Holiday From Hell - How do I get a Refund?

photome

The Op says it was disused, that to me means it was closed down and empty, how can you get entry to a disused hotel?

Dont know about rule on getting compensation as it wasnt a package

consumer23

we did book that hotel as it had some great pictures. the reviews on trip afviser were quite awful as you pointed out, but as MR Wang points out...reviews can be pretty unreliable and i'm sure tripadvisor is not the be all of reviews.

consumer23

it was in administration...we were virtually the last people being booked in.

malkie76

So you did get the hotel you originally booked?
But it wasn't to the standard you had hoped?
That's not exactly what you originally claimed.

I think you might struggle as you were delivered what you'd paid for.
Agent might give a discount on future travel.

Did you check trip advisor before you booked?

consumer23

We did pay by credit card, but for the reasons mentioned in the original post, we will not be eligible for a refund due to section 75.

We did get the hotel we originally booked...however it was described very differently to what we got.

We did indeed not get anything close to what we hoped. it was supposed to be a 5* hotel, but was more akin to 0* (not an exaggeration)

We checked trip adviser before we booked, but that rarely gives you a 100% reliable indication. Our hotel was rated 15th from 17 in trip advisor.

We would not want a travel voucher from the travel agent as we'd rather not book through them again to avoid another nightmare.

hcb42

a five star hotel should never be 15 out of 17, there is a problem right there...

mick_vandick

reviews can be pretty unreliable and i'm sure tripadvisor is not the be all of reviews

Actually with the amount of people on it, it is.
Reviews on there are not always correct and some are fake. However, if you read enough then you get a good impression of a hotel and usually the correct impression.
The top rated hotels in Sharm on Trip Advisor (Royal Savoy, Four Seasons etc) are indeed the best hotels in Sharm.
It is clear from the reviews on the hotel you picked that it is not great at all and thats how you found it so that kind of proves that they do hold some truth...

Incapuppy

consumer23 wrote: »

We checked trip adviser before we booked, but that rarely gives you a 100% reliable indication. Our hotel was rated 15th from 17 in trip advisor.

I really do think you only have yourselves to blame for the decision to travel there after having read the reviews. I would not have chosen that as a 1 or 2 star hotel, never mind a supposed 5 star but each to their own!

MrsE_2

Mr_Wang wrote: »

I arrived in Sharm from Cairo and rarely pre book accommodation wherever I travel. Generally I have a few places in mind and Sharm was one such place.
But what became very apparent, very quickly was that hotels in Sharm are nothing like they seem to be in the pictures. Additionally, Trip Advisor is near useless since most reviews are written by Jeremy Kyle throwbacks all annoyed they didn't get Fosters on tap.

Of al the places I have ever been I don;t think Ive ever been anywhere (other than Blackpool) quite as tourist oriented as Sharm and so I guess a decent place is luck of the draw.

That said, the hotel we stayed at was suffering really badly since it was off the main area and had no beach. IIRC occupancy was around 20% and we were offered free meals and drinks as a sweetener. Point being, Sharm exists wholly for tourists, rock up on a charter from the UK and expect to get shafted, but use it to your advantage and you can get some blinding deals - Even if Sharm isn't all its cracked up to be.

I've stayed in the Reef Oasis Blue Bay in Sharm & the Sensatori. They are both, all they are cracked up to be.

jhe

i second MrsE regarding the reef oasis bluebay, it was all it was cracked up to be, not a cheap hotel but you get what you pay for.
i used tripadvisor to help whittle down my choice of hotel when i booked this hotel.