Is this worth claiming for? Balkan holidays

mikeyandsheila

Hi Guys,
we went to Bulgaria on the 15th of last month with Balkan holiday. We booked in to the Varshava Hotel in Golden Sands. The hotel was like something out of the 30's! the bathroom was so small that the door opened up right under the shower, it was filthy with thick greenish blue limescale on the shower head, the sink was covered in rust, the room was so small you couldnt even swing a cat in it.
When we booked this holiday we asked if there was intenet in the hotel and were told that it did have, we work online so we needed to still have access, when we got there the internet access was a booth out on the street with three computers that were so slow. The milk at breakfast was watered down, ect, i could go on buy it would take forever. Anyway, we complained to the rep and were told that we would have to pay an extra £400 to get moved to another hotel so we decided to find our own one.
we were told that we could claim the money back fro the hotel when we arrived home by sending in a complaint form.
We are now back and have sent the form off with a letter explaining what went wrong, we even have photos of the state of the room, only to get a letter back saying that they think that the hotel is fine and that they are sorry that we didnt.
what can we do now?
sorry for the long post.
Cheers
Sheila

DGJsaver

No advice on what to do now , but never going back to bulgarian beach resorts is high up my list of thinsg never to do again, dont know about you

Dan

mikeyandsheila

Hated the resorts but Bulgaria is a stunning country, would go back but just not to the holiday resorts

DGJsaver

mikeyandsheila wrote: »

Hated the resorts but Bulgaria is a stunning country, would go back but just not to the holiday resorts

exactley what i meant :beer:


good luck

mikeyandsheila

anyone any advice? we lost a fortune in wages cause we couldnt work! and the cost of the hotel, really need some advice if we can claim them for the loss of earnings and cost of hotel?
Cheers
Sheila

Dylanwing

I have sympathy with your plight, but perhaps you should have been wasrned, or aware of the fact that Bulgaria is not yet up to Western standards. I have been to Eastern Europe many times, and there is still a lot of catching up to do, and some of their definitions & claims are somewhat exaggerated. Like many others here, Bulgarian beaches will never be visited again, and a top tip for anyone going there - Avoid the chicken kebaps - They might seem a good adea after a few cheap beers, but trust me, they are not!

mystic_trev

mikeyandsheila wrote: »

anyone any advice? we lost a fortune in wages cause we couldnt work! and the cost of the hotel, really need some advice if we can claim them for the loss of earnings and cost of hotel?
Cheers
Sheila

No you can't! You were on a holiday not a Business trip. Sorry to be un- sympathetic but if you use the Internet that much why didn't you check out the Hotel before you booked? Two minutes on Google would have told you the Varshava Hotel ain't exactly the Ritz!

duchy

You're on a loser with the internet situation-There was internet -there wasn't broadband or high speed connection but that wasn't what you asked. Tripadvisor would have helped you make a better choice if business was essential.
As for the standard/condition of the hotel-it seems to be standard policy for most holiday companies to reply first with a "sorry but no" letter so it often pays to write again emphasising your points but keep it very simple and factual pointing out EXACTLY what was promised that wasn't provided or was sub-standard. Not what you assumed but what the brochure specifically promised that wasn't supplied.I'd drop the internet issue as I don't think you'll get anywhere and it may detract from your legitimate complaints.

saveapenny

Try the Holiday Truths complaint forum they will tell you your rights on getting a re fund on hotels you paid for if nothing else.
If you didnt get waht you paid for under teh package hoiday regulations you can claim agaisnt the tour op for loss of money you had to pay out to get the package you wanted but not for lost earnings although a court might see it different if you explaines to the tour op why you needed a hotel with internet access and they assured you they had... The solicitor who helps out on HT will advise you much better than on here

Ladyb_2

:mad:I would not travel with Balkan Holidays if you paid me. We travelled with them 8 years ago and I must say it was the worse holiday ever. I am really surprised that they are still operating after the No. of complaints. I did not bother going to court to claim back monies. This is a company that will take your money and not do anything for you.We had paid for a 4* hotel was told on arrival that they were double booked so ended up in a 2/3* with no amenities - ops sorry there was a tatoo parlour in the hotel.Left over food was served the next day - had a severe case of food poisoning. It weas only when we told the rep that we have taken videos of the everything that she decided to do something - arranged for us to eat at a local restaurant free of charge. Out of interest we went to the hotel that we had originally booked with and was told that our rooms were available when we arrived but had since been cancelled and given to someone else. I even had my son in England ring Balkan holidays and it took him 2 days to get an answer and they just palmed him off. I suggest you write in and claim compensation or better still contact WATCHDOG I am sure there must be other people out there with similiar tales. Good luck but pass the work dont touch BALK

mikeyandsheila

I will be doing that, i have just sent a letter again. Looking at going to abta. I have photos that prove the condition of the hotel.
And mystic_trev, i didnt say it was a business trip, we wanted to work online while we were there, we were assured that the hotel had internet access, and as for checking online regarding the hotel, we didnt feel it was needed as we stupidly trusted the holiday operator (first choice) as we had been on many holdays with them before! and we at no point did we say or expect the ritz as you so kindly put it, it is advertised as having internet.
but thanks for your constuctive comments!