We've booked to go to gumbet with vision holidays, my mate went with them in june she reckons they were ok however im a little dubious after reading these threads. however they are part of the TTA (travel trust association) who say that a complaint can be lodged with them or to trading standards, probably worth trying. hopefully i won't need to go there.

http://www.traveltrust.co.uk

mish

i have rceived 75% of my holiady back incompensation it took me a year.
i went through arbitration , vision holiays kept me waiting for payment but have just received it today .keep all the evidence you can if you go down the road of arbitration as they accused me of beingfraudulent, .

This is a letter written to Vision Holidays after a terrible holiday, be warned the company does not have a clue...

19/07/2005
Booking Ref - 19342F

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you with regards to our recent holiday to Turkey that was booked with yourselves. My partner & myself booked to stay at the 5* Club Green Platan & on arrival at Dalaman Airport we joined our transfer bus for the journey to the hotel. After dropping everyone off in Marmaris the mini bus stopped & the two reps & driver got out & instructed us we would be finishing off our transfer by car. We where then put in a battered, old Fiat Punto & where taken on what we thought would be a 20 mile transfer from Marmaris, in fact the journey took 80 minutes with the driver having to be woken up many times. We arrived at the hotel & where very impressed by the reception area & after such a long journey we like what we saw. The baggage porter took us to our room which was not in the hotel but part of a series of brown buildings, he quickly opened the door & left, it was no wonder he left so fast the room was a disgrace

1) The shower door was missing from the shower & left on the bed with the broken frame left on the battered bedside cabinet.
2) The soap from the last guest was left in the bottom of the shower.
3) The last guest's feaces was still all around the toilet.
4) Pictures where missing from the walls showing just how filthy this room was.
5) The balcony looked on to the wire covers for the tennis courts.

My partner left the room to go to reception to complain, this was meant to be a 5* hotel but the room we had been put in resembled something I can only imagine a squat looking like. Mr. Herring was told to go back to the room to get the cases & then return to reception, which we did. Left sat in reception for forty minutes we again asked about our rooms & where told they where dealing with other complaints. Eventually we where shown to another room in the actual hotel itself but not off the hotels corridor, no to get to this room we had to go through the "Staff Only" door, past the staff lift. The room looked like it had not been used for years,
1) The carpet was covered in stains.
2) The mini bar was empty (the hotel rooms where advertised to have mini bars)
3) The bathroom was dirty especially the shower.
4) The bathroom door did not close properly
5) The double bed had been put in front of the double wardrobes so the bed had to be moved to get in the wardrobe.

Again we went down to reception to complain about the disgusting room & where just left stood at reception. We then phoned Vision Holidays number in Marmaris & were told the manager would call reception & speak to us & the manager, this never happened. On hearing us complain another English guest informed us a rep from Vision Holidays was in the bar area. We went to see him & found a large group of people all complaining about the hotel. The rep was absolutely clueless, his only reply to our complaint was that "it happens all the time" He didn't seem interested in anything we had to say & said he could do nothing & we should keep trying to contact the Vision Holiday Manager. Every time we called we where told he was not in yet (this was 11.15am) we then called Vision Holidays in the UK. The lady we spoke to sounded very helpful & told us she would contact the Vision Holidays Manager & sort it out. After 45 minutes we called again to be told he was on his way to the Green Platan to see us. Whilst on the phone one of the other guests was speaking to him, so he was not on his way so we called him again to be told we would be moved but only to a 3* hotel in the center of Marmaris. We had booked The Green Platan because it was advertised as 20 miles away from Marmaris & 5* All Inclusive, but as this was far from a 5* hotel & 85 kilometers from the nearest town we opted to move along with 12 others. On leaving the hotel I spoke with the hotel manager to see if he could explain the rooms & the disgrace they where in & he just kept answering "Well" with crossed arms. I pointed out that he obviously had a different idea of standards to us & we would be taking this further on our return to the UK, his reply was it would do him a favor"¦
The mini bus arrived over an hour later to take us to the Ayderia Hotel. The Ayderia Hotel was a nice, clean hotel with very friendly staff but not what we had paid for, we had paid for
1) A 5* Hotel
2) 24 Hour drinks (the Ayderia finished drinks at 11.00pm)
3) Nightly Entertainment (the Ayderia had no entertainment apart from one night when they had bingo, which you had to pay to participate.)

