The Goldtrail Turns Brown

2009-09-02T01:53:00.001-07:00

Heres the latest contact I had today via e-mail: -

'Further to our recent telephone conversation in regards to your Goldtrail complaint, I am writing to confirm that I have now viewed the video you took at the Litera Etap Altinel and can of course appreciate your feelings in connection with the standard of accommodation and facilities provided. As stated last Thursday I was hoping to view the video with Phil Ashwell our Retail Sales and Operations Manager however he is currently off sick at the moment, but please be assured as soon as he returns I will bring this matter to his attention.

In the meantime I have began liaising with our contact at Goldtrail to ascertain their position in relation to the Litera Etap Altinel, in particular the complaints received and what the possibility is of them perhaps putting the hotel on stopsell whilst investigations are carried out, and I await to hear from them. As soon as I get a response I will let you know.

In relation to our own bookings to the hotel, as you are aware we have recently advised our shops of the problems you encountered and to advise any potential customers accordingly. We are also conscious that we have not replied to your question in relation to how many specific complaints Midlands Co-op have had about the hotel, I can advise that since the Watchdog report we have had 65 customers stay at the hotel with 4 complaints (two of those being yourself and Miss Begum.) None of these complaints were made prior to you booking or travelling to Turkey, therefore as a Travel Agent we had no knowledge of any issues.

We understand that Goldtrail holidays have acknowledged your complaint if you have not received it already this has been sent from our Sheldon shop.

Mr Gray please be assured that it was never our intention to be seen as passing the onus onto Goldtrail holidays, but we are sure you can appreciate that as per the ABTA's (Association of British Travel Agents) code of conduct on such matters we must allow them to investigate the matter first, and as your travel agent we will of course intervene if necessary to assist with the complaint'

Just got a letter from the Co-op

2009-08-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

To be honest I am very disappointed with the stance and response of the Co-op over this matter. here's the letter in full...

'Firstly may we say how sorry we are to hear of the problems you encountered on your holiday, it is extremely important to us that our customers are happy with their holiday arrangements, therefore it was disappointing to receive your holiday file.

We can of course appreciate your concerns in relation to Midlands Co-op Travel booking Goldtrail holidays following the incidents on your particular holiday.

You will be aware that back in March, Goltrail featured heavily on the BBC Watchdog programme, and following the broadcast, ourselves and the whole C0-operation Travel group were concerned about the level of service and customer satisfaction offered by Goldtrail, and therefore undertook out own customer research with customers who had previously travelled with Goldtrail, and also approached Goldtrail to seek some reassurances on quality moving forwards.

Our own internal investigations showed us that in 2008 we received 2% of complaints against Goldtrail which interestingly is pretty much on a par if not slightly below the industry average, and as such had over 2900 passengers happy with their holiday arrangements.

We also received the assurances from Goldtrail that they had dropped certain hotels from their brochure for summer 2009 following a quality control audit.

To date this summer, the percentage of complaints have reduced to 1.7%, which although the figures are not yet out, is suggesting that they will be again below the industry average.

Taking everything into consideration as a company we do sell Goldtrail holidays, however we will never be complacent and will continue to monitor their performance, as we would all out tour operators.

However after stating the above we are course conscious of the issues you faced on your holiday, and we understand that the Area Manager has forwarded your letter and CD to Goldtrail for their investigations and rest assured our Sheldon shop will ensure a reply is forthcoming.

I hope that we have been able to address your concerns in regards to Midlands Co-op travel and Goldtrail holidays, and should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us'

Again my concern is that they are still sending paople to this hotel, from Birmaingham and other locations in the UK to the kind of conditions we encountered. What I want to know is how may specific complaints have they received about the Etap Hotel?

Again I will be sending another letter to the Co-op and want a more satisfactory response and positive action being taken on their part.

THfh

2009-08-18T03:50:00.000-07:00

Update 1: I just spent over an hour with Co-op Travel discussing the matter with the Area Manager and Branch Manager. I showed them my Youtube video (also submitted on disk with my complaint letter to Goldtrail), I also showed the video footage I have of the rep taking our names and ticking us off on a list before the coach ride from hell (also that I have on video in full). I also let them view many other photographs showing both health and safety and hygene concerns, and again the faces said it all, they were as disgusted as myeslf and my partner when experiencing it in real life.

Again I have 'documented' the whole conversation as further evidence, and this is their opportunity to act in a responsible manner when investigating my complaint. I stated that I was appauled that they were still offering this holiday, leaving from Birmingham as a 'Late Deal' on their own website, again staying in the Annex as other unsuspecting holidaymakers will also have to endure this hotel and its inadequate facilities. I have been assured that this will go directly to the line manager or Director of the AM and that I will get a response and update on progress by Friday of this week (21/08/09). Again I will update the blog when news arrives.

