Sorry I haven't been around to write, but still log in every now and then to read.
Sorry I haven't been around to write, but still log in every now and then to read.
Member since:01.02.2001
Reviews:236
Members who trust:117
I only used Airtours because they are a local company. They started off in a little shop near my home town. They have grown into a well known and large tour operator. I know at least half a dozen people who have had bad experiences with them. Back in 1995 I booked a weeks holiday to Majorca with Going Places who are part of the airtours group. The girls there were very friendly and I trusted them to find me a decent holiday. It was one of those holidays where you don't know which Hotel you are going to or which resort. We were hoping for Palma Nova or Alcudia. When we got to the airport the rep met up with us and we got told we were staying in Illetas, not too far away from Palma Nova. This is where the King of Spain has property apparently. We thought this would be ok , not that we had any choice in the matter.
Off we popped , it was about 2am and dark of course. When we arrived at the Hotel Bahia de Palma or something like that, I've forgot the name,we saw this shabby hotel which looked quite residential. We checked in at reception and went up to our rooms. We opened the door and our faces fell to the ground. For a start the Going Places rep said we would have at least a one bedroom apartment as we don't really like studios.
Well the room was so tiny, it had twin beds which one was under a desk type thing,the bed covers were all ripped and shabby. We wondered where the kitchen was and then we found it behind louvre doors. The oven had two rings which hadn't been cleaned for years. The cutlery was dirty and greasy. The balcony had one chair on it which was broken, there was no table, and as for the view there was a a massive rock formation right in front of us.
Because we had arrived so late we pulled the beds out to put them together, as we all do, and underneath was broken glass.
That really annoyed me then , I marched down to reception and asked for another room, the receptionist said no manager was there and to come back tomorrow.
I was so angry I went for a walk on my own, and found the resort was so tiny with nothing to do, there was a small english cafe down the road who charged quite high prices.
Thats it Iam not stopping here.
About 7-8am a lot more guests were slowing filling the reception with compaints of their rooms.
One woman said her bath was in the corridor, not in the bathroom. Another lady said her bath had a big hole in it and they had filled in with sealant, but has she put hot water in it , it had melted the hole again. Also quite a few of us could smell gas coming from our kitchens. One by one we rang the Airtours rep and she said there was no-one on duty for our hotel. Nobody stood for it so we made somebody come out to try and sort us all out.
We demmanded to be moved but she said all the island was full seeing as though it was April. We argued and argued but got no satisfaction, there must have been twenty people there complaining.
In the end we hired a car and set off to Palma Nova where we found a lovely apartment, and paid an extra £125 for the week. We didn't even stay a night in Illetas.
The Airtours rep visited us at our new apartment and said "How do you think I feel staying in that Hotel after leaving a four star one" Oh it's ok to put us in that then, i said we live in a nice house and wouldn't normally book anything that was dirty. he was late arriving and smelt of booze.
When we got back home I filed a compaint and within about two weeks we got offered £50 compensation. It was refused so I threatened them with Watchdog or something similar and they refunded the £125 back which we accepted.
I could go on and on about Airtours, my husbands friend had a very bad experience and that was his wedding and honeymoon. I won't go into detail as i would need to write a book.
The only good thing about Airtours is the airline.
Word of warning make sure you know where you are going first, some people do endup with nice hotels but as usual we were the unlucky ones.
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We used them a few years ago, we had no problems so must have been lucky. They were not the best, but have had worse.
belinda9 25.02.2001 09:57
Thanks Helly Belly, I know it's hot we went last March, thanks for the tip anyway.
HellyBelly 25.02.2001 00:09
I travelled with Airtours to Majorca in October and found the apartments fine, it was the flight that was the nightmare, the flight crew needed a personality transplant or something. I just hope that they are better next time I fly with them. I've just read a comment that says you are going to Tenerife next month, take plenty of sun cream, although it is windy you still burn, even at this time of the year.
Have fun, its a great place.
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Advantages: Staff try their best in a bad situation, its just a shame about the company they work for, and the flights are cheap (you get what you pay for) Disadvantages: Too many to list!
Feb 18th, 2001
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