Latest posts for the topic "Tour ops - who uses which ones?"

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 18:41:29 GMT

I have travelled with a few different tour ops now on different holidays, and wondered whether people who DO use a tour op do so with a particular one, or like me tend to go for the best priced deal?

So far I have used:

Inghams (Val Thornes by train, Mayrhofen by air via Innsbruck several times)
Neilson (Mayrhofen by air via Innsbruck)
Rocketski (Serre Che by air via Turin)
Skiworld (Verbier by air via Geneva, and St Anton by air via Innsbruck)
First Choice (Sauze by air via Turin)
Panorama (Sauze by air via Turin)

Not talking about the hotel or the resort, but the service offered by the tour company in terms of overall satisfaction in resort, in hotel, and booking process, I wondered how other people rated the different companies?

I have to say that I think one bad experience with one company may tar your views on them. First Choice in Sauze had the worst rep I have ever come across, but fortunately we have no need for a rep other than finding out where the best happy hour bars are.

My experience puts them in this order for me:

1. Skiworld - totally professional, fantastic food in chalets, could not be nicer people
2. Inghams - very friendly and well informed staff
3. Neilson - take themselves a little too seriously, and not as available as others
4. Panorama - cheap and cheerful
5. Rocketski - aimed really at the schools market
6. First Choice - could not get any kind of response from our rep at all when there was an issue in the hotel

Anyone?

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 18:55:50 GMT

We arrange a couple of big trips every year, totaling 62 places in 2010.
We've used Skiworld almost exclusively for the last 5 years. They have been brilliant, both in the UK being flexible and always helpful. And in the chalets, always professional, always friendly and top quality food.

In the past we've used Crystal, Inghams, Neilson and First Choice. None of them offer the level of service we get from Skiworld.

Crystal and First Choice were by far the worst.

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:04:40 GMT

Tony_H wrote:

I have to say that I think one bad experience with one company may tar your views on them. First Choice in Sauze had the worst rep I have ever come across, but fortunately we have no need for a rep other than finding out where the best happy hour bars are.

We travelled with Crystal a few years ago and although the hotel was fab, the rep was crap. Saw her on the way to the hotel and that was it. But like you Tony, we never really have much use for them, besides they say offensive things like 'punters leave their brains at Gatwick'. How rude.

We are travelling with Crystal again this year but are comforted by the fact that Thompson own them (no idea if they did when we last travelled with them but she was still crap).

Agree with you on Neilson too, only used them once and they do seem very serious (and expensive) :-)

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:31:12 GMT

Used Crystal for the first ever ski trip. Rep did a bunk after the welcome meeting which left every-one up the mountain with no idea about where to get our gear fom or who our lessons were with. Crystal did compensate us for this.

Booked 5 more trips to Seefeld with crystal, fab hotel, great service, and the same rep who was brilliant.

Lapland with Inghams, great service, 3 really good reps of which one was always with you on the excusions and activities. Extra activities in Lapland half the price of Crystal, so have booked next years with them. Plus Crystal pulled out of Lapland.

For Summer hols, have been with Style (subsidary of Thomas Cook) great service, really good accomodation and lovely rep. Have booked again with Style for next week to Kefalonia, hope to get the same great service.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:38:47 GMT

If I know where I'm going, what I need and where to get it, I don't really pay much attention other than the price/times that are offered.

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:40:15 GMT

NellyPS wrote:besides they say offensive things like 'punters leave their brains at Gatwick'. How rude.

