How can I change hotels without too much cost?

jo.anne

Booked Royal Atlantis Icon in April this year for September costing £1916 for 2 adults and after realising the advertised picture was AI generated I joined a Facebook group to follow the progress of the hotel. There has been lots of problems with the hotel and found this out through the Facebook group, issues have ranged from pushing opening day back, collapsing parts whilst being built, not got correct Licences and also complaints from people being there saying it is not 5 star (Some people are saying it is ok)
The hotel is now built and even though travel agents are telling people it is fully operational, reports from holiday makers say some parts of the hotel are still being built. 
This is a special birthday/anniversary holiday and I just do not want to go when there is too much doubt. The hotel booked is classed as 5 star yet lots who are there/have been are saying it is not 5 star standard. 
We have decided we want to change hotel but stay with flights and transfers. The alternative hotel when looking at quotes through On The Beach with the same flights and specs is coming up for £2868 so difference is £952, but when I have tried to change via their website it is saying the change will cost us £1700, I spoke to an advisor and queried this and she said she would put the request in and waiver the admin fee which is £120. This still only makes the difference £832. We only have 26 days before we fly and the agent said it could take 8 to 10 days to get a reply so I have the further concern because their terms and conditions say you cannot change hotels within 21 days of flying. Is it possible they are delaying so that they do not need to honour my request for change?
Can anyone give me any advise on how I could get this change without costing the earth?

Westin

jo.anne said:L

Booked Royal Atlantis Icon in April this year for September costing £1916 for 2 adults and after realising the advertised picture was AI generated I joined a Facebook group to follow the progress of the hotel. There has been lots of problems with the hotel and found this out through the Facebook group, issues have ranged from pushing opening day back, collapsing parts whilst being built, not got correct Licences and also complaints from people being there saying it is not 5 star (Some people are saying it is ok)
The hotel is now built and even though travel agents are telling people it is fully operational, reports from holiday makers say some parts of the hotel are still being built. 
This is a special birthday/anniversary holiday and I just do not want to go when there is too much doubt. The hotel booked is classed as 5 star yet lots who are there/have been are saying it is not 5 star standard. 
We have decided we want to change hotel but stay with flights and transfers. The alternative hotel when looking at quotes through On The Beach with the same flights and specs is coming up for £2868 so difference is £952, but when I have tried to change via their website it is saying the change will cost us £1700, I spoke to an advisor and queried this and she said she would put the request in and waiver the admin fee which is £120. This still only makes the difference £832. We only have 26 days before we fly and the agent said it could take 8 to 10 days to get a reply so I have the further concern because their terms and conditions say you cannot change hotels within 21 days of flying. Is it possible they are delaying so that they do not need to honour my request for change?
Can anyone give me any advise on how I could get this change without costing the earth?

I don’t think so.  OTB will probably be buying the hotel rooms via a 3rd party bedbank intermediary rather than direct from the hotel. As your request might need to go via that other party, then to the hotel(s) and back again, this is what will slow the process and take time.  I suspect however that the 8-10 days quoted is loaded to be a maximum and realistically you get a reply before this period.

To perhaps find an alternative and get an idea on price, perhaps use the ‘Hotel Only’ option on their website. This will hopefully guide you and any further conversations you have with OTB.

I can understand your worries about staying at a ‘new’ hotel with perhaps some finishing work still taking place. Probably a case of sifting carefully through current reviews as some people will just be having a general moan.  Fewer people will take time to leave positive reviews. We once had one of the best holidays ever in a hotel in Jamaica that was undergoing heavy renovations.  The staff and hotel keen to look after us and with fewer guests the place was never crowded.

TELLIT01

5 star ratings, or any other star ratings come to that, differ from country to country.  There is also the problem of a tour operator using their own rating system which won't necessarily match the official rating within the country.

Therefore whether a hotel meets the rating can be extremely subjective.

MyRealNameToo

jo.anne said:

