Hi Guys,
I was not meant to come up with this epistle of mine but I wouldn't like once-in-a-while fun seekers like myself fall in the same pit like I and some friends did. I came across this topic and someone mentioned the name I didn't want to see or hear, La Campaigne Tropicana.
Foreword
I once tried being romantic and decided to take my fiancee. Alongside a couple of friends, we went on a day trip to the La Campaigne Tropicana Beach Resort, Ikegun, Lagos.
Perhaps the best time one would get to have some fun was the last 2008 Easter holidays, a muslim holiday on Wednesday, Good Friday and the following Monday as Easter. We thus deemed it nice to embark on the "trip of our lives". If you need some real frustrating argumentative adventure, I would recommend La Campaigne Tropicana, Ikegun. Else, employ a lawyer to prepare duly signed "Terms and Conditions" on payment fo the prescibed fees (be ready they would say they are doing you favour even afterwards).
I must tell you the experience was really bitter and sad for what I had thought was my last hope. Their website was quite lovely but far from what was on ground. Organisation, coordination, customer friendly are all "NIL", "ZERO".
Introduction
Ikegun is about 60km from Lekki, took some 1 hr 15mins @ 120km/hr for a substantial travel time to get there, good road though. i had to remember the long bad road I travelled from Port-harcourt after this "trip of our lives".
Here is what the website says as of today:
Day Visits:-
N 2, 000 per adult N 500 per child (Without meals)
N 5, 000 per adult N 1, 000 per child (Meals inclusive)
(Games inclusive in the above charges)
We made enquiries from one Femi (08068648091, who turned out to be our contact person, the main Culprit) and made a group booking for 13 visitors @ 5,000 naira each (Through a Skye bank account belonging to the Reasort - Don't start to think we were duped by one tout).
Gosh! I should have known! The website is just a bait. The phone numbers ain't working (08052227226, 08052226226), the e-mail (
wanle@lacampagne.org) also isn't working. The direction is in fact deceptive making you think it's just a few minutes from Ozumba Mbadiwe.
Situation
The welcome snack was supposed to be some lovely "dundu" (fried yams), "dodo" (fried plantains) and "akara" (bean cake). What we got instead were some woody stuff, prepared a day before I thought. We overlooked this hoping for better things to come, little did we know that was the last thing were going to feed-on for the whoel day.
While we chatted over the "woods", a rude "rasta" representing The Resort purpotedly welcomed us. There was a small brawl over his utterances and once again the records were set stright adn we moved on. We should have seen the handwrting of things to go bad on the wall but we never thought the resort would descend so low contrary to the international status (my foot) they claim.
We were quick to get into our swimming gear ready to unleash the fun. Once by the pool, "an overseer" strangely and contrary to booking agreements, demanded 1,000 naira each from us. it took us some 45 minutes to get "Mr Femi" instruct them that we had paid a "forfait" (an all comprising fee). Can you imagine one of the "overseers" threatening to seize the balls we played with in the pool because someone kicked it back in without rinsing. Come to think of it, we weren't looking like kids, better for me at least I don't have heavy beards but quite hurting to one of our friends who put him right (the power of women). Maybe we also made a mistake by not asking him to be the "ball boy/man". We despite the odds managed to catch some selves-made fun.
We made attempts to do the "hydrobiking" (some form of riding bicycle on the lagoon), yet again we were asked to pay some 500 naira. They even had the guts to tell us that their bikes were non-functional and we would have to make do with hand-paddled, human energy-propelled canoe. We called Mr Femi, who initially pretended not to understand what wew were saying. later on he resorted to cutting us off each time placed the call to him. We demamded to see this Mr Femi (for the first time, needless seeing his ugly face if agreed terms had been adhered to). Trying to see him took us some 1 hour (by this time it was past 3 pm. Please in mind we had not had the "meal inclusive", and of course some 2 hours we at least needed to return to our individual homes).
Mr Femi claimed he was doing us a favour for the advertised rates, the civilization in me prevented me from strangling him and putting him into my "nap sack". Maybe my finacee would not have agreed to be my wife had I done that.
We eventually got him and claimed to be in a meeting with the Commissioner for Tourism in Lagos State. I was later to find out there was Ministry as such in Lagos State (except someone, not elected by Mr Babtunde Raji Fashola, has been posing around in that capacity). The nearest existing institution is the parastatal Lagos State Waterfront & Tourism Development Corporation.
Our (three representatives) arguments with him attracted the attention of another official of the resort who claimed to be the Manager (when asked what capacity he was speaking with us, he said "I manage here"). By this time, our other friends were also attracted to the spot. We in fact dememnded to see Femi's "Commissioner for Tourism", if we are being treated the way tourists to Lagos State are expected to me treated.
Following the failure to keep to the contract, we demanded a complete refund and "The Manager" laughed. At this time it was almost 4 pm and they were offering us all the activities we were due for. He was later insultive enough to offer us 500 naira each (wonder what he was thinking, beggars!, don't worry that is what he will make of you too when you vist). He would not be polite until I started recording the drama on video (to stand as evidence against him when I get enough money sue the resort. Consumer Protection Council (08056003030, 08056002020, 0952303423, 092730949,
info@cpcnigeria.com,
cpcnigeria@yahoo.co.uk) in the course of being notified). Their comportment were more like "you are at our mercy, if you don't collect the 500 naira, you will be stranded here, afterall nothing will happen if we don't make any refund)
Seeing the shameful act displayed by "The Manager" and Mr Femi, a tourist (working with a foremost fianance house in Nigeria, as he presented us his card afterwards) offered to pay us a cheque equivalent to half of the sum we paid (32,500 naira). He appealed to us to accept his gesture.
Realising what this meant to another customer (maybe different from us because he was a top end client), they beckoned onto him not to refund the money as they offered to pay us. They were however only able to refund 30,000 naira.
Where in Nigeria do you pay 2,500 naira for swimming and eating some "woody dundu, ikpekere and akara? (Akara Osu is still sold at 20 naira). Now I realised were really slapped, perhaps one of the last to be treated as such as I take-up this crusade against them.
Submission
beside theorganisational attitude of the management of the resort, facilities at the resort are far below standard being touted on their website. Shower bathrooms are awful, only one dysfunctional swimming pool shower, barbecue stands are delapidated and useless (packed with all kinds of rubbish), you could be electrocuted by bare live wires under the play tents, grasses are not watered, swimming dirty and appeared not disinfected. We even had a look at their "kitchen" while looking for the cunny Mr Femi, it was a sore to my eyes.
At the mention of the name La Campaigne Tropicana, Ikegun, Lagos, be wise as " a frontline that falls into a pit, teaches those coming behind a lesson".
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Author
huh? " 
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Favour by Mr Femi.JPG (70.56 KB, 981x558 )
