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Lodging Opportunities in Mamaia or Litoral (Romanian Riviera): Our web site posts lodging options form various local providers like hotels, travel agencies or private parties. Please note that we are not in contact with
all providers in Mamaia or Romanian Riviera (Litoral) and we don't have additional details about their services or business practices other than those posted on our web site. We may try (without any express warranty or guarantee on accuracy) to
obtain additional details about a particular provider. Our offers can be usually found on Hotels page under the Rates column.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. RATES: About Mamaia.com
Posted Rates (or Tariffs)
The hotel rates posted/displayed on our web site are Mamaia.com
rates and not the hotel rack (official, advertised) rate. We try to keep
our rates lower than the rack rate and we'll always provide you with hotel
contact details (address, phone, fax) to compare our rates to
theirs.
2. PROCEDURE: How Can I Make a Reservations?
If you wish to make a reservation contact Mamaia.com using the Reservation page or the Contact page. If you use the Contact
page instead of Reservation page make sure you include as many
details as possible like preferred hotel and alternatives, check in
(arrival) and check out (departure) dates, how many people, how many children (ages), payment method (credit card, cash on arrival, bank transfer, etc.) .
3. TIMING: I've E-mailed You My Reservation Details. What's Next?
Mamaia.com gets in touch with various providers and sends you back details like availability, price, specifics, etc. Please note that the process could take from one to five or six business days. 4.
PAYMENT: I've Decided to Make a Reservation. Do I have to Pay Now?
Short Answer: We don't know... We have to check with the provider
first.
Long Answer: We've seen the following trends within the past
few years: the resort experiences an estimated 90+% occupancy during high
season (end of June, July and particullary August). Early reservations -
sometimes months in advance - is the only way to secure a reservation at
some of the most "popular" hotels like Lido, Iaki, Perla,
Ambasador, etc. (in random order) The provider - usually a travel agency
is
almost always looking for some sort of warranty. Due to this high
occupancy level combined with travel agencies much lower rates than the rack rate (rate at hotel
reception desk) and the fact that payment by credit card is in its early stages in
Romania, payment in full is usually expected (but not always strictly "enforced").
On some instances - like Best Western Hotel Savoy - a fax with
payment details like a credit card copy plus a copy of an identification
card (ID) issued in country of guest residence can secure a reservation. However, in
most of the other instances "payment in
full" shortly after confirmation is expected. Note
that these are not Mamaia.com rules but providers' and that all payments are made to
the providers - not to
Mamaia.com!
THE ANSWER: Payment is done by a bank
(wire/swift) transfer to the travel agency or hotel bank account that
makes your reservation. This type of transfers are safe because they can
always be traced. Expect to pay the transfer provider (your bank for
example) an estimated 20-30 Euros for this type of service. Make sure the
exact quoted amount is send (transfer and
cancellation return fees are customer responsability). Shop arround
at more than one bank to find the lowest transfer rates. Some credit card
issuers charge "huge" interest rates for "cash"
transactions as opposed to (retail) "purchases". If you
fund your transfer with a credit card, you may want to make sure first the
payment is considered a "purchase" and not a "cash
advance" to avoid high interest rates
PAYMENT via MAMAIA.com: Can Mamaia.com
Assist Me in Providing the Payment for a Reservation?
On a few, special occasions when for example a customers finds it is difficult,
complicated or too late to send payment directly to the provider, Mamaia.com could accept a credit card payment on its web site. The charge entails
a 5% commission to cover our transaction costs. Use
this payment option only if advised to do so!
5. GUARANTEES: How is My Reservation
Guranteed?
As soon as payment is received, Mamaia.com obtains almost always a "written" (actually in electronic format) confirmation from the
provider - usually a "voucher". The confirmation is then mailed, emailed or faxed to the customer. However, there may be some rare instances when the only
confirmation that Mamaia.com gets is "verbal". Still, once the confirmation is received, the customers can always contact the provider to make sure or double check their reservation
details. We will always send you provider's contact details: phone, fax,
address, etc.
6. CANCELLATIONS: I Must Cancel My Reservation. What Happens?
Cancellation policies varies widely. They depend on provider and we'll always inform you
what their cancellation policy is. If you cancel in time no penalties
apply. We've seen "timely" cancellations ranging from 30 to 3
days. If you don't cancel in time most likely you are going to be charged
first night rate or in some rare instances, you may
loose the payed amount entirely (so far, we haven't seen this
scenario... and we work hard not to see it in the future either...). If you
cancel in time, your payment minus bank transfer fees of approx. 20-30
Euros is returned to your bank account.
7. CARD PAYMENT INFO: Where Do I Send My Credit Card Details?
Short Answer: To the provider - the hotel (travel agencies we work
with will never ask for your credit card info)
Long Answer: Mamaia.com prefers to have your credit card details (or payment) send directly to provider. However, in a few instances, after a careful evaluation
and at Mamaia.com's sole discretion if the client cannot get in touch with the provider by phone,
fax or other means we
could act on his behalf and accept a fax - never
send email - with credit card information to
Mamaia.com.
8. ABOUT: What is Mamaia.com ?
Mamaia.com is a web site hosted in Great Britain, maintained from United States and providing reservation, advertising, web hosting and other services to interested parties. The nature of our business at this stage is mainly to facilitate
communication between tourism industry providers and their customers. Due to this nature and to keep prices low, we don't operate from
a public, "physical" facility. Use our
CONTACT page to get in touch with
us.
9. TRUST: Can I Trust Mamaia.com? You are Only a Web Site!
Absolutely! This is for two simple but important reasons:
A. All payments are made to providers and not to Mamaia.com
B. After receiving the confirmation and before any payments customers can contact the provider themselves and check all reservation details.
10. UNSOLVED MISTERY:
Do You Know Why Some Providers' Rates Are Way Much Higher Than One Would Normally Expect?
We don't know... and despite the rates, occupancy is almost
always over 90% in high season. We had customers who complained they've
spend vacations in Hawaii or Miami (not Mamaia...) Florida and the rates
were much lower. Please don't blame it on us... We are just trying to have
fun and make a profit (in this order for the time being...)
11. ADVERTISING: I'm a Provider Myself and Wish to Advertise on Mamaia.com Web Site. How Doest it Work?
Send as many details as possible about your offer! The vast majority of our visitors ask for details like room pictures, a brochures, etc. The easiest, fastest and obviously the cheapest distribution channel is the Internet. Send us your service
details and we'll post them on our web site. Mamaia.com does not charge for this type of services. Charges apply only for advertising on prime pages like the Home Page, the Hotels
Page or Chat Page (where most of the traffic takes place). |