It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for Nelson woman Mikayla Bovey and her father.

The photos on the ‘Fiji Spring Break’ website describing a ‘trip of a lifetime’ at Beachcomber Island, looked incredible – sun, surf, sand, and beach fun.

But for Mikayla, what was promoted, and what she experienced were two very different things.

“We went on a trip from 10-15th January with Fiji Spring Break, an Auckland-based tourism business, but really wish we never bothered.

Mikayla said it was “a scam with heaps of false advertising.”

The holiday is advertised on Luxurylaunches.com as “absolutely everything is organised, you just need to rock up at the airport with your passport and be ready for the time of your life! Before you know it you’ll be sailing on board a chartered 98 foot yacht partying your way out to an exclusively chartered island in paradise.”

But for Mikayla, the hype never matched the reality. “It was a shit show from the get-go” she said.

“It all started with little things first. There was no communication at all about the plan leading up to the trip.

It was only a day before the trip that we found out that we were staying in a 2.5-star accommodation, which wasn’t advertised. But I thought I can do that – no problem.”

Mikayla said she was told by organisers not to buy water or snacks at Duty-Free as the island had “plenty of everything.”

But what they never said, according to Mikayla, is that guests would have to pay for water once on the island.

The boat she and her father travelled on to get to the “paradise” island didn’t have water either.

Once on the island, she said the staff were unhelpful and “drunk most of the time so they didn’t care.”

Mikayla said at one point during her stay, the island ran out of water.

“We had no water, no power, nothing to shower or bathe, unflushable toilets, which made the place smell like shit. By this stage, the pool had turned green. The photos on the website were false” she said.

“There were no fresh salads, as advertised. It was more like boy scout food.”

Mikayla said many people became really ill on the island, suffering food poisoning, with several ending up in hospital.

“Unfortunately for me, I developed severe abdominal pains from the food and made a decision to leave on day 3 to find better accommodation.

Mikayla said Fiji Spring Break turned off its Facebook reviews after she and “many others” complained.

“I want to make it clear, it’s not all of Fiji’s fault. The people are lovely, and once we left the island, we found better accommodation at Ramada Suites at Wailoaloa Beach Fiji. It was absolutely incredible. The food, the restaurant, and the staff were amazing.”

“Many people became sick”

Northland woman Taylah Urquhart had a similar experience with Fiji Spring Break on Beachcomber Island on the same trip.

“There was no water on the ferry, which took holidaymakers to the island from the mainland, only alcohol so as you can imagine, many people became sick.”

Taylah said “multiple people, including myself, became sick due to the lack of water, food, and access to basic hygiene.

Spring Break Fiji is taking no responsibility for what happened, refusing to offer refunds.

Taylah said “the reason I’m putting this out there is that all the “influencers” are promoting this like it will be the time of your life, I don’t want anyone else to fall for that bullshit. They are getting paid to promote it so won’t say anything bad.”

Christchurch woman Sage Meredith to Chris Lynch Media she paid $400 for an upgraded room with aircon, but was told it was unavailable.

“The trip was horrible. Things went missing, it was not budget-friendly as was advertised. A single cocktail would set you back $60.”

“This company produced false advertising from influencers making it out it was more enjoyable than it actually was.”

The ‘experience’ is run by Auckland-based company TourismHQ, who has been approached for comment but hasn’t responded.

The company doesn’t have a listed contact telephone number.

What are your rights?

What should I do if the property isn’t up to scratch? Consumer NZ said “if the property isn’t a patch on what was advertised – the ad claimed luxury accommodation or a beachfront location and you didn’t get it – you have grounds to seek compensation.”

Consumer NZ said “ in the first instance, get in touch with the owner. No luck? Contact the website. Some offer dispute-resolution processes. If that fails, head to the Disputes Tribunal to seek compensation.

Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, accommodation must be provided using reasonable care and skill, and be fit for purpose. In practice, this means the property must be available to guests over the pre-arranged period, reasonably clean and so on. The Fair Trading Act, also prohibits traders from making misleading claims so they can’t misrepresent the condition of the property.”