WINTER SUN HOLIDAY WAS ECLIPSED BY SMALL PRINT
By Maisha Frost
The holiday season is here but beware when browsing through the brochures – the words in them may well contain a multitude of meanings.
Ann and Ken Golder found out to their cost booking a fortnight at the four-star Don Pablo hotel in Torremolinos on Spain’s Costa del Sol. The couple, from Scarborough, wanted a quiet resort – Ken is recovering from a stroke – and a sea view and they specifically outlined their requirements.
Ann, 69, booked the Thomson holiday through her local Thomas Cook agent. “It was only after we had settled into our room that we realised the full implications of its position, and all others on that side of the hotel – we would get no sun at all,” she explained. “While you can’t expect to get the rays all day long, it’s pretty unusual to have a balcony in permanent shade.
“But as there were rooms empty on the other side of the hotel that got full sun, I went to reception to try to change.
Several others were queueing up to do the same.” However to her surprise, and anger, she was told she could change – but it would cost £25 a week more. “If you go on holiday in February the likelihood is you are chasing some sun. I just wanted the odd hour with my book on a warm balcony but I never thought I’d have to make a specific request to get it. Sunshine is free and all the rooms I’ve known have had it at some point,” Ann protested to Crusader.
Reluctantly she paid to move to the sunny side, handing over an extra £50 for the fortnight. But it was the way the upgrade had been handled that infuriated her. “A lot of other people felt the same. Although the hotel was very good in all other respects I wouldn’t have booked it if I’d realised about the extra charge. We should have been told,” she complained.
Crusader took up Ann’s point with Thomson but the tour operator said it had done nothing wrong. A spokeswoman said: “We are sorry Mr and Mrs Golder were not fully satisfied with the location of their room.
“However it is clearly stated in our brochure that south facing rooms carry a charge paid locally.”
Peter McCarthy, senior lawyer at consumer watchdog Which? confirmed Thomson’s stand. “The couple got the service they specifically asked for, the charge was declared and when a customer signs a contract, it is taken that they have read the terms and conditions. Legally this is not misrepresentation, the charge was not imposed and therefore the Golders are not entitled to compensation. But in terms of providing clear, unambiguous information, they may feel they have not received the best customer service.”
Ann Golder has read the brochure again. She concedes she missed the key sentence and regrets it was not pointed out to her when she booked. However she condemns the way the charge was described, as well as Thomson’s explanation. “Utter codswallop,” she said. “Why weren’t they straightforward, saying ‘Your room is in the shade all day’, instead of dressing it with ‘south-facing’? I still would not have known what it meant.We are ordinary holidaymakers, not code breakers. It’s not playing fair. My advice now is, if you go to book a holiday, take
a map and a compass.”
● Which? Legal Service: 01992 822800.
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WINTER SUN HOLIDAY WAS ECLIPSED BY SMALL PRINT
11.07.07, 9:37pm
I'm not sure about the small print, but this reminds me of a holiday I took with my wife a couple of years ago.
We had a mini cruise from Venice for a four day stay in North East Corfu.
The hotel was on a hill. Little did I realize that the holtel room we were given would have a balcony that faced a rocky cliff. Even worse, it was no more than 6 feet (2 metres) from the balcony. That was our balcony view for the four days. I did try to protest via the holiday rep but, somehow, many others had formed a queue before me.
It's like the UK hotel offers we get. A popular hotel near Gloucester shows a terrific hotel frontage. What did we get? A room to the side at the very end of the building - in the attic!
Is it just me?
• Posted by: Ernest003 • Report Comment
HOLIDAY DISAPPOINTMENTS!
12.05.07, 11:13am
We once took a holiday in Hawaii with a stop over on route in Los Angeles. The hotel we chose was five star and directly on Wikiki Beach so it was all very exciting! On our arrival we were delighted with our room until we looked out of the window. Directly facing and not more than 40 feet away was a huge blank concrete wall, the side of the next hotel. Returning to the check in desk we were told the hotel was full, however, some people were moving out the next day and we were offered their room. The second room wasn't facing the beach as we'd hoped but had some wonderful views of the islands mountains which were frequently shrouded in clouds. Accompanying the clouds was the most magnificent "Rainbow"
which was one of the features of the Island. It just proves, "it sometimes pays to do a bit of complaining" as any American will tell you! alroy
• Posted by: alroy • Report Comment
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