Grotty hotel - a leg to stand on before we go?

[wingnut1]

My friend and I are due to travel to Lake Garda in June and have booked a hotel and flight with a specialist company. However, (lesson learned here: do your homework before you book!) the hotel we are due to stay in has had some bad reviews online - where do we stand with changing the hotel with the company before we go, or should we not 'jump the gun' and wait until we get there? The company had a no refund policy once the holiday is booked. Ta!

[KARL]

Assuming you have made your payment etc. through a UK office then you are likely to be subject to the "buyer beware" doctrine - which effectively means "gotcha!". However, you should not necessarily assume that you will be significantly disappointed even though someone else was, especially if that was some time ago. Be certain that you take with you the details of the offer you responded to, the actual agreement, etc. If things are not as promised then you have a reason for looking to the seller for redress. Take photographs, record incidents and names, etc. (including date and time) if you seriously intend to complain about failure to comply with the contract you made. Do remember that going in with a positive outlook is far better, whereas if you are looking for a dispute from the outset you will almost certainly pass this attitude onto others. Wouldn't you be wary of someone who is bolshie ?

[alba_26]

This happened to us, we phoned the company to ask if it would be possible to change the hotel. We expected to have to grovel, there was no problem, they changed the booking and faxed us a new confirmation.

Give them a call, so long as the hotel you want to change to is the same price or more expensive you might get lucky like us!