As a result of the move of hotels & facilities we where forced to go out every night for entertainment when we had booked The Green Platan because it was advertised as the whole package we wanted. At the Ayderia we where told to ask for a complaint form to fill in to take back to the UK with us & so one night we saw a Vision Holiday rep from England in the Ayderia reception & asked if she would drop one off for us, she noted our names & said she would get the hotel rep to do it, this never happened. So on another night we asked another Vision Holiday rep to do the same this was a tall, thin guy with long curly hair, he replied they had run out of complaint forms & laughed

The whole holiday experience was an absolute joke. The hotel we had booked was a disgrace, the reps for Vision Holidays obviously didn't care about their guests never even giving so much as an apology, the brochure is wrongly advertising the Green Platan as being 20 minutes from Marmaris when really it is 85 kilometers away. We had to spend money going out at night for entertainment & had to purchase drinks after 11.00pm. I am therefore looking to be compensated with a full refund of £601.80 for the holiday. We have exchanged addresses with the other guests who moved, as I am sure you will be hearing from them in due course.

I hope this matter will be sorted out promptly without me having to take any further action & I await your reply.

Yours Faithfully

Andrew W Miller

It is now 28days since i complained to Vision about the Green Platten hotel and i have still heard nothing. I was wondering if anyone had a copy of anything printed to say that the Green Platten was being sold as a 5 star unfortunatley we took their word for it and being the buggers they are they have changed their website to show it is a 4 star which it still isnt.

I am worried that if i take it further not having anyrhing on paper will cause problems.

Hi Miller1, your experience sounds exactly like mine when we went to Club Green Platan in July. I sent Vision a complaint letter at the beginning of August but have heard nothing back yet.

Sazygreen - I noticed that the gits had changed it from a 5* to 4* as well but if you look at their online brochure on the Vision website Green Platan is still stated as 5* there. Maybe you could print that off. Better do it quick though before they realise and change that too!

Nikki xxx

I have been in Turkey on holiday for 5 years. I used vision holidays for the first time in May and would definitely not use them again. We had to wait 2 hours for our transfer to what we were told was a 5* hotel Memosa, I question this, more like a 3*. It was 95% German and we were full-inclusive for one week. We only ate in the hotel and spent most of our time in Gumbet. Did not avail of free drink or evening entertainment at all, the staffs first spoken language to us was German. On our last day, we had to pay to keep the room for an extra day, even though we were to be lifted for the airport around mid-night. Our transfer was late lifting us (more than 1/2 hour) and the hotel manager said the previous night, no-one came, so he arranged a taxi for what they told us would be £25. We did not want to miss our flight. It cost us £76 and we were really annoyed. We wrote to Vision who are still dealing with our letter (3 months). I will never use Vision again. Stick with Airtours, when they say 5* they mean it and when you have already paid for transfers, you do get lifted. This has left a nasty taste of Turkey in my mouth, previously I could not get enough of the place. It has got so expensive to shop/eat and socialise in Gumbet also.

Please take note anyone reading this - please don't ever use First Choice. We feel if you complain about your holiday they think tough luck. They doubt what you tell them and make you feel like banging your head up a brick wall.

*Edit to remove possible libellous comment - Glynis*

I would not use this company again.
When we got to the airport the rep told us to get on the bus, when we got to marmaris the driver did not know where to go. He did not speak english so after 2 hours driving (should have only taken 1.5 hours) i rang the rep up and told him what was gonig on. He said and what the f*ck do you want me to do about it. I said to him your our rep you should help us. He put the phone down, after another 2 hours driving round in circles we finally got to our apt. We rang England and they said make a complaint. The manager of the rep said i will send the rep to you. When he finally got to us 2 hours late we advise him how rude he was and that it was not acceptale, he said i will pay for you to go on a boat trip to say sorry for what i said and did. We never saw the rep after that, he wouldn't even come and see us with a complaint form that we need to make a complaint.
When i got back to england i sent a complaint letter to the head office. It has since been 5 weeks with nothing back, they have told me 4 times over the phone that they have sent a letter to me and that 2 people have left the complaints department so there behind of everything...
PLEASE IF YOU WANT A GOOD HOLIDAY DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

**Edit - to remove bold - Sarah**

We have just been on a last minute Vision Holiday. It was cheap so you have to realise that fact but really no excuses for not being picked up at airport. We fortunately had taken the hotels phone number. They were NOT expecting us but fortunately had space and sent a car for us. However we spent over 3 hours at Dalaman Airport trying to sort things out and then were anxious all week in case we didn't get the return transfer.
The local Vision rep in Turkey wasn't aware of our presence either so a botch up somewhere.

I will contact Vision but reading previous posts don't hold out much hope.