Ha. I try to avoid Gatwick if I can because its an airport for people with no brains. I always find myself feeling like I am at a holiday camp when I travel through LGW somehow.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 20:10:46 GMT

The old memory is not what it used to be but here goes....... Been skiing with Panorama as previously mentioned very cheap and cheerful also with Neilsons OK, Inghams had a very good ski leader,
Crystal pretty average, Swan, anybody out there remember Swan travel went on my first skiing trip with them as far as I can remember they were Ok but the rep was a bit stuck up.Thomson's well were just Thomson's, First choice pretty average. 8)

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 20:34:57 GMT

Hi All,
Having read all the posts on this thread , at risk of making a fool of myself, can anyone tell me what the web address for 'panorama'ski hols is? Tried a google search but to no avail?
To answer the posters question , I have used snowcoach ( good customer service & good price); rocketski ( great price & 'my' reps in Folgarida were very good....chris & sally)& Crystal.........last minute deal, great price; rep friendly but didnt see much of them.
Am looking at a couple of deals with inghams & the good feedback I have 'seen' makes me think they must be okay so will probably go with them this time .
Cheers
FB

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 20:48:03 GMT

Frostbite, is it these folks?

Panorama Holiday Group Ltd.

Address: 29 Queens Road
City: Brighton
County: East Sussex
Postcode: BN1 3YN
Phone: 01273-206-531
Listed in: Tour Operators

http://brighton.enquira.co.uk/travel/tour-operators/panorama-holiday-group-ltd-l249.html

Or these...

http://bizzy.info/uk/companies/panorama_holiday_group_limited/co_no/01068464/

or this one...

http://www.do-business.net/Indexer/Company/Panorama-Holiday-Group-Ltd

I can see a bit of a problem with the popularity of the biz name :shock:

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 22:52:19 GMT

Nope. Panorama were part of the Holidays Direct group that got purchased by Thomas Cook along with MyTravel. Mancs I believe.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 23:39:36 GMT

Don't really do tour operators these days as the internet has made DIY so much easier.

But here's a few thoughts.

1. Virgin (to Heavenly - excellent service)

2. Crystal (to Fernie in Canada twice - not bad at all)

3. Ski World (to Courchevel 1850 - end of season, nine parts useless!)

4. Ski World (to Le Menuires and Saalbach Hinterglemm - much better!)

5. Inghams (to Saas Fee three times, very efficient!)

6. Mark Warner (to Kitzbuhel and St Anton, quality all the way)

7. Erna Low (La Plagne apartments, not bad at all)

8. Crystal (late deal to valmorel, much cheapness for best hotel in village)

Loads of others I've forgotten but probably the very worst was the late and unlamented Horizon. Went to Kitzbuhel where the rep thought the flight being cancelled and arriving in the hotel at 4am (12 hours late) to find it locked and no-one about was (cue camp rep accent) "all part of the holiday fun". He almost got a smack on the nose.

Ian Wickham: I remember going to Austria with Swans in 1975; does anyone remember Ski Plan (Sauze 1973!)?

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 05:55:37 GMT

LOTA wrote:Don't really do tour operators these days as the internet has made DIY so much easier.

But here's a few thoughts.

1. Virgin (to Heavenly - excellent service)

2. Crystal (to Fernie in Canada twice - not bad at all)

3. Ski World (to Courchevel 1850 - end of season, nine parts useless!)

4. Ski World (to Le Menuires and Saalbach Hinterglemm - much better!)

5. Inghams (to Saas Fee three times, very efficient!)

6. Mark Warner (to Kitzbuhel and St Anton, quality all the way)

7. Erna Low (La Plagne apartments, not bad at all)

8. Crystal (late deal to valmorel, much cheapness for best hotel in village)

Loads of others I've forgotten but probably the very worst was the late and unlamented Horizon. Went to Kitzbuhel where the rep thought the flight being cancelled and arriving in the hotel at 4am (12 hours late) to find it locked and no-one about was (cue camp rep accent) "all part of the holiday fun". He almost got a smack on the nose.

Ian Wickham: I remember going to Austria with Swans in 1975; does anyone remember Ski Plan (Sauze 1973!)?

