BEWARE - this hotel is a scam

We had booked a week at The Gramercy for my husband and I to have a little R&R. After confirming our reservation, our arrival time and the regular things, we got a last minute Whatsapp message say that they had no rooms and that the hotel would be closed for renovations (and had been closed even after confirming our booking!) and they needed ti move us to their sister hotel Azulik.

They admitted they knew the hotel would be closed when they took our reservation, which was super dishonest, so I wanted nothing to do with the company (not to mention the hotel they were trying ti transfer us to has some interesting reviews which was why we did not book it in the first place).

They told me they could issue a refund without a problem if I preferred. I agreed to the refund, which they said would be processed in seven to fourteen days. At the time of writing this, it has been anlmost three months. They have not even issued the confirmation of refund which they said they would provide that day.

So, instead of a lovely week in Mexico, we paid over four thousand dollars to a hotel that could never honour the reservation in the first place and will not give our money back.

In August 2021, the 3 of us went to spend the afternoon on the beach. First impression was that this hotel was run down, nobody was there, it was a ghost town. It was a clear sign, I should have walked away, However the staff was very friendly, convincing me to stay for the afternoon, a major mistake. This hotel is listed as a 5 star hotel, In no way or stretching your imagination is the Gramercy a 5 star hotel.
On that August afternoon at the beach hotel, We ordered 2 cocktails, 1 sparkling water and 1 shisha, for a total bill of 2 236 Mexican Pesos MXN. Paid with a Visa credit card for 2 236 MXN. I used this Visa Card only for this bill at this hotel. I didn't use this credit again during all my stay in Tulum.
Because I usually don't use this visa card abroad, I was contacted by my bank due to a suspicion of fraud. This Hotel instead of charging 2 236 MXN charged me 2 236 USD. I contacted the Hotel, as usually friendly but beside several gentle reminders never refund the wrongly charged credit card. I filed a Fraud Claim. Afterwards, I found several other Gramercy customers who have experienced exactly the same credit card fraud. refer to Booking and Expedia reviews