Allocation on arrival

padilla_2

Hello! Im considering booking some holidays on august for a week which are Allocation on arrival 3 stars hotel. They give you the flight and then when you arrive to the destination, they tell were are you gonna be allocated. Does anybody have any idea about this??? opinions?? Thanks

Incapuppy

I would say it depends on the destination and also whether you have prior knowledge of it.

I have only booked AOA once but that was for Cayo Guillermo and I knew all of the hotels on the island and would have been happy with any of them.

BenL

I did this years ago and you can get an idea of where you might be staying by looking through the tour operators brochure and see what resorts they have at that star or above.

If you would stay in any of the hotels for that star in the brochure you have nothing to lose.

davidscot

Some companies give you a selection of hotels that you will be allocated to.That way you could get a list of these hotels and do a little research on them- Trip Advisor etc- and at least you would have some basic info on where you may end up.

lisa2905

Depends what you want from your holiday !! If you want it just as a base to sleep/eat sometimes then go for it - anything then you get nice you can spend lazy days there is then a bonus !!! I have done a few of these and like the other postings say depends on the destination - I am 40 so would not book up Magaluf or Ibiza but would choose greek island choice !!! But if your young and want all that youngster stuff then choose that type of destination !!! I also think of it as a bit of an adventure and found it all quite exciting where I'll end up !!!:rolleyes:

alanrowell

Basically you are allocated to a hotel where they have space - it could be the local 5 star or it (more likely) will be the local flea-pit or that odd place that's 20 miles from the rest of the resort.

Generally - but it's no means certain - it will be a hotel in their brochure.

tracyburt

Did this a few years back and ours was where you knew the resort but not the hotel, worked a treat as we ended up in a really posh hotel (well, posh by turkish standards! )

saveapenny

We used to do them years ago and always got above the 3* AOA we hade booked
3 times landed up in 5* hotels
A good guide is to look for hotels that in the brochure are either artists imprssions or teh tour op as all teh allocation at that hotel "exclusive to ..... * not *exculisive to ....in the UK*** which means other companies from other counrties use it so they dont have all the allocation.
It can also be a hotel they have just took over the contract for.

Where is the hotel and which company is it with?

Certain places and companies I woudlnt go AOA such as Greece unless I could book a 4*AOA companies I wouldnt touch are the smaller ones like Goldtrail and Libra they have a reputation for movign you half way through your holiday (which they are allowed to do on AOA but the big ones dont or rarely do it))

than4

We have done this twice, once in Spain (Costa del Sol) and once in Turkey (Antalya). Both were booked as last minute deals.

Both times we ended up in a reasonably nice hotel, but not more than we had been guarenteed (ie guarenteed 3*, got 3*). They were both clean and well-run.
If you dont mind a bit of adventure and are not fussed by where you stay I think they can be a bargain. If you are particular about either the standard of hotel or location then I wouldn't go for it.

BTW, both times we were told that we might end up in a hotel that WASN'T in the holiday brochure, I never bothered to check whether we did or not, so the ones in the brochure might not be the only ones they allocate to you.

Warrington-Mike

These are great deals if you are FLEXIBLE. I would say look at the diference in price between the AOA and the cheapest named. it's usually only a couple of pound, and then think - would I be happy if I ended up there? - if the answer is yes, I would pay the exra £5 or what ever it is to know what I am going to get.

Remember - you could book for a 3* and end up in a 5*, which is great, if you have the clothes to dress up for at Evening meals, and don't mind paying 5* hotel bar prices during your stay!

doelani

Like others have said depends what you want from holiday.

We have went twice AOA, first was first holiday to Spain and ended up in beutiful 4* apartment , we were first people to stay in it , only problme was it was in middle of building site and could not use the pool as so much dust in it . It was also a 10 miute walk to get bus into Salou. Not a good holiday and these apartments where not in teh brochure.

Second time we went to tunisia and picked 4* HB AOA but we knew the resort. We were alos told it would be one fromt he brouchure so only had 4 to choose from and this holiday turned out fine.

I know people who go AOA all the time is booking last minute but personally not for me. If you can get a confirmed hotel for a bit more I would pay the extra.