Golden Sun

...I had never heard of Golden Sun Holidays before now and it was only by chance whilst booking online that I came to book with them.

*THE COMPANY*

Golden Sun Holidays are part of The Golden Sun Leisure Group who also runs similar holidays under the name Airglobe Holidays. Until recently their two main areas of holiday expertise were Greece and its Islands, and Cyprus. They have now added to that list Portugal and Croatia. ...
...great money saver. All the Golden Sun reps were there and they made sure we had a good night and they weren’t pushy if you didn’t want to try pole-dancing! (Again, another review completely!)

Here are a few prices of the trips: (approximate in £)
Day trip to Rhodes town ~ £7.20
Day trip to water park ~ £7.20
Island tour by coach ~ £27.20
Castaway cruise along Island ~ £26.40

We were told ... more

Having just returned from a very relaxing holiday in Rhodes I think this is the best time to report on the tour group that made that holiday possible. I had never heard of Golden Sun Holidays before now and it was only by chance whilst booking online that I came to book with them.

*THE COMPANY*

Golden Sun Holidays are part of The Golden Sun Leisure Group who also runs similar holidays under the name Airglobe Holidays. Until recently their two main areas of holiday expertise were Greece and its Islands, and Cyprus. They have now added to that list Portugal and Croatia.

The company is a member of both ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) and ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s Licensing), who both run checks on the company itself to ensure travellers don’t get ripped off or stranded without help. This is great peace of mind for those unsure of the company, and their website fully supports this by asking you to check their membership, they even provide the link!

*THE WEBSITE*

I found their website easy to find your way around, the homepage has a list of their destinations; a quick search box for finding a holiday to suit you; a place to ask for their e-mail newsletter which sends you their up to date deals; and they have their deals scrolling slowly up the side of the page.

The site gives you general information on your destination and accommodation without bombarding you with too much unnecessary information. It tells you everything that’s included and you have the option to download pages from their brochure to see pictures of the hotel.

You can book online or if you’re like me and prefer to talk to a sales consultant first to make sure the details are correct you can phone their number at the top of each page. The sales consultant was very friendly and helpful, she didn’t come across as stressed either when I kept asking for specific details on the insurance! Well, you can never be quite sure what you’re covered for!

*PAYMENT*

If you pay online or by telephone they accept most credit cards and if you are booking more than six weeks before the holiday you can pay just a deposit; then pay the rest nearer the time.

*TICKETS AND DETAILS*

Once everything was booked and paid for the tickets arrived about 10 days later, which is quite a long time but everything was correct on them which is a surprise for me as I have a rather unusual surname which gets spelt wrong often!

*THE AIRLINE*

I know they don’t run the airline but I may as well tell you they flew us to Rhodes with Excel airways, which had no problems and delays.

*THE ACCOMODATION*

I find the major test with a tour operator/travel agent is judging whether the details in the brochure are as accurate as they truly are in real life. Many of you will have been on a holiday where the brochure glosses over some of the main points of a resort, for example that to walk back to the hotel you must be extremely fit as it is situated on the steepest hill you have ever seen!

In the brochure it does say the ‘Rodos Star’ in Afandou, Rhodes is on a hill and they do not recommend it for people with walking difficulties, but what about us smokers that get out of breath walking to the car? I know it’s all self-inflicted and many of you will have no sympathy, but I swear it was at an angle of approximately 60 degrees in places! Although staggering up it when you’ve had a few was quite amusing, but I’ll save that for another review!

That aside the hotel was exactly as described; it’s a family-run hotel with clean rooms and excellent facilities. The brochure picked up on the fact that the safety deposit boxes and air-conditioning were at a small charge so there were no hidden costs for us.

The distances to the beach and town centre were accurate enough, although the website got the time to the town wrong, it was five minutes not twenty-five, but the brochure was correct. The transfer time from the airport was slightly out by about 10 minutes but that was due to a check-in delay at one of the other hotels, not the company.

The picture in the brochure did not do this hotel justice, there was no clever photography needed, just a lovely place.

*THE BULLETIN BOARD*

As soon as you enter the hotel the bulletin board is the first thing you see. Situated in the entrance the board has all the information you could possibly need during your stay; emergency telephone numbers of doctors, dentists, police, etc; departure times; information on local trips with the company; days and times the representative is at the hotel, or if you can’t wait they leave you with their mobile number.

*THE WELCOME MEETING*

The representative was a lovely lady by the name of Charmaine who had been working in Afandou for four years, and it showed as she was a bottomless pit of information and handy tips. On the coach when we arrived she had given us a welcome pack with information on the area and a handy map. There was a booklet on their trips and prices which we had a day to contemplate.

Obviously the meeting is mostly about her trying to get us to buy their trips, but she wasn’t pushy at all and even pointed a couple in the direction of the local bus-stop as they had a budget and couldn’t afford their trips.

Trip-wise my sister and I weren’t interested, preferring to relax on the beach all day, but because it was out of season there was a special offer on a pub crawl in nearby Faliraki, so we thought, why not? (It cost us about £2.20!) We got a free T-shirt and loads of shots so it was worth it for a laugh. Our rep arranged for us to share a taxi with two other girls from the hotel which was a great money saver. All the Golden Sun reps were there and they made sure we had a good night and they weren’t pushy if you didn’t want to try pole-dancing! (Again, another review completely!)

Here are a few prices of the trips: (approximate in £)
Day trip to Rhodes town ~ £7.20
Day trip to water park ~ £7.20
Island tour by coach ~ £27.20
Castaway cruise along Island ~ £26.40

We were told by others who went on them that they were a good day, but slightly overpriced, which from my experience is usually the same everywhere if you book with the company. Most find it more cost effective to arrange their own by bus or by car.

*DEPARTURE*

As I mentioned earlier the times for the coach pickup for departure were on the notice board and the rep made sure we all understood where to look, so being ready for the correct time was easy. There were no delays with the coach and the reps were very helpful at the airport when trying to make sure we knew where to go. They even arranged for an elderly couple to be checked in first so they could avoid the crowding.

*OVERALL*

Due to the fact we had no problems it’s hard to say whether the company would be value for money under pressure. Our holiday was a last minute cheap deal, and at £200 each it was totally worth it.

The only two things I myself thought were wrong with the holiday in all were the hill as I mentioned before, and the fact that on the coach on arrival the rep didn’t point out where the town was. Even though we had a map it wasn’t much good to us as it didn’t have our hotel on it. It took us a few wrong turns and asking a passing couple to realise we were walking in the wrong direction! It would have made it easier if the rep had just taken that extra minute on the coach just to point out which direction it was. However, those are small things (well, the hill certainly wasn’t) compared with the fun and relaxation we had in general.

Even though we got a bargain I have been looking at the normal prices for that time of year and they’re not too high, so anyone wanting to book in advance rather than wait for a deal would not be disappointed with the holiday we had, it included breakfast which we weren’t looking for but it was a nice surprise.

I recommend Golden Sun Holidays to anyone who wants to save on their holiday, some accommodation may be basic but to those who, like us, just want a clean, friendly place to rest their head of a night, you’ll not be disappointed.

*USEFUL INFO*

The website is located at goldensun.co.uk where you can find all the info you need, or you can download pages from the brochure.

Alternatively telephone 0870 708 5666

 

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