I second what sunaddict has said.....three years ago First Choice changed our hotel only a week before we were due to go...we were happy because it was an upgrade (on paper!) ...but we found out afterwards that the hotel hadn't been used by FC for several months previously.

This happened to us with this years holiday. We booked with Thomas Cook and then all of a sudden our hotel disappeared of their website and appeared on First Choice as being exclusive to them . Queried it in the shop and they were eventually told that they had lost the contract. We wanted our deposits back but head office refused we argued that we would rather book a hotel that we chose rather than being told 2 weeks before departure and having to make do with whatever they gave us. The shop we booked in were great and really fought for us and got us our deposit back.

when do prices come out for december 2012?

Winter 2012 /2013 , will be probably 6 months , they came out last year for winter 11/12 mid December so a good while yet !

Hi need some peoples opions

I book next years holiday two weeks ago to go to a new Splash Hotel in Egpty Red Sea called the Tropicana Splash in Hurghada.

The hotel no longer appears on F/C's website, i contact the shop last week and they said they havent been told to stop selling it.
do i keep my mouth shut and just wait as i assume they would have to offer me a same standard of accomidation.

Any info would be great

is it an all inclusive holiday?

tui uk are changing their marketing next season First choice will brand all holiday villages and some all inclusive s, Thomson will brand SC/RO/BB/HB &some AI

dazznuts

Was it Hurghada or Sharm. The Tropicana Sea Beach Splash Resort at Sharm is still on First Choice website.

There's some big changes coming up for tui's Egypt program including scrapping Marsa alam and a lot of hurgagda flights

Sunaddict

It was a new hotel for 2012 The Tropicana Splash Resort in Sahl Hasheesh red sea i have booked for the start of the school hols next year 27/07/2012 paid just over £1500 for a week AI 1 Adult and 2 Children (have to pay 2 adults prices due to age of 1st child)
this hotel was indicated on the splash hotels on the website it is in the brochures but has now come off website.

Hotel Galeon, San Miguel, Ibiza 2012 - completely zapped today.
I've been dithering about booking my 2012 July hol for a while now, watching the price go up and down, hoping to catch the lowest point. But I'd picked what I wanted. I left it too long, today - it's gone.
Completely gone. Not just part of the availability, or certain airports or dates.
FC have just deleted the hotel from availability for the entire season.
Is this some sort of cutback?
Are Thomson/FC going through some sort of rationalisation of holidays?
Has anyone else seen their planned holiday hotel vanish?
Wonder what would have happened if I'd booked it yesterday.
Would they have honoured the booking, or sent me a "Dear John" letter?

Have you checked it hasnt move to the Thomson programme instead

Yes, checked. It has competely vanished. Thomson/FC seem to have simply delisted this hotel - thought they do still sell the other two associated hotels on the hill, the Cartago and the beach hotel.
They just zapped the Galeon, which is sad because they had been billing it as "adult focussed"
- ie maybe less screaming children than the other two hotels.

They cancelled their whole Costa Rica programme not just 1 hotel, a few days before we wanted to book it.

They cancelled their whole Costa Rica programme

Take heart, they cancelled all Costa Rica programme before, back in 2008.
They re-introduced it for winter of 2010, and I managed to book it and go then.
And it was a great vacation.
So maybe it will come back again.

There are plenty of other UK tour operators featuring Costa Rica but I think FC/Thomson were the only ones offering direct flights, their tour itineries looked good too. The older I get the less I like long haul, here's hoping they bring it back.

The first time they dropped Costa Rica was because of much negative feedback about the hotels...... this time its probably "rationalisation" ie couldn't fill the planes

Not happy i've been contact via the First Choice shop saying no holiday for next july isnt available the hotel they have given me as a replacement isnt what i want they have said i can change to anywhere without an admin charge but will have to pay todays prices not the price that i paid in june.
I knew this was going to happen shortly after booking the Tropicana splash resort in Sahl Hasheeh Red Sea the hotel was removed from the borcure and web site i was fobbed off by shop and then finaly told today and advise would be welcome

The Tropicana Splash resort is nowhere near completion - the troubles in Egypt in the early part of the year have put paid to a lot of the proposed hotels in Sahl Hasheesh being delayed. (I was there last week and had an in depth conversation with the General Manager of the Premier Le Reve, a sister resort to the Splash resort)
They do another Splash resort in Sharm which I believe is now completed. I would insist that you are transferred here, at no extra cost to yourselves (that is, if of course you want to go there instead LOL)
I know a lot of people have complained to Watchdog etc and there was a long thread about the delayed opening of the one in Sharm over on TA. It may be helpful for you to read this thread and see what advice was given to these customers. I read that a lot of these customers were transferred to other hotels without penalty.

Denny.53 have spoken to the First Choice shop and they have said i can change to another hotel than the one selected for me but it will be what ever the current price will be not the price i paid in june i am fuming been a FC customer for 8 eights and this is what happens i am going to the shop at the weekend i know the manager see what she can do.