Premium honeymoon price, budget planning and construction-site hotels
We booked our honeymoon to Vietnam through Travel Solutions expecting a premium, stress-free experience. Unfortunately, the trip was very poorly executed and fell well below what was promised.
Two of the hotels included in the itinerary were directly opposite active 24/7 construction sites, something that could easily have been identified with basic due diligence. In Ho Chi Minh City we were woken throughout the night by drilling and had to spend valuable time during our honeymoon viewing multiple rooms before eventually settling for a downgrade to escape the noise. On Cat Ba Island the situation was even worse, with a major construction site opposite the hotel that had reportedly been ongoing for years. We had to leave and book another hotel ourselves to get away from it.
The travel planning itself also made little sense. After visiting Ha Long Bay we were taken three hours back to Hanoi, only to travel four hours the next day to Cat Ba Island, despite Cat Ba being only around 15km from Ha Long Bay. This resulted in unnecessary and exhausting travel time.
There were also administrative errors.
Our domestic flight required a paid name amendment at the airport because our middle names were missing from the booking, and despite booking our return flights well in advance, my husband and I were not seated together on the flight home from Hanoi to Heathrow.
When we raised these issues afterwards, the customer service was frankly atrocious. Responses were slow and dismissive, and the initial compensation offered represented less than 2% of the total holiday cost despite the significant loss of enjoyment during what was supposed to be our honeymoon.
Even when compensation was eventually agreed, the amount paid was £100 less than the agreed figure, meaning we had to chase them again to receive the correct amount.
Overall, the experience left us questioning the value of using a travel company at all. The best hotel on the trip was the only one we selected ourselves.
For what was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon, the planning, quality control, and customer service fell far short of expectations.
I would strongly recommend doing thorough research before booking with this company.