John Ledwood

Im so glad to hear that other people have had such bad experiences with vision holidays. Vision cancelled our flight home with less than 24 hours notice......
Unfortunatley we had to get home within 48hrs of our proposed flight as my boyfriend and I had to go to our graduation. We had just spent the last 5 years studying to become doctors and we were not prepared to miss it! Vision were increadibly unhelpful and unable to offer us an explanation for the flight cancellation. All they could offer us was a flight home to manchester 72hours later and then a bus to glasgow from there.....which would mean we would gethome a day late. The rep refused to come and see us and the rep and his manager were extremely argumentative on the phone.
Subsequently we spent the last night of our holiday on the internet and on the phone to the uk trying to get flights home. We managed to sort flights out, with the help of my parents in the uk. We had to get 3 flights to get home and it cost us £400 each plus £100 on the phone! Which was more than the cost of the holiday!
We wrote to vision and included all our tickets etc and now 4 months later are still waiting on acknowledgement of our letter, an explanation for the flight cancellation and compensation. This is despite regular phonecalls.
This whole experience has totally put me off turkey and i never want to go back. I just hope we get some money back and an explanation!!

Myself and my partner booked up to go to turkey with Vision. The worst mistake! Hotel was dirty, food was horrible, staff were unhelpful, hotel was not as described. Transfer from airport was very frightening stopped twice by police! Driver stopped in a petrol station got out and lit up a cigarette! We were unable to complain during the holiday as the Vision holiday board had no information on it, and the so called rep was not contactable.

On the final day of our holiday we sat at the hotel poolside and noticed a two young women getting more and more annoyed at this guy that had been hanging around the bar as he began to play with their youngster and was getting closer and closer to the pool. The guy was drunk as he had been sat at the bar for a long time firing back the beers. Later that night waiting to be picked up we got talking to fellow holiday makers who were all talking about this guy (will call him Joe for reasons to be explained) Anyway one lady was getting very angry discussing how her two teenage kids had been offered drugs from this guy named Joe. We had been given a brochure from vision which had the name "joe" as our rep. we suddenly clicked the drunk was our rep!

When we returned home we sent a letter of complaint to vision detailing the aspects of the package which were substandard. We also mentioned our concerns about the Rep.

One month later we received a letter which basically said they had never had a below average complaint record for this hotel! (we must be the only people they have sent to it) not one person in that hotel was happy but at least they had a rep to help them.

Vision also stated in there reply that our hotel was advertised on there website as basic, and what did we expect! We paid over £800 for a week. I can honestly say that if someone were to pay me £800 I would not go near the hotel. Vision also told us that our accommodation was £9.85 per day. They also told us that in fact to quote "Vision holiday has now passed your file onto its own legal services department for legal consideration!" because of our unsubstantiated claims about their rep. So if anyone was at the pigale panorama from the 18th to the 24th of October 2005 and saw what we saw please post a reply.

We have just put this down to experience but beware if you intend travelling with them there are better firms offering just as good deals.

I went to Lara Beach - IC Green Palace, with Vision Holidays, This is a 5 star - De luxe all inclusive hotel.

The hotel was truly amazing, I have stayed in many hotels throughout the world, and this has to have some of the highest standards I have ever seen. We were the only British in the hotel, but because of this the staff went out of there way to accommodate us, as they do not like the Germans or Russian guests!!! This suited us as we wanted a quiet relaxing special time away and this really was the most relaxing week, I have ever had away from home.

Vision, picked us up from Antalya airport, in a Luxury Mercedes, with individual air craft style seats. We did not carry any of our own luggage. When we got to our hotel, we were taken care of by the hotel staff, and shown directly to our room.

When we wanted to go on a trip out, we phoned Vision's Turkish partner and A tour guide and driver picked us up in a private car, and took us to all the sites, all this for £20, amazing.

On the day of departure, we were sent a fax from Vision, informing us what we must do on departure and when we would be collected form the Hotel, again excellent service.

Overall We could not complain, it was excellent service.

We booked last years holiday with Vision, but, before we actually booked the hotel, we found out what we could on HT's and othere web sites.

Nowadays I always check the hotel on the internet whoever I am booking with.

We had a very good holiday, booking with Vision, good transfer from the airport, and a nice rep. if we needed him.

All that was thanks to Briar, Mel and HT's forum on Turkey. We found our favourite Hotel in Bitez.

So my advise is, check on the internet. Find out other peoples experiences, and take it from there.

Mike and Marn.

just to let you all know, just had a week in turkey booked with vision holidays not one problem i would recommend them and will use them in the future.

I have just returned ( 13 hours ago ) from a " 4star " holiday booked through Vision Holidays to Altinkum. I felt it was necessary to write as soon as possible in the hope that it deters other people from staying at the hotel I have just come away from.

I booked online through Teletext Holidays ( have used them before - no problems ) to stay at the YAGMUR Hotel-Appartments in Altinkum. This was advertised as 4* although when I checked on the Visionholidays website this morning it is now 3*.

The room we were initally allocated had a shower that didn't work,a toilet that didn't flush, excrement in the toilet, ON the seat AND down the pedestal, and a " kitchen area " on the balcony(!?!) Our Rep. was unavailable to speak to, and the reception staff were unable to communicate effectively - I think they had " selective " English skills. They were fine when they were taking our money but didn't seem to understand complaints. After 2 hours & 3 room changes the manager moved us to a self-contained aprtment which was bigger but no cleaner. My friend & I bought cleaning supplies & cleaned the rooms ourselves. We paid for Air-Con but when we inserted the electronic key it didn't work & were refused a refund from the manager. Our Rep. did not help, or obtain a refund for us.