Don't let it happen to you....

2009-08-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

13/08/2009

Arrived back yesterday.

We booked a weeks relaxing holiday in Turkey with Goldtrail Holidays through Co-op Travel and perfect for a family holiday or for a couple to relax, re-charge and be together...or so we thought.

The following account is our week from hell...

The brochure stated it was five sun rated ‘in a quiet area with beautiful scenery’, and provided not only a buffet restaurant, but two a la carte restaurants (one fish, one Turkish), a fitness centre, Sauna, Jacuzzi and other amenities and services I would expect of a quality hotel.

We were told that we would be in an ‘Annex room’ and I questioned how far from the main hotel building it was, as my partner gets tired easily being in her first trimester of pregnancy.

We were told ‘it’s next to it’ and ‘a new part of the building’. This pleased my partner as she wanted peace and quiet, and needs between eight and twelve hours sleep a night. We agreed this was perfect and paid the price we were quoted for the all-inclusive holiday.

That evening I then ran a search online, as being a magazine journalist and photographer I like to get all the local information for sights of interest and historic value to take photographs for my personal archive. I used Google and searched the Litera Etap Altinel and Goldtrail and immediately found horror story after horror story from holidaymakers that had booked with Goldtrail and had bad experiences with this hotel and other Goldtrail affiliated hotels in the area.

Most worryingly I also stumbled upon the Watchdog web-site and viewed the report from April 2009 and read their blog entries. The Annex was clearly not part of the main hotel or even nearby, it was actually across the road, under a tunnel and only three Sun rated by Goldtrail themselves on their own web-site. Goldtrail quote 200m away, but pacing it out its much further.

I then emailed my travel agent and requested that we be put in the main hotel as I didn’t want my partner having to walk too far from the room to the restaurants, hotel amenities or most importantly the beach facilities. He rang me back on my mobile and said this was possible, but for an extra charge of £160.

The following day we went back to see the travel agent and paid the extra money, but I openly asked him about the bad reviews I had read online and we were assured both by him and another female member of staff to ignore them as they were not accurate or realistic. To reassure us even more he told us that he had recently been to the area on travel agents visit and had a great time, with food and accommodation of a high standard. I would like to know what resort and hotel he was based at. As it cannot have been the Etap.

We left on the Wed morning at 9.15am and arriving at Bodrum airport at 15.10 local time there was no Goldtrail Rep anywhere near baggage claim or in the Lobby area of the airport. Two notes of complaint I must pass on to the Airport are that the toilet facilities offered were flooded, filthy, smelt of faeces and urine and parents of children being forced to pick them up and carry them to use the facilities, by holding them in the air. My partner refused to use them; I just got wet trainers and felt disgusted. The duty free shop in the baggage claim area was blaring out rap music at full volume with explicit and vulgar content with children close by, this is unacceptable in a family orientated area at three in the afternoon.

First impressions count
This was our first impression of Turkey, and so far not very good. We walked around dragging our cases, and eventually found the Goldtrail rep, an older lady standing across the road where the coach park is with a clipboard. All other reps were visible by the baggage claim or lobby area, and directed their clients to the correct coaches and actually ‘welcomed’ their own clients. After ‘name and hotel’ and no ‘please’, we were put on an air-conditioned coach and then handed a leaflet introducing our rep Kerry (not the lady who had ushered us onto the coach). Due to the fact Thursday is her day off our welcome meeting would not be until Friday at 12.00pm, the third day of our seven night holiday, and missing the opportunity to go on two of the excursions offered. We were given an introduction to Turkey by the rep during the journey, but at no point offered a cold drink or even have the opportunity to buy one.

Arriving at the hotel with another couple, the rep announced us at reception and then left saying ‘enjoy your holiday’. The reception looked tatty with a mass of dead flies in the centre of the focal point the glass dome and washing drying around it on the flat roof. The first receptionist we tried to speak to was a blonde lady who just shrugged her shoulders and walked off into the back. I have since learned she doesn’t speak English and is to quote - ‘there for the Russian guests’. A young man with a ponytail then spoke to us and I filled in a registration form as he photocopied our passports. A porter then took us to our upgraded main building five-sun rated room, on the way passing bags of rubbish left on walkways and a damp sewerage smell everywhere. We passed an open entrance to our left on the first walkway that stated ‘Death by electrocution’ and ‘No access’ and ‘No children allowed’. This had one door wedged open and no way of stopping a child walking straight in and messing with the equipment.

