Hi Hope you can help me out here!
We are hoping to get away to Menorca on the 18th July onwards for 14 days and was hoping to get a late deal. Our budget is aprox £1800 thats for me the wife and our 5 yr old . Anyway we've been having a look to see whats out there and this come up, its a half price Cosmos deal in one of there 4 star hotels on menorca. The catch is they allocate you the hotel on arrival. I had a look and they have 5 in there Brochure: Cala Galdana, Audax, Sol Gauilanes Club princess playa Hotel, La Quinta and Esmaralda. Had a look on the reviews and all but the Esmaralda seem exellent. My wife phoned up Cosmos and tried it on by saying..."The Esmaralda was a bit dangerous for our little un as the hotel is situated on a Rocky hill" and they said they can request we dont get that one ! But is that just a sales ploy! So as its a massive saving (£1300) i was going to go with it and take the chance hoping to avoid the Bad one! So should we hang out for a better deal or take our chances!
i know quite a lot of people who love the esmerelda hotel , and personally wouldnt class it aa a bad one, also its not really on a rocky hill .
if you are just going to be allocated to one of those hotels then go for it , if you are willing to take a chance , but be carefull, i used to work for a tour operator and the hotels they use on allocation on arrival is not always in the brochure, so check if the deal is named hotels, otherwise you can be put anywhere so long as it meets the booking criteria
Re the Esmaralda what i meant was the reviews was not up to scratch with the others!
As you was a T.O. maybe you can awnser this for me? If you was in my shoes should i wait until near the time and then hopefully get a good deal or book up as soon as ?
Thanks again
What price have you been quoted? 1800 is a bit steep for menorca. cosmos do some great lates, and i personally would wait! (ive been to menorca many times, quite a few were with cosmos) and i know from personal experience that their prices do come down for that week, with it being a littlew before the summer break!
Hope this helps!
Caroline & Kirsten
As for the 4 star hotels , ive not come accross anywhere in menorca where i would say not to go, obviously it is personnal choice and some people will love them and others would hate them, but i wouldnt class any of them as knightmare hotels like you sometimes see on the telly. If you are booking a 4 star minimum late deal then you cant really go wrong.
as for whether to book or to wait , there is no right answer, myself i would book as soon as the holiday i want is available. you can wait but prices of the holidays do go up as well as down, and as you are almost in peak season with july18th, there is a good chance that the flight or holiday you want can get booked up. But other people will say to wait as the price might come down.
The price of the Holiday is £1392 compared to £2558! Just been speaking to the Tel sales Girl and she said "All the hotels that are allocated are all in the brochure and your 99% certain that you'll get the Hotel you request..And could even get a 5 star"! Sounds good i may book it but before i do can you awnser this for me? As we dont really want the Esma or a Hotel in Mahon! What we would really like is a Hotel on the beach i know thats asking a lot for that price! What do you think the chances are of giving a back hander (£50) to the Rep on arrival? so as to get the one we want? Dolly as you worked for a T.O. , you must know some good ways of getting the arrival Rep to give you your Hotel of your choice! Any Hints?
also dont listen too much to the travel agent at the end of the day they are there to make commision on the holidays ythey sell, and can say anything(i used to work in one and have heard some of the stories.) We never had requests of hotels with allocation on arrival, so it really is luck of the draw no matter what they are telling you.
...So they are saying "you'll get a 4 star Hotel thats in our Brochure and 99% that we are likely to get our Hotel f choice?" Shall i take that with a pinch of salt too!
have you considered going self catering? i can highly recommend the park and lago gardens in cala n bosch, theyre a cosmos property with kids clubs etc.. and the option of upgrading to half board when you get there - the food is good too, and they are in a great location!
Caroline & Kirsten
I've just booked one of these 4D Cosmos AOA hot offers to Menorca, and I'd really be interested if anyone has been on one of these. I'd like to know if you got a hotel that was in the brochure?
Thanks.
Paulina.
to be honest with you there arent many 4* all inclusive hotels in menorca so im sure it will be one of the featured ones!
Sorry to butt in! I've just seen your messages and the ex tour operator is right...they will say anything to get you to buy!!
On the other hand, when I was young we went to Tenerife on a last minute allocation on arrival and arrived in the Golf Del Sur which was basically a stunning hotel but on a golf curse with nothing anywhere..after a day my mum complained to the rep as there was NOTHING for me and my sister to do and we were moved to another hotel, ok it wasn't as nice as the 1st, but it was fab for us as a family holiday..in Playa De Las Americas, so bear that in mind if you do end up somewhere your not happy with!
Good luck & have a fab trip..wherever you end up!!
We went to the esmeralda last year and are going again this year.We loved the hotel but it is a 3* not a 4* and it is allinclusive.
Suffice to say, you should be ok in Menorca, as i in my opinion there isnt a 'bad' resort on the island, just some that are more isolated and have less to occupy the younger members of your party.
Caroline & Kirsten
the tour operators dont look at the ages though when allocating rooms, as most of the time on the booking lists you cannot see the ages.
The only draw back to booking allocation on arrival for me, is that i usually put my little un through as an adult, (with being a single parent) as it saves me on the under occupancy if there is one applicable with it being a late - but they do try to make their money back somewhere! Luckily she is low maintenace, pool and snorkel suffices!!
would trust any allocation on arrival to menorca whole heartedly!
Caroline & Kirsten
We went AOA in june a couple of years ago with first choice, we paid 800 pounds for 2 adults and 2 kids and when we arrived they put us in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom villa with a private pool in cala'n bosch. I was panicking on the coach from the airport incase the put us somewhere awful, i honestly couldnt believe my luck. We are returning this year to a villa in cala'n blanes, but are paying a lot more this time! lol
I think with these AOA it can be just luck of the draw.
I have not been to Menorca since i was a child, and am really looking forward to a relaxing break
Further to my earlier post. We booked with Cosmos a 4D Hot Offer Half Board allocated on arrival. We paid £290 each for a week - which I thought was good value.
We flew from Bristol and ended up in the Princesa Playa in Cala En Bosc. It was a good hotel, in a nice location and the food was great! Very happy that we took a leap of faith.
Kind regards,
Paulina.
http://www.eclipsedirect.co.uk. We always get such a good deal. You can't seem to beat their prices.
We always book with Post a Reply
Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.
Similar Topics
-
Allocation on Arrival
Posted by pargaluvva in General Holiday Enquiries, Hints and Tips
-
Allocation on Arrival
Posted by pargaluvva in Greece - Corfu Discussion Forum
-
allocation on arrival ????
Posted by gerty in Egypt Discussion Forum
-
Allocation on arrival
Posted by Martin_d in Goa Discussion Forum
- Thomson Allocation on Arrival