Net Detective,

As we are now no longer having the pleasure of visiting the island of Kos this year, do you have any recomendations for future years. I know you would not by choice do AI, but for us, a large party, it takes away the hassle of who wants to eat where and what, which I find to be a particular problem every evening, children wanting drinks, all at different times of the day and facilities to keep everyone entertained, leaving the two females of the group with two weeks "out of life". Although, I have been a customer of FC for the last 4 years in a row and previous to that, after this experience, I would not mind having a go at booking myself.

Do they do many AI away from the main tour operators?

ctaylor
we often use med hotels they have quite a few 4 and 5 star all inc on kos http://www.medhotels.co.uk

wizard

Thanks Wizard

Just done a very quick search for this year, and could have got a 4* AI and flights for about the cost of our original booking to KABC and a lot less that FC are now costing our alternative holiday for. How far in advance do you think you can book on these sites?

Thanks again Wizard, very interesting site and very easy to use

Hi all just returned from a fab week in Kos. Not with FC I may add. After being cancelled less than 24 hours before we were due to leave and only being given one option of alternative accomodation with FC we cancelled our booking with them. Frantically rang round and found a deal to Kos at the Summer Palace which I will review on at a later time but turned out just fine. Whilst there we decided to go across and find this infamous hotel for ourselves. Hired bycles and it was about a 30 - 45 minute cycle ride from town. Cycled down towards the beach by the peripharal fence where the previous photos were taken. Most of the clearing up work regarding rubbish and building materials has now been done. Obviously the vegetation i.e. grass etc. is lacking. Got down to the beach and the security guy stopped us and told us the beach was closed. We told him we just wanted to go across the beach to join the coastal path the other side and he then let us pass. It is all very odd!! The actual hotel looks almost complete. The beach is still awful but they had tried to make some effort by putting sand down. Beach beds are all laid out and they are in the process of errecting the straw umbrellas. We approached a group and young girls and boys who were doing this and said that this looked a nice place and when was it going to open. Their reply was "nobody knows, probably 2 months but we have come out here to work and now do not have any jobs." If this hotel is not going to open for the rest of the season why would anyone in their right mind unpack and errect beach umbrellas just to have to remove them again for the winter??For those of you who are still planning to go next year in my opinion the location is poor but then that is nothing anyone didn't know from the brochure. I myself personally would not give FC one penny more.

Locals there also seem to have been left in the dark. Went and had lunch at a nice little taverna nearby and as far as the owner of this was concerned KABC was still opening this week and it was difficult to persuade him otherwise. Made some tentative enquiries at the airport and one suggestion was that the water slide pool was not deep enough and therefore deemed to be unsafe but who knows whether that is correct or not.
Could someone give me a brief update if there has been any further outcomes whilst we have been away. Thank

HI Janenmick, glad you had a good holiday in the end after all the worry and hassle. It does seem very strange that umberellas etc are being erected doesnt it? did it feel weird standing and looking at the infamous KABC empty of guests? the only other information that we have heard whilst you have been away is that FC are still not sure with regards to 2007 now, the KABC is not available for bookings with FC and Eclipse for 2007, my friend has been able to change with no admin costs, my ex hubbie who is taken my girls next July has not heard anything different as of yet, but Beth72 (think thats her username lol) has been told that they will be making a decision with regards to next year in the next couple of weeks.

Also ive noticed that now NO aqua beach clubs are available for booking next year, there were plans for one in Rhodes and one in Crete as well as Kef, Corfu and of course Kos in my April addition 2007 brochure. Maybe for once FC are realising they cannot take bookings on assumptions that hotels will be built and ready in time.

ctaylor.. now here is the funny bit, because travel agents get a discount (you may have seen a place for the t/a number and discount code) i have always been able to do a better deal through an independent t/a i usualy use phone and fly although i have used others the service has not been as good

wizard

Hi Janenmick,
Welcome home.
So glad you had a good holiday and everything turned out well after such a devastating start. Look forward to your full posting about your holiday.

As for a rest of us, well! I think most of us have now secured alternative holidays and I think in a lot of cases under sufferance, due to the circumstances of time, availability etc. One or two seem to have secured good deals and are happy with the outcome, whilst others did not seem to fare so well, as any offerings that were put on the table were consumed back into FC pockets in paying for the extra costs involved with loosing child places, early booking discounts etc etc. Been very quiet last day or so, been and said hello on my new forum (but I don't think there is anyone there) and I felt very lonely and had to come straight back to familiar ground.

Anyway other than that, no more from FC this end as to the outcome of KABC, last report was they will make a decision in a couple of month's time as to its being in 2007. Going by what you saw, its all very strange isn't it, there were posting a day or so later from SP55 that the place did seem occupied and that may be local operators were running it - don't know for sure as they seemed to go cold afterwards.

Very odd indeed

Hi there, well ive finally managed to get onto the site, We like many others were due to go to the Kos Aqua beach club in May this year but we cancelled just after it was shown on the tv and changed to Club Caleta in Fuerteventura, we had a good time but still wanted to go so we rebooked KABC again for May 2007. I went on to check how everyone got on being the first out there and was amazed to find out what had happened, its sure been a rough ride!!!With that I just thought there was no way I was going through another year of are we going?So I phoned the travel agent and asked if we could change to another holiday which they have done with no charge, we are now going to the Atlantica Princess hotel in Rhodes. It just seems the me and the KABC are not meant to be!!

As suggested and started by Debz32.

anniewinnie - CUBA - 13th July
she moans - Hotel Petra Mare- CRETE - 14th July
IreneJ - Hotel Sherwood Breezes Resort- TURKEY - 18th July
K&R - Suite Atlantic FUERTEVENTURA Resort - 19th July
tadalaja (inc ctaylor) - Blue Bay Escape - CORFU - 21st July
Debz32 - Titanic Beach & Resort Hotel - TURKEY - 11th August
mrs mel Clubhotel Rui Mambo - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - 16th August
Lockett Family - Holiday Villiage Sun Tropical - LANZAROTE - 18th August
kelly marie - Club Caleta Dorada - FUERTEVENTURA 23rd September

Debz32 hope you don't mind - thought I would tidy up.

Wizard I'm sure no one will mind if you delete the individual postings (if you are able)

ct as you are the only member who can edit your post if you run the list i will delete when i can the entries from others

wizard

Hi guys,
quick update, it would seem that Crusader2006 and me & mine, off to Hotel Petra Mare from Manchester - Heraklion (4hrs)
Fri 11 Aug 2006. Anyone else?

Have fun whatever you do,
Mandy. x

hi everyone we got our hols changed. we are going to sun tropical holiday village in lanzarote on 14th sept please can you add to your list

has anyone received their compensation yet??

my compensation had to go towards another holiday and i still had to put £426 towards it

Same with me my compensation got swallowed up with new holiday
I still have my edit button too

Luckily i found a holiday that was to same value, though still lost money as paid for flights to gatwick, and changing dates and still meant to get 20% compensation received new tickets but still no compensation!

I rebooked last Tuesday and had my compo by Friday?

They said they were rushing the KABC refunds through before normal cancellations etc....

We were due to go to the kabc on wed 12th. We found out about it all when we saw it on holiday watch dog. With there being 17 of us we cud not take any chances and had to find sumwhere else. We rang first choice to see what they had to say and they werent very helpful at all. They told us because it was due for completion on the 1st july then out holiday was still available and if we wanted to change it then we wud have to find it ourselves. We all had to get together and find sumwhere but when theres 17 of u its a bit difficult. We were on the phone to fc for hours and eventually found a holiday to turkey for £50 more per person. We refused to pay it so they got the cost down to £20 more per person. We was still reluctant but ended up paying it.

We had massive phone bills come in because of the way first choice had kept us on hold. The hotel we are now going to has now aqua park, no wave pool and no themed restaurants but we have had to pay more. nThe hotel we are goin to on thursday is Club Sun city in olu deniz turkey. Has anyone been there??

Is there anything we can do about all this???