Erm...........erm.............tough question!!

I couldnt even name five now!!!! My list would have to be......

1) Club C
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1000) Siesta

well CLUB C are cheap, Ive been with them twice and have had no real problems.. I went with them in July 2005, @Castel Montgri and was impressed with Redcrest, their coaches and accomodation, so I thought I will definately try them next year. mmmmmmmmmm

The only prob i had with Club C was an issue with my meals in a hotel.....everything else was ok.

However, when i compared the standard of journey (no hostess till london(!), changeover in the south, etc) and the general standard of the Reps, with what i had with Redcrest, i would always pick Redcrest first. Club C were ok, Redcrest were just better.....but i would have no qualms about using Club C in the future

found club c rather unpleasant as local reps dictate seating on way home and preference for spare seats given to those the rep liked and those that they knew had travelled with them before. this even included letting a family of 2 adults and one child get 3 double seats and a party of 5 get 5 double seats. the rest of us had to share as normal. this grated at time (and still does) as if you dont look after new customers at the start they dont go on to become regular customers.
their stops on route follow no set pattern and they seem to stop at odd times and without giving any prior notice. i prefer to know that next stop will be in say 4 hours or 2 hours and not "we will be stopping in 5 mins for 15 min break" and then getting same message at houly or 4 hourly intervals as it suits them.
had problems on last journey with ferris as seat pitch on normal coach is worse than charter plane journey. would only travel on platinum coach now.they also seem reluctant to keep you informed during journey. transfers in resort last time were also a nightmare as it took 4 hours from first drop off till we got off. if i'd known that in advance i would have got off and got local taxi.
maybe i'm just becoming a grumpy old man, but i have been in service industries almost all my working life, and feel that keeping clients informed is one of the basic things in ensuring their enjoyment, and reducing the incidence of complaints.
prefer to use local company who do not have many pickup points -going from their base to dover -and are local family company who look after their guests and whose coach is quite roomy without going overboard. they may not be cheapest and go to all the resorts /hotels but provide good value for money holidays.
see
http://www.gospain.biz/

How roomy is the seats? I personally dont mind paying extra for comfort... What we need is Virgin to get involved!!! Branson knows what the customers want!!

i found they had more room than club c, and were adequate for my needs being 6"3" tall.
dont know exact pitch though.

cheers I have just emailed them to ask for a Brochure

Wow! They pick up from just south of London, to Dover! Hold the bus im coming!!! Oh wait, no, that's miles away!!

I will say one thing about Club C....although i dont like the feeder coaches, at least in early season you usually get a seat to yourself all the way down to London......plus.....in early season, you will usually find that the legroom is better. The reason for this is that they are used for Snowcoach holidays in Winter, and they take some of the seats out and increase the legroom (ski equipment, etc!) but they tend not to put them back in till the busy season.....so if you go early May.....more legroom!

cidermonster,
title of this thread was who you thought were top 5 companies and i repied with my thoughts.
there are only about 10 companies who i've found do realistic holidays to the region(not just estatit camping), some who are based in south, some in north and 3 that travel from scotland.
i provided the name of one i found very good -but that not a lot of people would know about- that suits me, knowing that it wont suit everyone.
regarding travel from scotland, having lived in your area many years ago i know about the delights of travelling at a realistic price from scotland which is why i advised you (on another thread) that i'd found another company that may help you
http://www.beachclubholidays.com/index.html
who do pick up in scotland, as i checked this again last night in their 2005 brochure. maybe you can put them in your list at 999.
if others reply to this thread it may provide us all with some other alternatives/options in this area.

Take a chill pill...........this smiley means im having a joke, jeez!

As for Beachclub, nah....ive seen enough of them to know that they WOULD be at 999 in my list........they let people turn up for accommodation in Castell Montgri at the start of the season this year that they no longer had!!!!!

Hi, I aways travel with Ferris Coach Holidays, they pick up from quite a lot of places in the UK, and they do Hotels and Apartments. I have been with them for a number of years and you see many familar faces on the coaches, which suggests that many use them have used them before.

http://www.ferriscoachholidays.co.uk

Paul

i have travelled abroad twice on coaches using harry shaw and ferris . i found ferris the better of the two. harry shaw keep stopping every two hours but ferris just get on with it and get you there quicker . ferris also tended to show a better selection of films .

travelled with siesta many years ago, been with ferris three times now, no problems seem to get on with the job to get you there and back. also ferris do ten and eleven nights.

My top vote would go for Siesta.
Travelled with them many times now and only have praise for them. Great lodges, v.high spec, staff were friendly & the coach journey was very civilised. They have alot more leg room than We're used to & nice finishing touches on coach like plasma tv's & personal headsets. Booked one of their deluxe lodges for Salou next year although I'm going accom-only this time.

Tried Club C a few years back and whilst they were fine the lodges didn't have the spec that Siesta's do.
Journey was ok but a bit crowded on the leg room but I've been spoilt now so looking back with rose-tinted glasses I suppose.

That's about the lot for coach companies now as far as I know.

Siesta are fine..........until you have a problem...

I've been contacted by a few people on here (via PM) who have really struggled to get anywhere with perfectly valid complaints, and who have asked me how i got on (having read my posts about Siesta!) - To date, i dont know anyone who has been successful with a complaint to siesta....and we are not talking petty issues here, we are talking serious complaints.

The words 'fobbed off' come to mind, sadly!

They are the exceptions to the rule then.
After 16 holidays with them I've had problems come up, sure, but I but I've never been 'fobbed off' or disapointed. I've recommended them to friends and family and it's been good news all round.

That's great, Big Daddy, im glad you are happy with the company, but as you enjoy recommending them, i have always made it my personal goal to put as many people off Siesta as i possibly can, after the hassle i had with them, and i will always continue to do so. Maybe if you had been answered in the manner i had, you would feel the same.....we shall just have to agree to disagree on this one!

When i said 'fobbed off' i meant not on site - the reps were genuinely okay, although a bit disinterested AFTER they knew we had a problem - but rather, i meant the actual replies from Siesta after writing to them after returning home. I personally know another 2 people with disgraceful replies, and have been PM'd by others who have received similar treatment. Compared to what i have read on here regarding the excellent service from Ferris, or the great responses i had personally from Redcrest (RIP) when i had any problems.....it is night and day!!

Good luck though, and enjoy your hols!

I think you're right we will have to agree to differ on this one.
By the tone of your reply, I think you might have taken offence at something I said, I'll just say I meant no offence.

My posting about Siesta isn't about any misplaced loyalty. If I had a genuinely bad experience I would post it and move on but I can say I've only had the best from them and many happy memories. Sorry if we can't agree on this one.

Happy hols to you too

Sorry......Big Daddy.......i didnt take offence at all, was just trying to clear up why i felt so badly towards Siesta, that's all
However...........i was very amazed, astounded, etc......to receive a PM from Siesta earlier this evening, apologising for the manner in which i was treated by their customer 'service' chap, Mr Carroll.......SIX YEARS AGO!!! Well.......that is ALL I EVER WANTED.....a decent apology, and although i will probably never trust Siesta enough to ever book with them again, it was nice to eventually get that apology.......i never thought i'd say this, but THANKS SIESTA!