The room we were first shown was in the early 120’s (123 I think, but the porter had the key at all times). It smelt damp, the bath was disgusting and had large amount of the enamel missing, the toilet was filthy and the room was hot and smelt badly of cigarette smoke (in a non-smoking room). Worst of all it had three single beds and the porter just gestured ‘I don’t understand you’ with his hands when I asked him about this (again he didn’t speak English).

We refused this room and called reception using the internal phone. I sent the porter back to reception and we waited in the room until he re-appeared with another key this time for room 107. Again we traipsed around dirty corridors and found the room. This had a hygiene seal on the toilet, but it was filthy with yellow stains on it. The ceiling was damp and bubbled and it looked like it had been freshly painted over to try and hide it. By this time my partner was tired and just wanted to sit down, I took the key and told the porter I would come to reception and sort it out myself. The side lamp was damaged, the fridge filthy, the room smelt damp, TV tiny and remote in a disgusting state, none of the buttons had anything on them. It did however have a double bed, with a thin bottom sheet that looked tatty and was not washed properly, everything that should be white was a discoloured off white.

The bath again had enamel missing and the showerhead was on a mount that was half-missing and corroded. The mirror in the bathroom was held together by glue gun, that was visible and badly done. The fridge smelt of mould and was filthy, and worst of all went off every time you took you key-card out of the room, so only chilled items placed in it overnight or when you were present.

I went to reception and complained and was told they were fully booked, I then paid the £25.00 to get my Air-Con remote and asked for the fridge to be replaced or cleaned. ‘Maintenance will attend to it I was told’ (they never showed up all holiday). I then stated I would resolve it with Kerry at the meeting at 12.00pm Friday and left. Reception did seem bothered at all and quickly moved onto something else.

First night of hell
I scrubbed the toilet, bath and sink with shower gel, as I didn’t want my partner getting even more upset with the room. I them discovered we only had a small towel and a floor towel. Again I rang reception and was told ‘Housekeeping will provide’, it took 2 days to get proper towels, we resorted to using our own beach towels most of the holiday. We went at 19.30 to Dinner and sat at a table overlooking the pool. Our waiter immediately poured us water from a jug and told us it was ‘normal water’. The buffet was poor, the hot dishes served luke-warm (and we were there as the doors opened), chicken overcooked and rubbery and rice served with a hard dry layer on the top and again luke-warm underneath.

Salads were limp and fruit bruised and damaged. The cheese selection included a fetta type of cheese that was most definitely on the turn, as I tried it every day and had two good days where fresh had been put out. The restaurant had tried to disguise this by drizzling it with a hot chilli sauce, something that always seemed done when this cheese was at it’s worst. The only things my partner found to eat were bread, melon and rice with the chicken juices on.

This was not what we were expecting and not the quality of even a 3 star equivalent hotel I have stayed in before. I asked about the two a la carte restaurants and was told ‘only this’. My partner being pregnant doesn’t drink caffeine or alcohol. The only three options were water, Sprite or Fanta. No fruit juices or diluted juices are available and this I also found un-acceptable. The so called ‘local wines and spirits’ were all watered down and the quality varied throughout the holiday. I even paid twenty Liras for a double brandy to calm me down a bit, and this too was watered.

A Russian lady who pointed at our table approached our waiter; she said something in Russian and then walked off. We then went to get our desserts and were gone for a very short while, came back and the waiter had moved my bottled water to the drinks prep area and given our table away to the Russian family. I was very annoyed and my partner was very upset by this rude behaviour, the waiter then had an argument with another in front of us and we were shown to a small table nearby. Then for the first time in the holiday I was told, and not asked: - ‘You have a problem with this?’

We watched the sun set on the beach and went back to our room. At 11pm the music then started at the ‘Beach Disco’ and continued until 3.30 am, despite me complaining to reception and being told it finishes at 2am. The music is so loud that the bass just permeates every part of you even with two pillows over your head. I’m no music prude, I have my own decks, ran club nights and worked in a club while at university, but the bass line from Trance music at 3.30 is not what I asked for in a quiet resort holiday. We eventually got to sleep and then there was a dog howling loudly at 5am again I complained to reception and was told ‘there are no dogs allowed in the hotel’. Then the cleaners started banging around in corridors and adjacent rooms, and the Pièce de résistance was a room above us containing washing machines that go through a full cycle vastly overloaded and then bang loudly during the spin cycle at 7.30am.