Booked Royal Atlantis Icon in April this year for September costing £1916 for 2 adults and after realising the advertised picture was AI generated I joined a Facebook group to follow the progress of the hotel. There has been lots of problems with the hotel and found this out through the Facebook group, issues have ranged from pushing opening day back, collapsing parts whilst being built, not got correct Licences and also complaints from people being there saying it is not 5 star (Some people are saying it is ok)
The hotel is now built and even though travel agents are telling people it is fully operational, reports from holiday makers say some parts of the hotel are still being built. 
This is a special birthday/anniversary holiday and I just do not want to go when there is too much doubt. The hotel booked is classed as 5 star yet lots who are there/have been are saying it is not 5 star standard. 
We have decided we want to change hotel but stay with flights and transfers. The alternative hotel when looking at quotes through On The Beach with the same flights and specs is coming up for £2868 so difference is £952, but when I have tried to change via their website it is saying the change will cost us £1700, I spoke to an advisor and queried this and she said she would put the request in and waiver the admin fee which is £120. This still only makes the difference £832. We only have 26 days before we fly and the agent said it could take 8 to 10 days to get a reply so I have the further concern because their terms and conditions say you cannot change hotels within 21 days of flying. Is it possible they are delaying so that they do not need to honour my request for change?
Can anyone give me any advise on how I could get this change without costing the earth?

What has the opening being delayed got to do with anything? It's very common and many top tier hotels have been delayed. How long are you going to hold it against it? Are you going to check if a 20 year old hotel opened to the exact initial planned opening day? 

People often dont have a clue what the star ratings mean. For a start each country sets its own definitions and in several countries (inc the UK) there is more than one awarding body so a hotel may have two different ratings. Secondly, most rating scales are simple checkbox exercises about facilities. Hence on a TV programme about helping B&B owners a property went from 3 star to 4 star simply by stop using their box room as that increased the average square footage of rooms which was the only feature missing to be a 4*.

Most equate star rating to service and whilst there is a slight connection, most need hot food being available 24/7 to be 5 star, its not related to how helpful or friendly staff are or how big queues are etc. There are some extraordinarily high end 4* properties that exceed many 5* but they lack the final star because they dont have a swimming pool - something I'm not bothered for on a city break. 


Any new hotel is going to have some teething issues, same as anything new thats launched, looking at TripAdvisor its got a reasonable rating and it is currently ranked near the top of the 69 hotels in the area. Looking at the 1 star reviews many of them seem unreasonable as usual... someone complaining about the staff speaking Turkish and the local Mosque's call to prayers, its as if they didnt know they were going to a muslim foreign country?

jo.anne

I totally understand star ratings,I have stayed at 5, 4 and 3 star hotels and there are huge differences and I am aware the price also comes into it.  I also understand there are going to be teething problems but here lies the problem I did a lot of research and booked this hotel not with the idea we may have teething problems (if that was the case maybe charge cheaper) I also booked the holiday going of the picture (AI generated) which I did not know at the time and since then although this is petty the pool design has changed (no island now in the middle).
I dont want to go somewhere where there are already issues, reports of leaks, children hurting themselves on slides, things not finished, not enough sunloungers for the amount of guests. An upcomign holiday is supposed to be something to look forward too and I am not.
I also asked a question on here for respectful answers not your sarcasm MyRealNameToo.

MyRealNameToo

jo.anne said:

I also asked a question on here for respectful answers not your sarcasm MyRealNameToo.

Sarcasm (sɑː.kæz.əm)
the use of remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way

Which part do you think I was being sarcastic in? Re-read my post and can't see anything where I clearly said the opposite of what I meant?

jo.anne

Well I felt is was sarcastic....."What has the opening being delayed got to do with anything?  How long are you going to hold it against it? Are you going to check if a 20 year old hotel opened to the exact initial planned opening day? "
Dont think it was needed to state something that was clearly exagerated, like someone is going to check the exact opening day. 
I come on here for help

MyRealNameToo

Genuine question, I've never looked at the planned opening date and compared it to the actual opening date in my life. I have stayed in recently opened hotels and did so expecting there is in all probability going to be some teething issues but on the flip side you should be fairly confident that the room won't look like it needed a refurbishment 5 years ago. 

If anything the fact that they have chosen to delay rather than open it with the swimming pool not yet finished or such could be seen as a benefit rather than a problem, they seem to give at least some level of care. 

Personally for photos I look elsewhere... I'm not sure there is much difference between an AI generated image -v- an image taken 15 years ago and touched up by AI. Their own photos will always be biased and catch everything in the best light possible... the customer photos on reviews will tell you if the swimming pool is really a tranquil ocean with 3-4 people in it or full of kids divebombing and splashing. 

jo.anne

Maybe I am overthinking it as in the past there have been bad reviews for places we have booked some were not justified. 
If I had not heard so much negativity I would be none the wiser and go with unbiased expectations. But will TUI, Jet2 and Love Holidays cancelling all their booking until next year it does not give me great confidence. And rather than chance it we wanted to change hotel were we have been before and know we will enjoy. But they want too much money which is more than it is currently and more than when we initially was deciding where to stay. 
Ignorance is definitely bliss.
Thanks