To be angry with Thomson?

[Sparklyblue]

Sorry, but i've put this here for traffic.
This is more of a WWYD really.
We have scrimped and saved for a very special holiday to Mexico for our 10th wedding anniversary. We picked the hotel as it is part of a 3 hotel complex, being able to pick and choose which pools and restuarants we could use throughout.
Thomson have called my husband and stated that one of the hotels has now become a superior hotel and we are now not able to use any of the facilities at this hotel.
I am very annoyed as we have had this holiday booked for over 6 months and I think that they should honour our booking.
This is not the 1st time we have been messed around.
Six weeks before our holiday in May we were told that our hotel was closed and they offered us another hotel. I hated the look of the hotel and would never have picked it. I was told I either go on the new holiday or have a refund.
It was only when I complained to the manager, stating that I had used Thomson for all my holidays for the past 15 years and that I had even booked my wedding with them that the manager offered us another holiday.
What do I do, if anything?

I think they should honour it too. Suggest they do or ask for a full refund and book elsewhere. Good luck.

As far as I understand ABTA rulings there is nothing you can do Thompson have done what is legally right - frustrating for you though

Same thing happened to us! Was it the Barcelo palace they cancelled?

I had this done to me as well, they are within the letter of the law - and its gutting especially when you've put all the effort into research etc.

This is why I don't use a travel agent anymore - that they think the holiday I've saved for is worth slapping together at the last minute at their convenience then that's not a service I'm willing to pay for.

That's so annoying. Even if it's legal a nice letter to the MD might be worth a go. It's your Wedding Anniversary, you're a loyal customer and you are so disappointed, it's not at all what you've come to expect from your favourite travel firm etc.
IME it works, they don't want to lose loyal customers.

How much would it cost to upgrade in this hotel so you can use the facilities out of interest?

So Thomsons are saying that they had no prior warning that this might happen at all ? So when they did the contracts for the season nobody told them that it might be planned?
The thing is you booked your holiday based on what was in their brochure and it is part of your contract .... yes you have the pages of terms and conditions however at the time of booking you booked and paid for what they were offering.
They should be offering a similar hotel / complex or a full refund.
Have a look round and see if anybody else is offering what you want .
Yes I would complain in writing stating what you have said her ... You have saved, its a special occasion and the 3 hotel facilities were a deciding factor for you.
Don't just give up or fume whilst you are there.
Also contact the hotel direct and see if there is in fact any way you could use the other hotel. They might have a supplemt or room type that can have access to the other facilities.

I know this hotel quite well. This rule change has caused great furore amongst regulars.
If you are travelling child free, then insist your booking is honoured and you are placed in the section beginning with A. (It is adults only from 1 November) If staying in A you can still use the facilities at T and C.
If you have to compromise, I would then insist on the section beginning with T - unless you are travelling with small children who may like the novelty pool at the C section. Look online for a map and specify the villa you want - sea view etc.
They will tell you that their contract is with the C section and Thomas Cook now have the T section. That's true but they can can get round that. Avoid the SK section unless you really like it quiet and away from the beach.
Otherwise, look at the other hotels in the area and tell them you want the full 5 star.
It's not even clear yet which UK travel agents are going to be able to offer the A section so I can't say whether you should take a full refund and rebook with another company in order to get into A.

They had plenty of warning, tripadvisor forum and FB group have been talking about this for nigh on two years. First of all we thought they were turning A into bloody timeshares.

But they didn't put it on their website until around April/May this year.
Because a family saving up for a special trip which could cost around £10,000 don't bother booking too far in advance do they?!?!
Many regulars are very cross over this, and voting with their feet, especially since there was already an adults only section. Only our beach was better.

Yes, we are travelling child free.
They're going to fob me off though, I know it

Spring has some great info there. State that you booked hotel on strength of being able to use all complex facilities....maybe escalate an email if you get no joy instore.

I agree with Springlamb's plan of campaign. We stayed here in August with DS and his DCs in the T section. I hate T Cook even more than I hate Thomson, but had to go with them, in order to stay in the T area.Presumably as things stand, if they don't deal with the T area, and won't give you A that only leaves C which is inland and a lengthy trolley ride from the beach or SK which is even further away. If you create enough fuss, they should locate you in A if that is what you want, otherwise demand the 'hacienda' part of T. Ideal for couples seeking a serene holiday. And tell them they must sort out the fact that they don't usually offer those T rooms with with the hotel as advised by Spring.

If it is any comfort, we visited to the A section from T only once; far too busy and 'mass market' for us, we were happy to stay put in T.

I don't even know which section has become unavailable to us?
My husband took the phone call as I was at work and because the booking is in my name, they wouldn't really tell him much.
I am going in to the shop tomorrow. We are in section C, but we didn't mind this, because we could use the other hotels too.
How long have Thomson known about this?

It's the Ak section you will not be able to access.
The fact they initially booked you into the C section indicates they knew already about the restrictions on Ak. Changes have been talked about for a couple of years but the details only became clear early this year and, as I say, their website was only updated to take this into account in the spring.
TBH, if it is just adults, I think really press for the Tu section and as insist on the Hacienda upgrade free. This is the only other section that leads direct onto the beach. The buffet here is better as well IMO. I always go into villa 4 or 5 (and we have to have ground floor) because I like to be near everything, and also find my sleep quite disjointed so it's easy to wander 30 seconds along to the beach bar for a coffee at 4.30am, and watch the dawn.
Although in these circumstances I might be insisting they move me to the Sensatori with a swim up room.
Please be daring and take a taxi to Akumal Beach to swim with the turtles (Akumal Beach is off resort and nothing to do with the Ak section) and have lunch at the Lol Ha. The dive centre there will hire you anything you need.

Because their contract was with the Ak section up until the new restrictions became clear, when they switched to the C. Up till then their default was to put you in Ak. Virgin had Coba, TC had Tulum.
In the good old days before they strictly enforced the contracts, you could easily move from section to section, just ask on arrival. But a couple of years ago they got really strict about it - you booked with Thomson you are in Ak, you booked with TC you are in the T.
I was a T addict until then, and then one visit they would NOT allow me to change from Ak.

I fucking hate Thomson with a passion - got into an argument over a £30 service we paid for which we didn't receive and they refused to refund. It wasn't enough to go to the ombudsman (as you have to pay more than £30 to use them - or did at the time).

Net result for Thomson? We booked our £6k honeymoon with Kuoni (even changing the location as the only company to fly direct to our first choice was, you guessed it, Thomson), and our next holiday with Thomas Cook.

All for the sake of £30. In the end it wasn't even the fact that they refused to refund... they handled my complaint absolutely appallingly and I will never use them again.

They don't give a shit about their customers once they have your money... I hope you get a better outcome, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Also, points to remember -
It's not the travel companies enforcing this, it's GBP. The companies were perfectly happy with their arrangements. I think if you only had a phone call a couple of days ago, the travel companies have been hoping it wouldn't really happen (and some American regulars are still sceptical). However, your contract is with the travel company.
GBP are going to posh themselves out of the market if they carry on. There was already a perfectly adequate adults only option at this resort but the poor darlings had to get the trolley to their own little roped off section of the beach with posh sunbeds and waiter service to your sunbed. As an Ak guest, if you tried to walk through that section of beach you were shooed off.
Now they will have direct access to the beach.
NB if I ever had the chance to travel child free I would definitely be one of the poor darlings!
Don't let them transfer you to the H10.