Day two started with again awful food, and my partner being told she can’t have Sprite or Fanta at breakfast, the shop was closed so I couldn’t buy her bottled water and only the tap water to drink. There were two options of ‘breakfast juice’ Peach or Cherry, one had hardly and concentrate in and the other was disgusting. Both are diluted with the same water they tried to serve us and taken from a tap.

We then went to the beach and were confronted with sweat stained and dirty lounger’s everywhere. It’s a pebble beach but they are so slippery that almost everyone trying to go and swim slips over at some point unless you have beach shoes with a high grip sole on them. Once the beach bar opens the drinks are served in tatty blue or opaque plastic beakers that are washed with tap water in between being used and worst of all sometimes wiped with an old scourer that looks disgusting. Some days there were disposable small cups, but all beers were served in these opaque beakers and a percentage of soft drinks from the beach bar were in the blue beakers.

A night on the tiles (bathroom)
After another day of appalling meals and the waiter putting a bemused Japanese couple on our table half way through our meal with yet again ‘You have a problem with this’ (we got up and sat somewhere else and continued our meal…)

I then started to get diarrhoea. This and the beach disco kept me up all Thursday night, with the dog barking again at 5am to signal the start of Friday. We arrived early for the ‘Welcome Meeting’ to discuss everything with the rep and discovered three other couples there to also complain about, rooms, food, the disco, the dog…

She eventually arrived at 12.45pm due to ‘dealing with another issue with a guest at another resort’ and we sat through the ‘Sales Pitch’ about trips etc. We just wanted to get away from the hotel so I booked the all day boat trip, and I then confronted her about our issues. Sleep deprivation was my biggest concern for my partner, as she needs between eight and twelve hours a night at the moment. Kerry filled a form in and only put half of what my complaint was about down. She understood the need for a room we could sleep in, and got another set of keys for us to ‘have a look at’. We were not helped in any way and ended up walking around aimlessly looking for room 341. Eventually we found it, it had again three single beds in, had not been cleaned from the previous occupants, was in worse condition that ours and wait for it.....

was: THE CLOSEST ROOM YOU COULD BE IN TO THE BEACH DISCO ITSELF.

Insulting and incompetent are the only two words that can possibly sum up that.

We walked all the way back to reception, told Kerry and she again got us more keys, this time she came with us…and offered us quess what, room 105. Two doors from ours, with three single beds, and in worse condition than ours, When we pointed out the sewerage smell, Kerry just couldn’t smell it! Funny that, we could all holiday. I again declined and was told that’s all they has to offer, so as now we had lost half the afternoon I just told her to leave it and we would stay in the room you see documented on my youtube video:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSCSK91Y_8

Both of us slept the rest of the afternoon, and my partner had started to get a cold sore due to being stressed and overtired. We went to Bodrum that night with another couple who were having a similar holiday, ate some excellent food, drank un-watered wine and beer, and had real service. But hold on, why should we have to pay out 160 Lira for this when we had paid for an all-inclusive holiday?

On the Saturday we went on the boat trip, and that was an amazing day, the British girl from the ‘Outback bar’ who’s the host was great, drinks were cold and served in clean and frequently washed beakers, there was juice for my partner and shade away from the sun. The food was cooked freshly for us in the galley and was simple pasta, salad, chicken and bread, but tasted great, and was to a higher level than the Buffet at the Etap, and tasted like real food should.

Stranded in the sun
It’s when this day ended the real trouble started, we were all left stranded in the hot sun for forty minutes. No Goldtrail Rep, no coach. She then arrived and was asked by another Goldtrail guest why we didn’t even get an apology for her lateness, and in front of everyone stated ‘I don’t have to apologise to anyone’. She ticked off our names on a list as we sat on our coach after splitting the group onto two vehicles. The sign clearly stated that the coach was stopping at the Etap.

My partner by now was hot, thirsty and needed the toilet. We were the closest drop-off so we were pleased that we were to be let off first. Again wrong, the coach sped past our hotel and drove forty five minutes to another Goldtrail hotel, then turned around and dropped us back at the Etap just before seven. This was and hour and a half from when we had set off. He didn’t even drive us to the door just stopped on the main road and let us walk all the way down to the hotel, I was disgusted and my partner in tears.

That night she bust into tears over dinner. The lack of choice and quality of food was getting worse, and the couple that we had been trapped on the coach with who were sitting nearby found a maggot in their salad. When they complained, the restaurant manager just whisked it away without even an apology. This was the last straw for my partner who refused to eat anything else, and instead opted for a bag of crisps, a Mars bar, and a can of fruit juice from the shop. A perfect and balanced meal for a pregnant lady and yet another day in paradise for us both.

