holiday accommodation changed by Thomson

ellie1379

We are due to travel on 9th june with Thomson on a package holiday that we booked in February this year.
We've just been called to say the hotel is overbooked and as we were one of the later bookings wen will have to either accept one of the alternative hotels they are offering or get our money back.
The first option hotel is an upgrade from ours at no extra charge
The second is a downgrade and we would get some refund on this if we picked it.

The problem is the upgraded hotel is still not officially open and there are no actual pictures or reviews on trip advisor. Looking at their facebook page someone has already had their holiday cancelled for the beginning of may as the hotel was not ready.

We booked out first hotel viva can picafort largely due to the pool facilities and playgrounds for my one and four year old. So although the upgrade hotel the viva zafiro might have nicer rooms, food etc it's not really somthing that we as a family are fussed about.

Thomson have said I can find an alternative holiday and they will see if they will give that to us for no extra charge . However with only a few weeks to go options are limited and if I moved our flight dates that has a knock on effect of changing husbands work leave, losing out on our airport parking, rearranging our dogs board etc etc all of which will cost us.

So my questions are
What if we accept the upgrade but when we get there it's not what we expected? Have we got any come back to Thomson?
If the hotel is still under construction when there what are our rights?
What if they have to cancel again due the hotel not being ready? I called the hotel group direct and they could give no firm date on opening other than in a few weeks....
Has anyone been in a similar position?

Sorry for long post!

Thanks in advance

Ellie

richardw

Try and find a similar Thomson holiday on the same flight dates from the same UK airport and then ask them to change it. Look at other Thomson sister companies such as first choice. A thorough search may be worth the effort.

becominganobsessivesaver

If all of the facilities are open the new hotel looks great. It's got a pirate ship and kids club, with the benefit of brand new rooms, pools etc.

redmalc

We had this problem a few years ago,three families with kids going to Portugal and a month before we were due to go we were advised the hotel was double booked.
After a number of calls and some hard negotiations we got two villas in lieu at no extra cost,stand your ground and they will concede in the end in most cases

alwaysskint96

Or ask Thomson if they could maybe change resort- for example Playa Mar in Pto pollensa is great with small kids- and the surrounding area a lot nicer than C'an Picaford. Could use same flights just different transfer

Yolina

How much of a downgrade is the 2nd option they gave you? Worth considering if there isn't a vast difference with what you had booked.
I'd be a bit wary of the option 1 upgrade simply because to me brand-new-just-open facilities invariably means that there will be teething problems, especially if they're rushing to get it finished and open in time for the summer season.

Hersetta

Ask them to transfer you to the holiday Village Majorca in cala millor which has great facilities for kids.