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RANT BLOG Business Thomson trip to Tunisia, staying in Marhaba Palace Review
Thomson trip to Tunisia, staying in Marhaba Palace Review
Written by Andy Sharman Monday, 29 June 2009 07:30
As many of you know I have been back from holiday in Tunisia with Thomson a little over a week now, and the reason for a lack of posts and updates is because I spent about half of last week writing a complaint letter. I just want to say to everyone out there that may be Googling this place to go onto holiday there, that, Tunisia is a really nice place providing you are told real facts about it when you purchase the holiday, and that the hotel is of a good quality. Here is a much much shortened version of the issues we had whilst there, and the lies we were fed during the Thomson trip to Tunisia.First I will start with the pure amount of crap we were told in the store by the untrained, and quite frankly lying woman in the Thomson store in Leicester city centre, BE WARNED she will tell you anything in order to make the sale to you, no matter how much she infringes upon on trade and sales laws doing so:
- Promised a double bed despite the hotel she sent us to not having ANY rooms with double beds.
- Said the hotel we were going to was lively and popular with our age, if she checked online reviews she would know old people love the hotel and young hate it.
- Promised us quality scuba opportunities - this was important to us as we were looking for a cheaper replacement of Egypt, there is nothing off the cost of Tunisia.
- Said we could take a day trip to the Sahara as we were close, and the hotel would pack food if we would miss a meal as we were full board, the truth is the marhaba palace staff actually laughed when we requested this and the Sahara desert was 8 hours drive away, I don't see how that would ever happen.
- She said the average price of a pint was about £1-£1.50 it was a minimum £3.00, naive maybe but we put our trust in a Thomson service representative who is supposed to be trained about these things.
- Promised a free drink with every meal on full board, this was a lie, and as above the drinks were twice as expensive as expected so this was a huge blow to our spending money.
Other dissapointing facts about our horrible holiday to Thomson holiday to The Marhaba Palace, Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia:
- All excursions are mis-sold, poor quality, not as the brochure says and massively over-priced.
- If you go on any excursions which are not a few hours then the food you will be given will be: Undercooked rice with a bit of veg in, "Brick" (a Tunisian delicacy), and probably water melon. As we did a 2 day trip we had this meal 5 times. It is not nutritious, and considering we paid more than we did for the hotel for the excursion the food quality was lacking and unvaried.
- The beach was filthy, no attempt has been made to clean it.
- The hotel is run-down and dirty, to give comparison it is like going to an old 80's travelodge with the floral patterns, broken chairs and equipment.
- Our room was disgusting, un cleaned and had no main light (apparently this was standard for the hotel) and was 2 single beds.
If you are going to or have gone to either the hotel or the Thomson shop in Leicester then please feel free to leave a comment or contact me
She even insisted all this was true because "her sister had been to Tunisia recently" I hope this opens peoples eyes to what can really happen even when paying for something thats supposed to be a reputable product from a reputable company such as Thomson Holidays.
I have recently posted more on my horrible Thomson holiday to Tunisia - The excursions.
Additionally I would love to hear more about how people think Thomson can improve their customer services more.
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Comments
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Don't be put off Tunisia it is a nice country, just the hotel/resort/tour operator ruined it for me. Happy Holiday Hunting!
We are travelling around Europe and the UK and have a few spare weeks in Feb 10 so were thinking about a spur of the moment trip to Tunisia.
Your blog and the comments of affected travellers are enough research for me! I will just avoid Thomson and plan to do something else. The price etc did all seem a bit too good to be true, which is why I was researching.
Thanks!
ps does any1 know wether there is a visa window at tunisia airport as i fink a member of the group may need a visa (they a british citizen but still hold a foreign passport)and it was too late to send it off to tunisian embassy?sum say u can pay around 30DNR (or woteva the currency is lol) once your at tunisia airport!any info would b much appriciated!
x
Well done on getting your compensation and for bringing all this bad publicity to Thomson/First Choice. I saw your profile in the Metro paper and decided to check you out.
My partner and I went to Cuba for the first two weeks of August. We were booked into a 4 star resort however it was in our opinion nothing more than a 2 star. It was old dirty and shabby! I do not have the time or energy to detail all the problems we experienced suffice to say that I have written a 14 page complaint letter to First Choice and am awaiting a response. One point I will mention in that I was very explicit to two reps about my concerns about the fact I am vegetarian and whether an all inclusive package would be suitable for me. I was told that there would be plenty for me to eat.I beg to differ!!! This is the first hoiday in my life where I have lost weight in fact we were both very ill indeed for 2 weeks after our return with upset tummys.
I am so shocked to hear all the complaints about Thomson all inclusive resorts on this site as I thoguht they were a reputable company. I have visited several of the countries mentioned and have never had any problems. I think the hotel/resort can either make or break your holiday.
We also saw Thomson on Watchdog the other week and since this I have been informed that Thomson/First Choice are a regular item on this programme!
Any advice would be appreciated as I am planning to take legal action like you.
i would just like to let you know that we have travelled with thomson for the past 10 years, i have always booked with thomson leicester humberstone gate and leicester belgrave gate as most of the girls have worked in both shops. all we ever have recieved is brilliant service and we have had the best holidays with that shop. we have been alround the world with thomson and we have found the shop staff,check in staff,resort staff excellent. they have always been so truthful and we also have gone back to some of the destinations that the staff have recommended to us. so your blog will never5 put me off booking with thomsons as i will never go on any other holiday with any other travel agent nor any other tour operator.
i just wanted to make all the people that read this aware that thomson in leicester have brilliant staff that are always happy to help and never try and get a quick sale
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