Boom Boom Boom
Again the ‘Beach Disco’ kept us awake, the washing machines in the morning and the cleaners. We had started to sleep in the afternoon instead, as this was the only quiet time. We both at this point had been very ill at both ends, but only after eating in the Hotel and we just wanted to go home.

I decided that I wanted to talk to Kerry again on the Sunday, but the queue of other guests wanting to complain and a new influx of Goldtrail guests for yet another welcome meeting (again that she was late for) made this impossible.

I again went on the Monday at 12.00pm and was told by reception she was again delayed, I gave up after half an hour and went back to my partner on the beach as I didnt want to keep leaving her alone.

The following day I found a fax there stating she couldn’t make it due to her car breaking down so I had no chance of actually making another complaint direct with my rep.

This in a resort where you can get a Dolmush for two Liras every fifteen minutes in either direction amazes me. Why didn’t she hire a car? Or get a taxi? That is for you to investigate. My theory is that she knew that there was a fresh round of complaints, both from myself and other guests I talked to around the resort and she wanted to avoid this. I did ask and so did the the other couple for her line manager Maureen to come to the resort and she refused saying that Kerry had to deal with it.

I stood with Kerry, as did another guest while she rang Maureen and was flatly told no. This again is unacceptable, as she is there to support Kerry and make sure Goldtrail guests have a trouble free holiday, I saw no evidence of either in my seven nights in turkey.

The final night we again tried the buffet, turning up at 19.30 as the doors opened. I had a plate of meat and sliced potatoes, green beans, broccoli, sweet corn and rice. All were cold or lukewarm straight from the serving dish. I complained and the waiter took it to the Hotel Manager. He sent a message back that it would be replaced, half an hour later nothing had been done and most trays were empty, again totally unacceptable and a disgrace.

We nearly didn’t get home
Our transfer coach was supposed to pick up between 3.15 and 3.45am on the Wednesday morning. By 4.15am I complained to reception, as there was still no coach. Our check in was at 3.15am and the flight scheduled for 6.00am. The night porter rang Kerry and got no answer, so then ordered us a mini bus that at 4.45am took us to the airport. This was after not getting any sleep before we left due to the ‘Beach Disco’ so we were understandably by now totally at the end of our tether.

I have photographic evidence of the points I have covered here regarding the room. I also have video and photographic evidence of the coach trip, and other aspects of the holiday. Including the pool, filthy Sauna, Jacuzzi and plunge pool, dangerous weight equipment, the closed a la cart restaurants, the disgusting amphitheatre used for ‘entertainment’ and the serving of afternoon snacks in unsanitary conditions. The prep kitchen under the annex accommodation, the annex itself, the accommodation provided there, the staff accommodation under Goldtrail guests. I also have documentation provided by Kerry when I complained and the fax stating she couldn’t make it on our final day.

The other thing I have done is collate a list of complaints and instances from other guests while at the resort, including one very serious compliant from a family who’s fifteen year old daughter was both sexually propositioned by a member of staff and threatened by him. All this information is factual and can be backed up by verbatim statements from all concerned.

I am submitting all evidence to ABTA and will be expecting a full written apology from all parties concerned, a substantial amount of the money we paid for this holiday refunded, a complete review of the links Goldtrail have with this hotel group and how it operates. They must amend the rating system, as it is both misleading and unrepresentative of the services, food, accommodation and overall quality of holidays they provide.

Both Co-op Travel and Goldtrail have a duty of care to ensure that if they send their clients on the holiday's they describe and sell them, they meet the criteria described...and most importantly for them return not in need of another like ourselves.

Travel Agent here I come...(an update)
Went to see my travel agent (Co-op Travel), and showed him and a collegue my youtube video of the hotel. The shocked faces said it all to me, and I've demanded to see the area manager to discuss this properly. My goal isn't one of a monetary nature (although I expect a sizable refund of the total I paid), it's about Co-op taking a responsible stance and accepting that Goldtrail are not meeting the needs of their clients, and instead of supplying a quality holiday, they are merely providing more cannon fodder each week, walking unsuspecting into the sunlight of Bodrum airport to try and find their rep.

Since returning we have both continued to be ill and only today (Sunday) nearly five days after getting home are things starting to return to normal. My meeting with the area manager is on Tuesday and I will update the blog with the outcome. Looking at Goldtrails responses to past complaints posted online, I don't hold out much hope, but unless people like myself bring the conditions and lack customer care to the publics attention nothing will ever change.

As ever, if you or anyone you know have had a similar experience, comment on this blog, send a video reponse to my Youtube channel:- http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHolidayfromhell

more soon...

THfh