The swimming pool is inches away from the public walkway & the unmade dirt road outside the hotel. Anyone walking along or driving through can see directly into the pool/sun-loungers. You cannot see this fact from the photos on the internet.

We flew with ONUR AIR and they did exactly what they were paid to do - there were no delays, the flight was comfortable ( basic, comparable to Easy-Jet ) and I have no complaints about their staff or level of service.

I have emailed Vision Holidays this morning, although looking at other postings on this site I am not holding out much hope for any kind of resolution or compensation.

I have been to Turkey ( Marmaris ) and my friend has been to Side, Gumbet & Olu Dinez with no problems in the past. I have NEVER experienced a hotel like this is any country, and it beggars belief that they are still allowed to take people to a health hazard like this. Please do not waste your money - book with another travel agency and go to another hotel.

Arriving at Dalaman we were informed by the rep that met us that the Cypriot Hotel in Hisaronu had overbooked and we were instead going to the St Nicholas Grove, which they said was of a better standard. This was as you might expect met with some sceptism.
The transfer was quick and efficient.
As it turned out the hotel was excellent; clean and tidy with very good staff, nice pool, generally quiet but very close to town.
Friends who were due to arrive two days later, also staying at the Cypriot, had their flights changed twice and Vision gave them, without prompting, two extra nights free of charge as a sweetener. They also were able to move to the same hotel as us so we were all together.
The rep was reasonabbly good, he sold trips but was not pushy and actually advised which ones to give a miss.
As for the Cypriot? We went on a trip and picked up passengers there. It looked ok from the outside but the location and general layout did not look as good.
All in all, I have no real complaints about Vision, where things did not go smoothly they sorted them to our advantage.
We hadn't booked meals on the plane but we turned out to be travelling on a 747 and everyone was given a meal so that was a bonus, although nothing to do directly with Vision.

They cetainly have no customer service and ignor their own booking conditions as and when they feel like it. It is nigh impossible to get a reply from customer service.They ignor fax and email and charge 087 number rates keeping you hanging on for 20 minutes+and then you get through to the sales department who will not transfer your call and cannot help. You cannot talk to a manager. They changed my day flight to a night flight at less than a weeks notice and refused to get me on an earlier flight saying there was no availability when the flights are advertised as available on their web site. Talk about furious. But they have your money and that is it. AVOID THEM!

Warning for all Scottish holiday makers. This company is not ABTA bonded. Spend a few more pounds and go with a company who are ABTA bonded.

My partner and I were refused boarding to our return flight to the U.K. in July of 2006 because our names had not been included on the flight manifest sent to the airline by Vision Holiday. We spent 12 scary hours at Dalaman Airport with no holiday representative at the airport before we could board flights that we organised with grave difficulty.

Please see penultimate paragraph for why I have a special warning for Scottish holiday makers.

When we returned to the U.K. I asked V.H. to reimburse me for the outlay on flights. Only that. They wouldn't pay it and in September of 2006 said they were conducting a full investigation and would return to me. They have instigated no further communication since. To say that there is a lack of customer service is a Gigantic understatement.

After V.H. saying in a letter dated September 2006 that they were undertaking an investigation and that I should be assured they would not forget about me, I was forgotten. No-one has written to me since. I raised a small claims action, but fed up with their laissez faire attitude to my complaint and request for reimbursement, I chose to sue for my hellish time at Dalaman Airport as well as the cost of the flights home. I sued for £25.00 per hour for my wait at Dalaman in addition to the £217.00 for the flights plus the expenses of raising the claim and I was successful with my claim. A Scottish court awarded me a decree (judgement) for payment. V.H. did not defend the action. I sent a copy of the court judgement to V.H. and heard nothing from them even still. I instructed my solicitor to write to them. I heard nothing from them still. I got Sheriff Officers to serve them with a Charge for Payment (enforcing the judgement) and have heard nothing from them still!!! I would like to say this is shocking but for Vision Holiday they only want to hear from you if you are giving them your credit card details.

The Scottish part - I phoned them today and was told that in their terms of business they state that they do not acknowledge and will not be bound by Scottish Court rulings.

I will not tolerate this. I will have my Court judgement enforced on them in England. I raise small claims actions against companies every day of the week. I am qualified in law! This is a matter which will be settled. Book elsewhere. I didn't think it could happen to us but it did.

Edited to remove potential libel comments - Sarah HT Admin

has anyone heard anything today about a company that sells holidays to turkey going bust??name i've heard is vision holidays but not sure about the company name.