Yep I went to Caspoggio Italy in I think it was 1977, and I still have a slightly later copy of the Brochure still in my loft.. 8)

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 08:58:20 GMT

Ski plan are still going - www.skiplan.co.uk

Check out this gear - http://skiplan.co.uk/aprica.asp- taken circa 1973 I think! I went with Skiplan to Aprica in 1979. We hired kit, it was all navy and we all had the same.

Interesting to note that the Clubhotels they use are same as Rocketski

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:22:50 GMT

Dids1 wrote:

Ski plan are still going - www.skiplan.co.uk

Check out this gear - http://skiplan.co.uk/aprica.asp- taken circa 1973 I think! I went with Skiplan to Aprica in 1979. We hired kit, it was all navy and we all had the same.

Interesting to note that the Clubhotels they use are same as Rocketski

Dids your link is not working :cry:

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:33:04 GMT

http://skiplan.co.uk/

http://skiplan.co.uk/aprica.asp

Try this......

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:40:20 GMT

Dids1 wrote:http://skiplan.co.uk/

http://skiplan.co.uk/aprica.asp

Try this......

Here you are Dids just for you .....................

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:48:46 GMT

Just think...one of those kids could be one of us. Not me, we weren't in 'colours' :(
Is this more 80's?

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 09:50:59 GMT

Dids1 wrote:Just think...one of those kids could be one of us. Not me, we weren't in 'colours' :(
Is this more 80's?

I think you may be right ...... 1980's 8)

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 18:56:11 GMT

As you will see from my previous posts I have only skied for the last 4 years and have used Mark Warner (but not brochure prices) every time.

We now travel in an ever increasing group (16 next trip) of experienced skiers and the impression I get is that I have been spolied by the overall service.

In/out sking (L2A), proximity to ski school, accomodation and food has been great. The ski hosting is also great for me with little experience of the mountains or pistes.

We have been looking for an alternative to MW or a second trip including chalets etc but no-one else seems to offer the equivalent all round package from Scotland/North and knowing only one way am cautious about trying someone new especially skiing with kids........comments?

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 19:12:39 GMT

snowplough wrote:As you will see from my previous posts I have only skied for the last 4 years and have used Mark Warner (but not brochure prices) every time.

We now travel in an ever increasing group (16 next trip) of experienced skiers and the impression I get is that I have been spolied by the overall service.

In/out sking (L2A), proximity to ski school, accomodation and food has been great. The ski hosting is also great for me with little experience of the mountains or pistes.

We have been looking for an alternative to MW or a second trip including chalets etc but no-one else seems to offer the equivalent all round package from Scotland/North and knowing only one way am cautious about trying someone new especially skiing with kids........comments?

Why change if your happy with their service :shock:

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:06:14 GMT

Probably the best company I've been with in 35 years-plus! If you like Mark Warner stick with em. If you want equivalent quality I think you'll have to pay top dollar for a company like Powder Byrne etc.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:55:46 GMT

I always found MW prices high. Unless anyone knows any different.....?

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 09:33:48 GMT

Tony_H wrote:My experience puts them in this order for me:

1. Skiworld - totally professional, fantastic food in chalets, could not be nicer people
2. Inghams - very friendly and well informed staff
3. Neilson - take themselves a little too seriously, and not as available as others
4. Panorama - cheap and cheerful
5. Rocketski - aimed really at the schools market
6. First Choice - could not get any kind of response from our rep at all when there was an issue in the hotel

Anyone?

Never used Neilson, but agree with what you say there (unsurprisingly, given the shared experiences you and I have had.)

One point though - as good as Skiworld were in resort in St. Anton I do recall the first experience of them at Gatwick ski-drop not being quite so hot!! :D

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 10:54:07 GMT

skidaddle wrote:

Tony_H wrote:My experience puts them in this order for me:

1. Skiworld - totally professional, fantastic food in chalets, could not be nicer people
2. Inghams - very friendly and well informed staff
3. Neilson - take themselves a little too seriously, and not as available as others
4. Panorama - cheap and cheerful
5. Rocketski - aimed really at the schools market
6. First Choice - could not get any kind of response from our rep at all when there was an issue in the hotel

Anyone?

