Paradise lost
FOUR families are out of pocket by thousands of dollars after a Pesach holiday event on the Gold Coast was abruptly cancelled.
FOUR families are out of pocket by thousands of dollars after a Pesach holiday event on the Gold Coast was abruptly cancelled.
One family fears it has lost more than $14,000 on travel after the event was ditched, and another family paid almost $18,000. Both families The AJN spoke to have asked that their names be withheld.
One man paid Melbourne travel agent Dov Bartak of Time2Travel $13,000 for his wife, his brother and himself to attend Pesach In Paradise at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa from April 22 to May 1, and paid more than $1000 for car rental and non-refundable airfares.
After hearing about the holiday from friends who would be attending, he contacted Bartak and paid the $13,000 in full.
However, when he contacted the Marriott on April 3 to order extra accommodation, he was directed to Bartak, but the travel agent did not reply to email and phone messages for days.
On April 6, Bartak emailed him from overseas, saying Pesach In Paradise had been cancelled because he had been let down by the Melbourne Jewish community.
However, the customer told The AJN that before booking he had asked Bartak if there was a risk of cancellation and was told “definitely not”.
He said Bartak has now assured him he will be refunded in full but not immediately.
He is also angry Bartak had taken an overseas business trip with his event in disarray.
A Sydney woman, her husband and three children have also had their Pesach plans torpedoed after paying Bartak $16,000 for two rooms.
The woman told The AJN she complied with Bartak’s request for full payment on March 20 and separately paid $1700 for flights.
But when she heard rumours on April 9 that the event had been cancelled, attempts to contact Bartak by phone, email and social media were fruitless.
When she contacted the Marriott, she was told organisers had informed the resort on April 5 the event was off, but by April 12 she told The AJN she still had not heard from them.
John Mulligan of Sydney’s L’amour kosher catering told The AJN Bartak made a booking months ago but did not pay a deposit.
Contacted by The AJN, Bartak confirmed that four Sydney families had paid in full and he had used their payments as deposits with suppliers. He also said he has now contacted all families with advice on how to recover their money through legal proceedings or his business insurance, adding, “The families want their money back which I can definitely understand.”
He added all clients had been advised that, in the event of a cancellation, “they would be receiving all monies paid to me in full”.
A Facebook page for Pesach In Paradise has been taken down. However, according to the Pesach In Paradise website, the Gold Coast event promised nine nights’ accommodation, a family seder, welcome baskets, handmade shmurah matzah, scholars-in-residence, and a “spectacular Chol Hamoed adventure”.
Rabbi Ronnie Figdor of St Kilda Synagogue confirmed to The AJN he had accepted an invitation by Bartak to be a scholar-in-residence alongside Rabbi Ryan Levin, Bartak’s brother-in-law. But Bartak contacted Rabbi Figdor earlier this month, advising him that the event was cancelled.
Bartak confirmed to The AJN that he had promoted and cancelled a Pesach holiday package to Thailand last year, and that the sole depositor had been refunded.
PETER KOHN
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