Having booked our holiday at Lara Beach Hotel through Thomas Cook/Airtours we were given a Family Room ( AI ) for £2,495.
Having read reviews about the Family Room being too small ( 4 of us all in 1 room ) we e-mailed the Hotel.
Ali the manager replied " We would like you to know that there are three family room type in our hotel as 1- Large standard rooom ( 1 dbl bed + 1 single bed + 1 sofa bed in one room) ,2- Family room ( two seperate rooms with a door between) and 3- duplex family room (Two seperate rooms as up and downstairs with seperate bathrooms)."
As we booked with Airtours the manager has confirmed we have type 2 Family room which Airtours do as standard.
However if we had booked through Thomson we would have been offered type 1 as standard at £3,748
and to upgrade on the Thomson website to type 2 would have been a whopping £1,064 extra making it a total of £4,812
a difference of £2,317 for the same holiday at the same time of year ( 6 April 2010 ). Type 3 would be £1,845 extra ( total £5650 ).
Thomson seem to have this option for room upgrade on all summer bookings on their website for this hotel making it more expensive
than other Travel Agents. If you have to book this hotel through Thomson get an upgrade through the hotel or ask Thomson to do a price match. I hope this helps.
i'l second that..we used to always go with thomson as they were always cheaper where we are. i wonder if different shops have different pricing?
From previous experience I ahve always found Thomson to be one of the more expensive tour operators. You really are paying for their brand name. With so many of the smaller tour companies going out of business in past few years people seem to be willing to pay through the nose, to go with the big boys and Thomsons seem to be exploiting this to the full.
For example the Kleopatra apartments in Icmeler with Thomson for 2 weeks in May are £360. With a smaller company i have booked with, they are £170 for the same holiday. This is not an isolated incident its the same with the majority of thier holidays. Now I dont mind paying slightly more for a Thomsom holiday but not more than 100% more
Stewart
For example the Kleopatra apartments in Icmeler with Thomson for 2 weeks in May are £360. With a smaller company i have booked with, they are £170 for the same holiday. This is not an isolated incident its the same with the majority of thier holidays. Now I dont mind paying slightly more for a Thomsom holiday but not more than 100% more
Stewart
Thomson are ripping the UK holiday makers off.
I have been on their tiu Germany ( still Thomsons ) website and have done a price comparison for Easter 2010 for a family of 4 at the Lara Beach Hotel.
The tui Germany don't put a family of 4 Germans in 1 room, that is reserved for the British.
The Germans will only pay 3,000 EUR ( £2,690 ) for a 2 room ( Family Room ).
While the British pay £3,800 for a 1 room ( Family Room ).
Why do we have to pay more than the Germans?
I have been on their tiu Germany ( still Thomsons ) website and have done a price comparison for Easter 2010 for a family of 4 at the Lara Beach Hotel.
The tui Germany don't put a family of 4 Germans in 1 room, that is reserved for the British.
The Germans will only pay 3,000 EUR ( £2,690 ) for a 2 room ( Family Room ).
While the British pay £3,800 for a 1 room ( Family Room ).
Why do we have to pay more than the Germans?
Another example of rip off Britain. Unfortunately we Brits as a rule tend to simply moan about things but dont actually doanything about it
Stewart
Stewart
I now always book DIY,when I know when and where I want to go I spend a lot of time looking on so many websites,but it always pays off in the end,so much difference in prices for the same places!!. 
diy is not everyones cup of tea and there is always that fear of not being covered with atol or abta bonding but i don't know of many that have had bad dealings most owners are trustworthy :sun2, well i would like to think so anyway
I would not do DIY purely because there has been so much upset with airlines etc going bust, you stand a far better peace of mind with an ABTA bonded package deal purchased with a credit card.
Lisa
Lisa
I was considering a diy for this year but the mrs wasn't happy doing it, so i ended up finding a deal with holidays 4 u, we had a great time and booked with them again for next year, we could not have got a diy for the price we paid.
as i said earlier its not everyones cup of tea until they try it once and they then never seem to return to the good old package deal but for some it just seems easier to pay t/o then have it at one resort with high priced t/o excursions 
I was VERY nearly about to go D.I.Y for this year
Had all our flights priced and had arranged price for apartment with the manager who is a friend
So glad i never,cause i nearly booked the flights with Globespan 2 weeks before they went down
So now we have booked with Thomson,always used to go with direct holidays thomas cook etc.
But Club Turquoise can only be booked with Thomson this year
Had all our flights priced and had arranged price for apartment with the manager who is a friend
So glad i never,cause i nearly booked the flights with Globespan 2 weeks before they went down
So now we have booked with Thomson,always used to go with direct holidays thomas cook etc.
But Club Turquoise can only be booked with Thomson this year
I booked through Freedom Direct last year and if you believe all their bumf they were ABTA bonded etc. When they went down the pan it quickly became apparent that the ABTA bond was not worth a toss. ABTA did not want to know and were no help whatsoever.
I have DIY this year and for 2 weeks in May paid in total £432 for 2 adults in an apartment in Icmeler. As long as you pay by credit card and I also have insurance, this should give people peace of mind.
As a matter of interest if I had booked the aprtments with Thomson, this would have cost around £380 alone for the aprtment, still got to pay for flights and transfers. Still each to their own
Stewart
I have DIY this year and for 2 weeks in May paid in total £432 for 2 adults in an apartment in Icmeler. As long as you pay by credit card and I also have insurance, this should give people peace of mind.
As a matter of interest if I had booked the aprtments with Thomson, this would have cost around £380 alone for the aprtment, still got to pay for flights and transfers. Still each to their own
Stewart
I think I will try DIY next time.
It really does pay to research a holiday destination and hotels and that is why websites like Holiday-Truth is so important.
I don't think you can just go by reviews alone as everyones experience is different.
We all love a bargain and it may take hours to trawl the web for the ideal holiday and then
read up on this and that but hopefully it is worth it in the end.
With the money I have saved I think I will look for another holiday
now where is my bargain laptop............
It really does pay to research a holiday destination and hotels and that is why websites like Holiday-Truth is so important.
I don't think you can just go by reviews alone as everyones experience is different.
We all love a bargain and it may take hours to trawl the web for the ideal holiday and then
read up on this and that but hopefully it is worth it in the end.
With the money I have saved I think I will look for another holiday
now where is my bargain laptop............
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