Portland Direct

Advantages: Everything can be done on-line, Subsidiary company of Thomsons
Disadvantages: None that I am aware of yet. but if you know of any let me know before I book

...customer from hell'. PORTLAND DIRECT This company, as you may already be aware, are the direct arm of Thomsons, and therefore you fly on the same planes, eat the same food, stay in the same accommodation and get the services of the same rep, just as if you were travelling with Thomsons or Skytours, although I haven't been on a Portland holiday, yet, I hasten to add, I assume you would get the same good service you get from their other companies, ...
...You can now book Portland holidays over the internet at http://www.portland-direct.co.uk Using their on-line search facility you input the following details: * Holidays, Price breakers or Late deals * You chose the date you want to travel right up until October 2002. * You must select an airport * You select duration - i.e. 7, 10/11 or 14 nights * You indicate the size of your party (up to 9 people) * You can select any destination, or a specific ... Read review

Advantages: Reasonable Prices
Disadvantages: None that i can think of

Portland Direct, This is a great online travel agent, we have used this method of booking holidays for some time, and have never found it to be a problem, it is very easy and simple to use. Firstly you have to decided where you would like to go, and when, after that it is all plain sailing, you just enter the details of the country you would like to visit, for example in our case Ibiza, then enter a resort in that area example Santa Eulialia (think ...
...them about changes. Also Portland holidays are a subsidiary of Thomson holidays, so you can always see how much you are saving by checking both sites for the same holiday, we did that his time and we found that by booking through Portland instead of Thomson we saved over £300, ok its not a lot of money, but its better off used as spending money. Overall I would recommend this company to all others who want to save themselves £'s on holidays, ok ... Read review

Advantages: N/A
Disadvantages: N/A

The holiday was booked with Portland Direct, which is owned by Thomson Holidays. In February 1999 we visited the one bedroomed apartments at Dunas Club, Corralejo, Fuerteventura. They came with the following facilities : microwave, toaster, kettle & fridge, telephone, TV, hairdryer, iron & ironing board. For our sixth visit to Fuerteventura we booked a week in a one bedroomed apartment at Dunas Club. On arrival at Fuerteventura Airport on 17th March ...
...Dunas Club was overbooked we would be staying in a one bedroomed apartment at Sol Las Olas, some 3km away from where we wanted to be. When we protested that Sol Las Olas did not have the facilities we had booked, Judie told us that was not a problem as they would be supplied. It was all lies!!! We ended up in a Studio, pic at http://members.aol.com/portlanddirect/view.jpg Thomson defence called this a garden view! The next day we were transferred ... Read review

Advantages: Exciting, Simple, Easy, Exciting
Disadvantages: Read the Holiday Invoice

I have used PORTLAND a couple of times now and find them simple and easy. I say an advantage is that it is EXCITING, becaused when you've finished you know, it wont be long before your going on your jolly hollidays - just like I am in a few weeks. So booking on line is easy, Portland-direct.co.uk takes you to the distinctive purple site, and they are consitent with the colouring right through to the invoiceing and tickets. When you've decided your ...
...Booking a holiday through Portland Direct is a really relaxing experience. It is so easy, quick and simple. The pages load relatively quickly (compared to some of the other sites I've looked at) and the holiday prices are very reasonable. I love booking holidays, I wish I could book a new one for us all every week. ... Read review

Advantages: Convenient booking, friendly helpful staff
Disadvantages: As with all tour operators - they are out to make money!

...have booked two holidays with Portland now, both to the Canaries and have been impressed with the friendly efficient service. Our last holiday was to one of the Princess Hotels in Tenerife and we saved about £80 each off the Princess Hotels brochure by booking with Portland. Once you have booked there is a careline which you can ring. The staff on this are very helpful, even when you ask very dumb questions which I am prone to doing! In resort the ...
...The second time we had Thomson reps who were also excellent. The only criticism I have of the second holiday was that we booked a taxi transfer to and from the airport. Coming from the airport was fine, but going back (at 4.30am...ugh) a minibus arrived...we thought this was a bit ott for two of us...it then proceeded to go all round the backstreets of Las Americas finally stopping at another hotel to pick up a family with a disabled granny. From ... Read review

Advantages: so easy, they do it all for you
Disadvantages: the holiday has to end!

...I booked with Thompson as I have used them before, and they have always been satisfactory. They dealt with everything, from flights, transport to and from the hotel, accustoming you to the hotel, you could book trips through them as well. my husban had a slight acident whilst in the hotel,and they dealt with that very well. The Hotel we stayed at was outstanding, so clean, the food excellent, the holiday rep was around every day, she saw to everything, even arranged our taxis for us. It was quite a long journey from the airport to the hotel, and she even made that good fun! Some reps I have met on other holidays were useless, in my opinion, just wanted to enjoy themselves and not worried bout you enjoying yourselves. I will never forget the holiday at Hotel Belcekiz, I think Thompsn & Portland Direct are the only 2 companies you can... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Competitively priced and generally honest brochures
Disadvantages: Beware last minute hitches on early bookins

...and her friend on what is traditionally the cheapest week of the year to travel, before Christmas - total cost with Portland (Direct arm of Thomsons) - £644, cost with Airtours - £1,200 - I know where I will be putting my money. ACCOMMODATION Thomsons generally tend to have a monopoly on accommodation located near to resort centres, which as a 'townie' I appreciate. (I have found First Choice, JMC and Airtours have a large percentage of their accommodation away from the resort). I am also always amazed when reading descriptions on the same accommodation from a variety of tour operators to find that the same beach and resort centre can be anything from 400m to 1km away. BRITANNIA Their airline 'Britannia' to be comparable to any scheduled airline (see separate opinion under airlines). On the one occasion we found the holiday did not in... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Hot, relaxing, sunny, clear water, lots to do
Disadvantages: Can't think of any

..., water skiing, para-gliding and more. If you take a walk to the North of Es Caná you will find Cala Nova and Cala Leña which lead to very relaxing and restful shady spots to take in the beautiful coatline. If you head South you can walk to Santa Eulalia past Cala Martina and S'Aramassa and take in the wonderful views of the Mediterranean. Es Caná is also famous for it's Hippy Market which takes place every Wednesday in the grounds of Club Punta Arabi between the months of May and October. There are always good parking facilities, but the bus is recommended during the high season as there can be a lot of traffic. It is not a long walk to the Hippy Market from Es Caná and only took me and my boyfriend about 20 minutes to walk there. Tour Operators that go to Es Caná are Thomson, First Choice, JMC, Thomas Cook, Portland Direct, Cosmos... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful