We used Thomson Hotels only to go to Majorca last year - aboslutely no problem. You do get access to a rep - welcome meeting etc. We have booked with them again for January as the price was so good.

Just bear in mind that because it is not a package you do not get the same protection as if it was a package. But so long as you have travel insurance and also use a credit card you should have no problems.

Pippa

Have you got a flight sorted yet foxy ? If you are going to do it seperately its advisable to get that sorted first and it will be the fight that costs the money im afraid . probably somewhere between £200-300 each and you you need to cost the transfers in too.

We have booked flights and accomodation seperately with thomsons ourselves . We go next week to turgutries and Im hoping everything will be ok Only have our original confirmation and receipt to say its been paid .should I be expecting anything else through from Thomsons Pippa ??? . what did you take with you ??
lyn

No, you won't get anything else. Just take the print off to show that it has all been paid.

Pippa

I've just booked a cruise with Thomsons over the net. Just before you all shout let me say that because I don't live in the UK I decided to book my own flight direct to the embarkation point, so my Thomson's part is cruise only.

Thomsons had no problems with it, the cruise seemed really good value without flights and transfers (which I am used to doing myself) and the flight element was almost half of the total price. Since then I have noticed that the price on the website has gone up for anyone doing Fly and Cruise, and that is actually quoted as being fuel supplements.

I think you'll be fine with 'hotel only' - and no rep will turn down business (ie by booking excursions) even if you aren't their 'client' because its only the numbers booked that count at the end of the day. So you CAN benefit from T's excursions and the insurance element when you are on one.

Have a great time, but don't forget adequate insurance and of course your EHIC if you are travelling within the EC.

thanks for all your replyies can i also ask then if when booking this hotel only for next June, do you have to pay it all or as other package hols can you pay a deposit & then the rest off as you would a package?
when i've looked at this hol it doesnt seem to give you a deposit price, just a total amount!

also Lyn: i have found flights with Thomson aswell, very expensive though so you are right about this costing the money! also transfers which are £ 75 for the 5 of us, our kids are 12,7 & 2, or will be next june anyway.
i havent booked anything yet though, if we have to pay it all upfront then i wont be able to do it

Pippa: do you mean to pay the holiday with a credit card? i havent got one, debit cards though.
thanks again for all of you being so helpful, i am desperate to book this hol!!!!

Thanks for that pippa

Yes that is the drawback foxy . If you are making your own package with thomson flights and acconmodation you may be able to get away with a deposit . I will tel you of my couple of experiences .

Last year I selected on the thomson site something called "the whole Sherbang" for a week in Egypt. It doesnt appear to be there anymore but it was basically a package that I built myself on their website which included transfers. It worked out a little cheaper than booking it straight as a package and it took a deposit in the normal way

also when I booked this coming holiday to turkey ,I first secured flights cheaply with aegeanflights when they first came out paying £104 per person for august which I had to pay there and then in full .This is normally the case with flights ,although XL is one flight company I know of that do take a deposit only on the web . I already knew the accomodation I wanted so waited for a good deal. Thomsons were the cheapest I could find so I went to book only to find at the last stage that full cost (£3000 for the 6 of us) had to be paid a year in advance . So I rang our local thomson shop who said they could do it at the same price with a deposit only but they would need to make a booking fee . this fee ranged from I believe around £50 that I paid extra to £90 from another thomson shop. I felt that it would of cost me more to put £3000 on a credit card for a year so I agreed to the extra booking fee and also got a bonus of FREE sea view rooms thrown in that wernt on the web

so I would give your local thomson shop a ring before booking either that flight or accomodation. Is it still working out cheaper by doing the 2 seperately with thomson.

lyn

thanks for that Lyn, yes i did consider ringing Thomson to ask them about a deposit, but got to get hubby to play ball first hes not keen on booking a holiday before having the money in full to pay it off (which will never happen!)
this is such a great deal though, to book as a package with Thomson for 2 wks it would be £5K & i can do it all (hotel, flights & transfers) for half that!!

those aegean flights sound great, saw someone else taliking about them too, i missed the boat though!

that was a result for you for this years holiday...well done!
thanks again.

Well yes I did think so at the time foxy . There are 6 of us including my eldest sons girlfriend and we have to pay 5 adult prices. we are going A/I to the aegean dream resort and the price at the time was way over 5K for 6 so I did it for £3700 including the transfers. but I have to confess not long after I booked I saw it for around £4300 with cosmos or My travel (cant remember which now) so although I still saved a few hunded if I hadnt have got those cheap flights I probably wouldnt have saved anything.

Thats an excellent price Foxy .I know from another thread you were looking for another bargain and I think you may have found it . Its getting tough finding them now . For next aug I have managed to get the Hemera in side with direct holidays at a good price . Its still £4500 but believe me that is good for 5 adults + 1 child in a hotel with excellent reviews . mostly prices were topping 6K for 2009.

yes i think it is a definate bargain, wow you're going to Aegean dream resort you lucky things! i've seen that in the brochures i';ve got & it looks fab.
yes you're right about the prices next year being expensive, we've just come back from Aquafantasy on 4 july & we paid £1857 for 2 wks, next year because my little one will be 2, its going to cost 3399, thats the cheapest price i've found so far!

when you book private tranfers or seperate transfers with Thomson like i may be if i get hubby to agree to the hol is it a mini bus? i will be worried that everyone will know we 'didnt book a package' when we get there! stupid i know, i can imagine them saying 'no you can't use this or that'!! can the kids still use the kids clubs & so forth?
thanks.

Yes of course you can foxy . It wont be any different and nobody will know how you booked unless you want to take pleasure in telling them how much you saved . I rang Thomson earlier in the week to ask about whether they arrange transfers if I wasnt on a thomson flight . they said no problem £22 each return for a minius . So at a guess I would assume if it says "transfers included" it will be the usual coach but If you are paying for a private transfer it will be a mini bus. so many people now book their holiday componants seperately nobody will blink an eyelid and the hotel wouldnt care less who you booked with . Facilities will be the same if you pay £1000 or £10000. dont worry . go for it .
I was so fasinated by the bargain you have been quoted I just looked for myself and I couldnt get your party of 5 prices for less than 3K for june in 2 rooms

If you book just the hotel direct with Thomson then you will have to pay in full at time of booking. As said previously most flights also will have to be paid in full too.

If you use a credit card for anything over £100 you are covered should something go wrong with either the airline or tour operator. You do NOT get that cover with a debit card.

I know it may cost a little more to use a credit card but many, many people have found that in the event of something going wrong it has been a blessing that they used a credit card instead of a debit card.

Pippa

Totally agree pippa credit card all the time for me now. just had holiday company go bust on us so credit card was our saviour.

Foxy,

Not sure where you want to fly from but BA fly from Gatwick to Antalya (which I think is the airport for Belek) - if booked early enough then prices are usually pretty competative. You will have to pay upfront though.

Pippa

Lyn: we have been quoted for a bungalow that sleeps 4/6, coz our 3 rd child is only 2 so will probably need a cot.
well if you do definatly have to pay all the hotel upfront we won't be going!
Pippa: yes will will be flying from Gatwick, thankyou for all your advise.

Thats interesting. A room to take 6 . did you have to phone for that bungalow quote or was it an option on the website

Yes you will have to pay if you book on-line foxy . But as I say if you ring the thomson shop they should match that price for a deposit only but will charge you a booking fee extra.

ok thanks Lyn, have to work on hubby now
when do you go ?

We go next friday . Just hoping our cheapie flights will be OK .Really dodgy flight time going out .Not until 11pm. good luck with hubby.

I just edited my post above

aah yes no the bungalow was the online accomodation, i didnt even select it, it was just what Thomson selected for us.
normallt when we price up a holiday on Thomson or Thomas cook they give us 2 rooms making it double the price but this is a bargain, i will be dreaming of it tonight!!

who are you flying with?
we had dodgy flight time on the way back from Aquafantasy, 12.10 AM & we had nearly an hour delay boarded about 1.15 AM in the end, it'll be fine, just think of the price

We fly with Turkish airline Onur Foxy .Im expecting at least a 2 hour delay .

hmm when I tried it selected 2 rooms for me . Wll go back and have another look . I like to keep a look out for 2010