Mushroom

Just for the information of anyone who may not reside in Turkey or have a place to stay when they arrive, but instead wish to book a package holiday, my advice is to stay away from Goldtrail.

My old ma and step dad in their mid seventies recently booked with Goldtrail in March 2008 to travel over to Bodrum and stay at an all-inclusive hotel in Bodrum (Mandarin) because they wanted to see our place while we were there but we have a 'full' house and we hadn't known in advance that they had any plans to come over.

They booked to fly Onur air from Doncaster to Bodrum on 28th May for a week's stay.
It was only when I highlighted to them, courtesy of a mention from someone on this forum, that there were apparent flight cancellations from Goldtrail's Onur Air flights, that they went back to the travel agent, who contacted Goldtrail and this was confirmed. They were instead altered to a flight from Leeds/Bradford on the 26th.
Yesterday, they received a letter from the travel agent with an enclosed very short letter from Goldtrail, telling them that as the Mandarin hotel had not been confirmed, they were instead going to be accommodated in the Litera Royal Marine Hotel in Gumbet.

As they know nothing of the area and I do not profess to be an expert, I looked up the hotel and found that for starters it has not exactly had glowing reviews in the past, when it ran under another name, but just for good measure, reviews mentioned that it was on the top of a hill and not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties (step-dad). None of this was mentioned by Goldtrail.

Given that since the date they booked this holiday, when they were given an invoice which clearly stated the hotel, resort, airport and flight dates and times, Goldtrail have since altered the lot !

I was asked my advice and said that as they are covered by regulations and legally able to cancel the holiday with no cancellation fee to pay, they should do so and try to re-book a similar holiday with someone else, even if only on principle after the awful way they have been treated.

They also paid on Visa, which gives some legal back up if required.

Today they have returned to the travel agent and informed them that they wish to cancel and be refunded in full, then also consider any compensation that may be applicable.
The travel agent, who is exactly that, has agreed and contacted Goldtrail on their behalf to inform them. Apparently with three people at the travel agents trying to contact Goldtrail this morning it was 30 minutes before contact was made and when the cancellation was put to them on the grounds stated, the travel agent was told that they would have to pass this on to the 'Manager' but he was out at present and no-one knew when he would be in.

The travel agents told my ma that they would e-mail the man at Goldtrail to a) Inform him of the cancellation and b) request that he confirmed receiving the e-mail asap.

They told my ma that they would contact her as soon as any response was received from Goldtrail and as I compile this thread 4 hours from their attendance at the travel agents, nothing has been heard.

I will now have to obtain their booking details and send another e-mail myself, followed by notification in writing to this company by recorded delivery later today, if only to keep my ma's blood pressure a bit lower.

Then, we will have to start the searching for a package deal process for them all over again, with a fortnight to go! Plus of course, we may have a wait and a bit of a battle getting her £920 refunded.

When she told me of this predicament last night, I went onto the Goldtrail website and found that if I wanted to book the package now offered to my ma with same flights, airport, hotel, resort and all inclusive, I could do so for £200 cheaper, yet there had been nothing mentioned by Goldtrail about that one !

This is posted, not to dissuade anyone out there who may be reading it and thinking of booking anything with Goldtrail, but to inform you of what appears to be once again a total disregard for there customers. You have been warned, the choice is still yours !

tracyofdidim

yes i agree stay away frm goldtrail my daughter went bk 2 the uk last year n got a tıcket from goldtrail ıt cost her 210 pound 1 way but what they dıdnt tell us was that ıt was a standby ticket we only found thıs out when we arrıved at bodrum aırport thankfully she got on the plane but they should of told us ıt was a standby ticket

Boppy

My god what an outfit they are! I worked as a rep here for 3 years but for more reputable companies! I heard so many bad stories in that time about Goldtrail. I was told that they don't even train their staff but give them a clipboard and off the rep goes. Mmm bit more to repping than having a clipboard and a smile.
Even transfer operations seem a bit beyond normal logic to them. Maybe the managers need to have a day out from behind the desks and get onto the floor and see which areas their staff need training in from the UK and in the resorts themselves.
The only thing I will say is that they are fast becoming the most talked about unreliable operator. Not good for their future I reckon.

Mushroom

I am now informed that the 'man' at Goldtrail has accepted that they are at fault and will be returning the full cost paid (sometime ?).

I have now booked them in for a 5* hotel (AZKA) half board at Bodrum with the same flights as before courtesy of Sunmaster.

sandr

I can thoroughly recommend the Azca. I've stayed there on a couple of occassions without any problems whatsoever. It's right on the beach and only a short water taxi ride into the centre of Bodrum.

Spyrogal

We stayed at the Azca also and I loved the boat ride into bodrum. Also the beach is nice and the food was good.

max2741

A friend of mine has just contactated me to say that his usual travel agent will not book him through Goldtrail as they are in serious finacial difficulty? anyone else heard this?

civciv

There are rumours on the Trip Advisor website about agents refusing to book Goldtrail and citing possible financial problems. Their holidays are too cheap and the quality is often poor. They are renouned for not paying hoteliers on time and no doubt probably dont pay commission to travel agents on time. From what I have read on various sites they have cancelled a lot of flights this summer too. I travelled with them to Bodrum 7 years ago on a package and had no problems but people seem more dissatisfied with Goldtrail over the past few years.

paddington bear

Myself and my sister went with Goldtrail last summer, this was booked on the internet but I cannot remember through which company.

I must say we had no complaints at all, so must have been very lucky. We flew from Leeds Bradford to Bodrum and the flights were on time. We stayed at the Sunny Gardens Nilufer just outside Turgutreis which for the money we paid for the holiday was a wonderful hotel.

The only negative thing I could say was that the rep was an absolute idiot with the things she was saying on the coach ride from the airport, but luckily we didn't see her or another rep until it was time to go home.

I can quite understand that they may be in financial difficulties as the price we paid for the holiday was not much more than the cost of a flight only.

Sue