, for example. - Making a reservation for guests at hotel restaurant does not sufficiently compensate our disappointment and the level of inconvenience endured. Please do not insinuate that this was a big favour. - Better staff training and induction; upon asking about whether the restaurant has a nice view, one staff member said “I don’t know, I’ve never been”. - The staff declined to call the general manager, despite being unable to answer many of our questions. Is there a culture of not wanting to disturb the manager? Of course if management really do care, I would be grateful to be contacted to discuss compensation for our stay. Our reservation number was HNJSGVBJ and booking number 10894503. I look forward to hearing from you.

by esch512

Terrible Customer Service

This hotel has horrible customer service. The reception staff and Managers are not eager to help you resolve any issues regarding your stay or your plans. Absolutely terrible, they should be ashamed - hospitality doesn't exist. Not worth the price at all.

by 742aleksandram Ljubljana, Slovenia

Great place to stay for Uluru visit

We visited at the end of summer, which we understand is not a high season so the place was not to crowded. The whole resort town is nicely incorporated with the magnificent surroundings of natural beauty. The nature here is out of this world. Our room was nice and big. Bathroom was clean. We even had a visiting geckon ;-) Staff was very friendly and helpful. Dinning options were excellent. Loved the free garden tour, which was a nice relaxing stroll around the place with information on plants. It is a very well run and organized place. Would definitely recommend.

by foghornred Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom

Best hotel near Ayres Rock

We stayed in room 124 which had air conditioning Television,tea,coffee and water with plenty of storage space as well as 2 beds and if you decided not to have it cleaned you were given $10 to spend in the bar or restaurant. Location is only a short walk to the square where there are places to eat and a post office and shops.

by F1307GQbrians

Fond memories

Stayed at the dessert gardens hotel for 2 days while in Australia, a bit expensive but well worth the money the room was excellent as was the food, the staff were lovely and polite and the grounds around the the hotel were very well kept and tidy. On the whole a very peaceful and relaxing stay