Hiya,

What have Thomas Cook offered you in the letter? Surely they have not just said that this is acceptable and I would have assumed that they would offer a refund if the new accomodation is not suitable.

Which hotel were you booked in and which have they changed it to? Port Aventuras own themed hotels are the only ones as far as I know with the access and I think that moving you out of that group of hotels has got to be a significant change as none of the other Salou hotels offer anywhere near the same package.

I assume that switching hotels on you would be classed a major change, especially if various benefits would no longer be available. Therefore, you would legally be entitled to a full refund. Did you ask Thomas Cook for a refund?

No, no refund offered at all..

The letter says...

All of the descriptions contained in our brochures and websites are carefully researched and the most stringent measures are adopted to ensure their accuracy. Unfortunately however the information is made available to our customers upto 18 months in advance of the holidays taking place, it is inevitable that circumstances may change as we explain in our booking conditions. It is for this reason now that we are wrinting to you.

We have been asked to contact customers who have booked to stay at the Hotel Villa Mediterranea to advise that the 'exclusive benefits' free shuttle service to the parks. the beach club, theme park and the Portaventura Express Hotels Pass are no longer available.

We would like to apologise for the necessity of this advice but we believe it is important for our customers to have the most up-to-date and accurate information as possible.

Should i require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our pre-departure services team between monday-friday 09:00 - 18:00 within 21 ays of recieving this letter.

Thats all i got in the letter!

The first question is how did you book? Online or at a travel agent/shop? Yes you do need to contact them to discuss, but if it was at a shop then go in and talk to them first.

Personally I agree, this is a major change. In the price you paid was the "freebies" By taking them out - and it may not be the fault of the TO (Hotels do withdraw things) then you are going to be faced with a substantial increase in the costs.

fwh

The letter is clearly playing on the fact that the vast majority of customers never bother or think to read the T&Cs in the booking so won't realise that such a major change would allow cancellation and refund. They're being open about the actual problem but sitting back waiting for people to find out for themselves what to do about it. Do not lose the letter!

So are they saying the hotel has had an ownership change & therefore the services have changed?

If so then that's not your problem. You booked & paid for those services. If they are no longer available then you want a refund so you can book a hotel that provides the services you require.

When did you get the letter?

You need to contact them and demand a refund as they have a cheek not to offer one really, to stay at the hotel now would be like going to a Disneyworld hotel and not being able to access the park ie a complete and utter waste of time.

The high costs of the Port Aventura complex hotels were I assumed purely based on the fact that you got the park access, without it there are much better hotels in the Salou area.

Please let us know how you get on.

I also assume that the 21 days to contact them thing is in the hope that you go over this time limit and then can't get your money back

Definitely need to speak to somebody. Are they actually saying you do not have free entry to the park though? By reading it says no shuttle - you would only need one to the Beach club, and Portaventura Express Hotels Pass (this is like a fast pass I think). Not really sure if they are actually saying no entry to the Park. I think this is unlikely as there are turnstyles in the hotel straight into the park.

Good luck.

I agree with Starry. It reads to me like the free shuttle is unavailable. I can't see where it says that free entry to the park has been withdrawn.

Thomson's website is still advertising the *Free shuttle service to the Parks and Beach Club where applicable during hours of operation.

Take a screen shot and get back to them.

Cheers Geri

Good idea Geri

Yes I agree that she need to clarify whether it is just the free bus or if the total package has been withdrawn. Should this be the case then she should get a 100% refund.
Many years ago we had a holiday booked to Rhodes and Thomsons changed the day flight to a night flight and we were able to cancel without any loss.
We did book another totally different holiday but that was our choice.

Sue

hi all....just posting to see how OP got on.....hoping she gets an email due to my posting....

Hi amigalacher .....how did things go .....it can help someone else with similar problem if we get a feedback post about how things worked out....and as I am a nosey parker Im really interested about what the outcome was.....tweetie