Never used Neilson, but agree with what you say there (unsurprisingly, given the shared experiences you and I have had.)

One point though - as good as Skiworld were in resort in St. Anton I do recall the first experience of them at Gatwick ski-drop not being quite so hot!! :D

Not from our point of view, no, as the rep tried to make us all pay GBP35 each A SECOND TIME for ski carriage whilst checking in as her paperwork did not confirm we had paid it. I think you might recall my blunt response to her though, seemed to do the trick.
I should have kept quiet when she came down the queue and asked who was travelling with Skiworld....

As for the resort rep and our chalet host in St Anton, you will not meet 2 guys who were up for a crack and who could take a serious amount of ribbing. Top people.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:01:00 GMT

Normally book indipendantly or I use Snowcoach and cant fault them especially on Price.
We have used Mark Warner a couple of times but last min so very cheap but great company.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:38:42 GMT

I think thats the sectret with MW....check for deals as their online prices fluctuate up and down as they sell blocks of rooms.....

We've paid Jan 10th GBP1800 hb from Edinburgh for family of 4 gainst a brochure price of over GBP3000. First time 4 years ago it was GBP395 per adult.......surely can't get cheaper?

Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:48:38 GMT

skidaddle wrote:One point though - as good as Skiworld were in resort in St. Anton I do recall the first experience of them at Gatwick ski-drop not being quite so hot!! :D

The good old Ski Carriage Gestapo at Gatwick! Yes not a good start to a holiday.
I had a conversation with Skiworld's head of groups about them on one of their group leaders trips, how the first experience of a Skiworld employee for our members was a negative one.
It does seem to have improved.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:01:46 GMT

Quick rule - the large the company, the worse they generally are!
If you want chalet holidays, search out the small specialist who have been around for a few years - they are owner run, have huge repeat business, and know their resorts inside out.

Staggered anyone can mention quality food and Ski World in the same breath unless things have changed massively in recent years and their food budget has gone up immeasurably!

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:27:37 GMT

Dorset Boy wrote:Quick rule - the large the company, the worse they generally are!
If you want chalet holidays, search out the small specialist who have been around for a few years - they are owner run, have huge repeat business, and know their resorts inside out.

Staggered anyone can mention quality food and Ski World in the same breath unless things have changed massively in recent years and their food budget has gone up immeasurably!

2 trips with skiworld in the past 2 seasons, both times the food was not good, it was superb. I think it was as much down to the chalet host as the budget, although we did find if you look after them, they look after you, if you know what I mean....
I would go with skiworld every time if I could.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:39:25 GMT

Good on Skiworld if they've 'upped their game'. Their food was always wholesome, but basic.

As you say though Tony, if you look after your hosts, they usually look after you well!

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 20:42:47 GMT

Hi,

I have used Crystal once or twice,skiworld but my favourite if I have to use a tour operator is Ski Miquel whom I have used several times ( but haven't used any since buying my apartment), of the three Ski Miquel gets my vote as they are a small friendly company who have their own chalets and only use resorts that are not the usual hotspots (with the exception of Whistler).

All their cooks are fully trained and qualified and the whole packages are very well priced.

jon.

Re:Tour ops - who uses which ones?

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 21:22:06 GMT

jonG wrote:Hi,

I have used Crystal once or twice,skiworld but my favourite if I have to use a tour operator is Ski Miquel whom I have used several times ( but haven't used any since buying my apartment), of the three Ski Miquel gets my vote as they are a small friendly company who have their own chalets and only use resorts that are not the usual hotspots (with the exception of Whistler).

All their cooks are fully trained and qualified and the whole packages are very well priced.

jon.

I nearly booked with them to go to Serre Che but ended up going with Skiworld to St Anton that week. They have good reviews.