Tour Operators - Classic Collection Holidays

Hurghada Holiday Nightmare Having returned from a holiday at HILTON HURGHADA RESORT booked through Worthing-based luxury holiday operator CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS, I can testify that the HILTON HURGHADA RESORT and CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS, are neither luxury nor 5-star. No sooner had we paid the £7,000 balance on a total of almost £11,000 for our family holiday to CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS, than we were relocated to another Hilton hotel, because: “due to refurbishment it wouldn’t meet CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAY’S exacting 5- star standards”. However, following our holiday nightmare at this hotel, we would be hard put to give HILTON HURGHADA RESORT even a 3 star rating! Indeed, when speaking to the HILTON HURGHADA RESORT management, they later admitted: “We are not a 5 star hotel, but in Hurgada we are probably one of the best”. To give Hilton their due, the staff there did try. Draw your own conclusions: Our rooms at the HILTON HURGHADA RESORT were dirty – there was only a hand-held shower over the bath with a trickle of water, rust and mould on the sanitary wear, stained bedside rugs, old and poorly laundered bath towels, no bathrobes, holes in the bed linen, an ancient teletext tv, noisy air con and aircraft noise. Poor hygiene: dirty tea-tray and spoons/tea and coffee not replenished and no ‘turn-down’ service. No pool-side service, broken and rusting sun beds and trying to find a clean beach towel was like looking for a needle in a haystack! Disgusting food in the main hotel restaurant and terrible service! Many guests, including ourselves, complained, but there was no improvement. Watch out if you’re planning to travel at Christmas or New Year – we were supposedly on an ‘inclusive’ deal, but that did not extend to our Christmas and New Year meals. We were stung at the outset by CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS for £56 & £111 per person for both meals, on the premise that no other choice would be available. A massive £668 for a family of four! It was so bad that I’d have refused to pay had I been in another restaurant. Residents, including ourselves, were suffering from diarrhoea on New Year’s Day following their ‘Gala meal’. I had complained about the undercooked shellfish served to guests, but my comments were ignored and we were told to eat something else. If you haven’t already been put off by our tale of woe, then be warned, the whole area is a concrete jungle, with more building sites about to start, including one next door to the HILTON HURGHADA RESORT, where it looks as though the concrete cowboys are about to move in any day. If you want a Torremolinos-style holiday in Egypt, this is the place for you! Our comment: A run-down package-tour hotel in cheap resort, booked by CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS - a holiday company, charging gold-plated prices, that promise to cater for the discerning traveller, but fail to deliver the goods! CLASSIC COLLECTION, I feel were well aware that we were going to be sorely disappointed, knowing it was NOT a true 5-star holiday, sending us a Fortnum and Mason hamper before Christmas and a free excursion, too late to make use of. Indeed, I would say to CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS that, rather than “exceeding our expectations”, to quote their holiday brochure, it didn’t even begin to meet our expectations!!