Golf Odyssey’s October Issue Details Experience With Resort’s Inconsistent Service
SHORT HILLS, N.J. (October 4, 2007) — Despite television and print advertising suggesting it delivers superlative service, Orlando, Florida’s high-profile Ginn Reunion Resort exhibited some disturbing customer service flaws and golf course maintenance problems during a recent site inspection by Golf Odyssey: The Insider’s Guide to Sophisticated Golf Travel. These findings are detailed in Golf Odyssey’s just-released October 2007 issue.
By traveling anonymously and refusing advertising, discounts, and free "FAM" trips from the properties it reviews, Golf Odyssey experiences golf courses, resorts and restaurants as the general public would, and it made one of its unannounced visits in late April/early May 2007 to the Ginn Reunion Resort, host of the LPGA’s Ginn Open and the Golf Channel’s Big Break VII program, to assess the resort’s accommodations, restaurants, and three Orlando golf courses, including its newest Jack Nicklaus-designed Tradition Course.
Despite finding it to be a "fun, convenient, and value-laden destination," Golf Odyssey found that Ginn Reunion Resort did "not live up to its claims of impeccable service." In addition to a housekeeping staff that repeatedly arrived late in the afternoon — and once required a phone call to deliver service — the resort allowed its new Tradition Course to fall into such disrepair that it decided to abruptly shut it down, then compounded the problem by failing to give adequate notice to golfers who were scheduled to play it, including one of Golf Odyssey’s undercover editors. Re-arrangements were made using one of the resort’s other Orlando golf courses, but the following day the editor’s name had completely disappeared from the pro shop’s reservation sheet.
"Clearly, our experience was different from the tight-ship, service-oriented image depicted in the resort’s ads and the majority of magazine articles written about it," said David Baum, the Golf Odyssey newsletter’s publisher and editor-in-chief. "Overall, we enjoyed our experience at the Ginn Reunion Resort, but people considering spending their hard-earned money on an Orlando golf vacation there should be aware of everything, not just the good things. Because we’re not beholden to the golf courses and resorts we inspect, we’re free to tell the whole story, unbiased and unapologetic."
Golf Odyssey’s review of the Ginn Reunion Resort and all three of its Orlando golf courses also includes its expert recommendations on the best places to dine on site; noteworthy off-course pursuits, including The Spa at Reunion and the new Annika Academy golf training center, and which type of the resort’s unique accommodations to select for a family-, couples-, or buddies-type Orlando golf vacation.
For a copy of Golf Odyssey’s October 2007 issue, or to arrange an interview with golf vacation expert David Baum, call 800-550-2286 or visit: www.golfodyssey.com.
In the coming months, Golf Odyssey will shine its critical spotlight on Prestwick, Western Gailes and other noteworthy courses in Scotland’s Ayrshire region, Ginn’s Hammock Beach Resort in northern Florida, and Maine’s Belgrade Lakes Golf Club.
About Golf Odyssey
Golf Odyssey, LLC publishes a monthly, subscription-only, printed newsletter and companion website. Now in its 16th year, Golf Odyssey: The Insider’s Guide to Sophisticated Golf Travel, is dedicated to the publication of honest and unbiased evaluations of great golf destinations in the United States and abroad. Golf Odyssey travels anonymously, pays 100 percent of its own expenses, and does not accept advertising from golf courses, resorts or restaurants in order to serve its subscribers with objective information and discriminating advice. Subscribers to Golf Odyssey include Fortune 500 CEOs, members of 95 of the top-100 golf clubs in America, professional athletes and celebrities, and world-famous golf course architects. To subscribe to Golf Odyssey and/or give it as a gift, please visit www.golfodyssey.com.
About David Baum
A former partner at Goldman Sachs in New York City, David Baum is the publisher & editor-in-chief of Golf Odyssey and Golf Vacation Insider. He is a leading expert on golf travel and has played more than 50 courses in five countries in the last twelve months alone. In addition to authoring two golf travel books, Planning the Ultimate Golf Vacation and Planning the Ultimate Bandon Dunes Golf Vacation, he serves as the golf travel columnist for Dealmaker Magazine and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, USATODAY.com, Golf For Women, US Airways Magazine, Bloomberg News, Cigar Aficionado and other national publications.
Contact:
Denise Brite
Media Relations Coordinator
Golf Odyssey & Golf Vacation Insider
denise@golfodyssey.com
973-564-6223