Thomson holiday from hell and we haven't gone yet!!! Help!

Lstn

Hi
This is my first time post so I'm not quite sure what I'm doing so bear with me!

My partner booked last year a suprise holiday to Florida for my birthday to depart 1st June staying at the econo lodge on international drive, getting excited last month I started checking the websites looking at photos and reviews and much to my horror they were shocking and one even said that it was closing down in may, so I rang the Thomson shop and was reassured that it wasn't as she had booked holidays there that day and everything would be fine, but she would see if they could sort something else out if I went into the shop, so a few day later I did and guess what, they had moved us but only because it IS shutting down!

The plot thickens! They moved us to the international palms which seems alright, still alot of bad reviews about rooms being mouldy, the pool not open, bad staffing and rooms being unsafe and dirty but when your paying so much money it needs to be better then alright, enquiring again they agreed for us to pick the hotel so I looked on the web site and found two really nice ones which we would have to pay £300 more which would greave me but still, so I rang again only to be told that I couldn't have the Thomson internet price and would have to pay another £750!!

I've asked how to raise a complaint but apparently you deal with it in shop and that's it. They never call back when asked and I've even asked for the area manager to call me which hasn't happened I think they are stalling as its less then a month to go and they know there won't be any rooms left,

I'm at wits end now and I don't know what to do, I was so looking forward to this holiday and now it's turning out to be aweful and we haven't even got there!

budgetflyer

Your partner did pick one of the cheapest hotel in the brochure to start with so it was hardly going to be the Ritz.
You seem to have been offered much better accom than you originally booked.
A lot of these "motels" are a place to stay and that is all, guests going to theme parks all day + out to dinner in the evening etc.
5 out of 6 most recent reviews I looked at were fine but if you are only going to focus on the bad ones...........

It will be fine

If you want a $300 a night Disney World hotel then do not stay at this hotel. But if you want a great place for the family, affordable price, large room, really friendly and excellent service in a great location then this is the place for you.

We picked this hotel in a hurry from a brochure at the travel agents and were horrified when we read the poor reviews posted at the end of last year. Thankfully they bore no relation whatsoever to our experience. The hotel is very impressive - clean, beautifully, furnished, with a gorgeous pool area complete with waterfalls, hammocks and even a pet turtle to feed

Enterprise_1701C

As above, they hotels are a bed, you are hardly going to spend all day in the hotel in Florida.

One other comment I would make, people go onto the review websites to make complaints. Very few that have had a good holiday would bother going on there to say they had had a wonderful holiday!

interstellaflyer

Take all reviews, especially bad ones with a pinch of salt, usually the bad ones come from people who go for the cheapest they can find then expect it to be (as Budgetfler put) the Ritz, I've never been to Florida so can't comment on what the standard is there, however we have stayed in plenty on Med resorts and you always get one on two families in the hotel that are professional moaners, these will be the people that then leave reviews, by contrast most of the people who are enjoying there stay will probably not bother writing a review on Trip Advisor. Also, as these hotels are room only, you should be out enjoying yourself, not checking the tops of wardrobes with disposable dusters.

Lstn

I know you can't always rely on the reviews I understand that, what my main issues are that that they didnt ask us where we wanted to be moved to and its further out then what we wanted (we havent hired a car) and how can that charge £750 extra to change when its only £300 on their website, And the service in the shop has been shocking I can't cancel either as I'd lose pretty much all the money


this might be just a 'motel' but for £2k it's a bloody expensive one!,

budgetflyer

You are going to be severely restricted without a car!
I' drive alone from Universal to Sea World is about 8 miles long. Disney isn't the kind of place you can walk to.

this might be just a 'motel' but for £2k it's a bloody expensive one!,

The flights were probably about £800 each so in fact it is a £30 a night motel

interstellaflyer

budgetflyer wrote: »

Disney isn't the kind of place you can walk to.

But there are shuttle busses and from what I've seen (not been but looked into going) some hotels offer free shuttle busses, to be honest it's the car thing that puts me off, I spend enough time driving, it's the last thing I want when I'm on holiday.

duchy

I sometimes look at tripadvisor reviews and wonder where the heck some of the reviewers stayed as often they are very inaccurate.

For me an Orlando hotel needs to be basic and clean as with so much to do I know we'll be out or crashed out sleeping and unless you've got enough budget to stay on site on one of the parks it's pretty much of a muchness -however I would suggest you rethink the car.
I loathe driving on holiday (not keen on it here) but in Florida it's pretty much an essential as shuttles will end up costing you MORE than hiring a car -and eat up lots of time waiting for them (unless the hotel they've offered you has a free shuttle which I'm fairly sure it doesn't). Driving in Florida is very easy -no roundabouts (thankfully-it's very weird going "the wrong way round" them" and gives you access to many more cheaper options for eating.

If the holiday company has included transfers -use them and then pick the car up the following day from a location near your hotel but return it to the airport. If you don't like driving the last thing you want to do is drive straight off a long flight. Carhire will be cheaper booking it on the net than through a travelagent usually-check out www.kayak.co.uk for prices.

And have a great time -it'll be fine -the worst US hotels are generally better than similar grades here-even their travelodges are better than ours !

Oh and you're not paying £2K for a hotel -your OH may not have got the best deal but flights are a big part of that cost.

florida2008

Lstn wrote: »

I know you can't always rely on the reviews I understand that, what my main issues are that that they didnt ask us where we wanted to be moved to and its further out then what we wanted (we havent hired a car) and how can that charge £750 extra to change when its only £300 on their website, And the service in the shop has been shocking I can't cancel either as I'd lose pretty much all the money

I don't think that it is down to you to cancel if your not happy with their choice of alternative. I'm sure that they would have to offer you a full refund as they can't give you the accommodation that you originally booked. You should look into this and keep your options open.

pineapple123

You need to look closely at there terms and conditions, usually lots of small print. It may be difficult to get a refund so close to departure date. I dont know why you were annoyed that they expected you to pay more for a better hotel especially since they offered accommodation all be it not great standard but to the same standard or probably better than the one you originally booked, the price £2000 is irelevent as you booked your holiday with low standard accommodation and this was acceptable at the time but not now an alernative been offered.
Your only real cause for complaint is shop price v internet price price difference you should try and get it down to internet price but they may not budge.
As for hotel so far out this may be down to availability.
As for Florida car no car, well have done both having a car is much better but having no car more interesting. Linx bus service reasonable and widely available.

duchy

florida2008 wrote: »

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I don't think that it is down to you to cancel if your not happy with their choice of alternative. I'm sure that they would have to offer you a full refund as they can't give you the accommodation that you originally booked. You should look into this and keep your options open.

It's standard Thomson booking conditions which essentially say if your hotel is no available for any reason the company can offer an alternative of equal standard and the holiday contract still stands. This is exactly what Thomson have done so your advice is not correct in this instance.