Another Thomas Cook holiday...beginning of hell????

[holidayfromhell]

Hi guys,

 

We booked a holiday with Thomas Cook in february 2013 to go on end of may 2013 for 3 Adults and 4 kids to All-Inclusive hotel, Marmaris in Turkey. Our youngest has a heart condition and this is the first time she will be travelling.

 

We have just today received an email from Thomas cook, saying that next door to our hotel, a new hotel was being built, but there is a delay in construction, so therefore we may have to put up with loads of noise and disruption - the letter states that they can't give us any further information.

 

They wrote that we can change the hotel and although we won't be charged admin fees for changing, we will have to pay for any extra price for a different hote :-xl

 

This is very unfair and a [problem] in our opinion as we had booked in advance to get a cheap price and since the hotel construction had started before we booked the holiday, we believe we should have been informed and given a choice to change hotel as now we can't change hotels as the prices will have increased much more.

 

This was supposed to be a special holiday for the kids for being good and for our youngest, whom has been severely ill to enjoy themselves. It was also supposed to be a break for me and my husband to relax after caring for our daughter. Instead we have to deal with construction noise and lose thousands of pounds for a holiday from hell.

 

According to Thomas Cook's Terms and Conditions, we can't ask for compensation for unexpected delays or problems, but surely they had a duty to inform us about any construction work before we booked in?

 

To start of, my question is what can we do about this?

 

 

ACCOMMODATION LETTER:-

 

Dear xxxxx

Thank you for booking with Thomas Cook.

We write concerning your forthcoming holiday to Turkey. As indicated in our booking conditions, building work may happen, even in well established resorts and this is the reason for writing to you.

The information we have received from our overseas team is that a development is taking place close to the Commodore Elite. We have been receiving regular reports from our resort based staff regarding the nature of the work and, based on this information we had expected the work would have had no affect on the property during your holiday. However, the latest information has suggested that work will be ongoing, and whilst guests currently staying at the property have been largely unaffected by the work taking place, we feel it is appropriate to make you aware of the situation.

A new hotel complex is currently being built next door to the Commodore Elite. Although the development is now at an advanced stage some noise may be experienced at times from various areas of the complex. The hotelier remains committed to ensuring you have an enjoyable stay and will allocate rooms away from the work where possible.

As we are sure you will understand, the nature of the building activity means the situation can change on an almost daily basis. We can therefore only report on the situation as it currently exists. If, however, the circumstances change to any great degree, you can be assured we will contact you again.

We remain confident that your chosen accommodation will continue to provide you with an enjoyable and satisfying holiday and we are equally confident you will want to continue with your holiday plans. However, it is only fair to remind you that, should you wish, you may change your accommodation without paying the applicable administration fees (subject to availability and receiving or paying any difference in cost).

Once again we would like to take the opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience this change may have caused you.

[Sidewinder]

I think you need to push with this. I am not a travel expert by any stretch, but from looking around, it seems that building work next to the Commodore Elite was known about when it started last October (various mentions of it on Tripadvisor) and the scale and disruption of the development.However, as I understand, work was due to be completed by mid-April, so I daresay that TC would argue that since the building was not likely to be a factor for a holiday at the end of May, there was no need to inform you of this.

 

According to the ABTA code, tour operators have a responsibility to let you know before booking where they are aware of building work likely to cause disruption - and TC were apparently sending customers emails like your one back in October, so clearly they were aware of possible problems for earlier bookings than yours, but as they believed work would finish in April this is a moot point. ABTA also say that when they become aware of work after a booking is made, they must tell you promptly and offer you a switch where available or cancellation without penalty.

 

Tripadvisor reviews suggest that far more people have enjoyed their stay without disruption from the construction site, but in some cases this was due to having had to change rooms. I think if it were me I would probably go regardless, but what constitutes disruption can be a very subjective matter. If you really feel like you don't want to risk it, then press TC on the cancellation issue, or see if they can guarantee you a room away from any area that is affected by noise.

[assisted blonde]

To be fair this building work was due to be finished in April, TC are not builders so they couldn't know it wasn't going to be finished, apparently last year this was an adult only hotel and 5* and even with building work people enjoyed their stay so \I would still go if there was no suitable alternative, building next door dosent m always mean massive inconvenience and you may find it dosent bother you very much.

[holidayfromhell]

Guys, i could be wrong here, but is Commodore Elite hotel in Side? The reason i ask is because my hotel is Blue Bay Platinum in Marmaris

and I'm not sure where Side is. If it's an area within Marmaris, then thats okay, but if it's outside Marmaris, then how is that anywhere near my hotel?

[holidayfromhell]

Got this from Thomas Cook's FB!

 

Kirsty Powles

just got an email concerning commodore elite in turkey having building working..were booked for the baia lara! has there been some confusion??

Like · · 6 hours ago near Eastney, United Kingdom

 

Thomas Cook UK Hi Kirsty,

Please ignore this letter this has been sent in error. I do apologise.

Lara

5 hours ago · Like

 

Sonya Cheesmur phew!!! I got the same letter for our stay at WOW Topkapi!

5 hours ago · Like · 1

 

Kirsty Powles just to get us all at it eh!!

5 hours ago via mobile · Like · 1

 

Joanne Loth Thank goodness for that !

4 hours ago via mobile · Like · 2

 

Sorry for any trouble guys and thank you very much for trying to help me.

[assisted blonde]

No Building work at Blue bay so you should be ok, mistakes hapen, so dont panic and enjoy your holiday

[holidayfromhell]

appreciate it! thank you!

 

cya!