I took a holiday with Mercury/Sunspot last year despite the fact that the apartments in question are now being investigated by the Maltese equivalent of the trading standards for claiming to be 3* accommodation, Mercury had no intention of accepting any kind of blame!
Here is a list of the problems;
My apartment had a steep internal staircase leading down into the living area, the stair railing was broken and absolutely dangerous! breaking just about every Health and Safety rule going. This was eventually fixed (albeit inadequately, to break again later) on the third day of our visit.
The Safe door in my apartment had, had its door prised off and I seriously questioned the level of security from our rear window which was on the same level as the fire escape. The safe was not fixed during my stay
The cooker did not work properly!
The Bathroom looked third world, cracked dirty tiling and a toilet replaced and fixed with bare cement. The considerable RUST in the bath was actually painted over when I complained!!!
We had a 1 bedroom flat meaning I slept in the main area on the sofa bed, as there was no ventilation or fan there I only had an alternative to roast or sleep with the door open, imagine Paceville which is lively until 6am and you will understand why this really was a problem.
The Advertised Satellite TV did not exist, however what was left of the TV bracket and wiring(!) were still there leaving a sharp pointed piece of metal at the eye level height of my 12 year old daughter. When I complained an antiquated black and white portable TV appeared with 2 channels available - 1 maltese and 1 italian - neither english speaking.
You are able to pay a nominal amount for use of the facilities at another Hotel, but I wouldn't bother, I went to the gym once it was filthy, unsupervised and dangerous! I didn't even bother to look at the pool after this!
Seating was ripped. walls poorly painted (paint on the floor and tiles - haven't these people heard of cutting in?) and poorly fitted door frames were coming away from the walls.
the Sunspot/Mercury rep was absolutely hopeless in getting these problems addressed nice guy - wrong planet
In all honesty my complaint is not with the staff of the apartments who like all Maltese people that I met were very friendly and courtious. These apartments are old and have obviously been (badly) refurbished recently.
I visited with Mercury Direct / Sunspot and quite honestly they should be ashamed of themselves - not just for overselling these apartments as 3 star!!! but also for their inability to deal with a serious customer complaint. Given their reply I honestly don't think that they even bothered to read my letter, I was not even asking for compensation just an acknowledgment that they had got it wrong!
I will never use Mercury Direct / Sunspot again and I would suggest that anyone considering a holiday in Malta or elsewhere doesnt either!
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I've never heard of "cutting in" - am I an idiot too? ;-)
Shoka 11.07.2006 14:43
My goodness what a horrible experience to have on holiday. You sound like you need another holiday to get over this one. Are you able to get away again at all this year? Thanks for the warning.
memphisto_chick 11.07.2006 14:02
Awful. Have you tried taking your complaint thorugh ABTA/ATOL etc, there should be some recourse for this
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Advantages: Excellent value for money, excellent service, highly professional staff. Disadvantages: None! - a brilliant company... it was a pleasure doing business
susan5mith 18.10.2006 (18.10.2006)
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Review of Mercury Direct
Advantages: Excellent value for money, excellent service, highly professional staff. Disadvantages: None! - a brilliant company... it was a pleasure doing business
susan5mith 18.10.2006 (18.10.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Mercury Direct
Jul 11th, 2006
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