Holiday types · Hotels
Hotels
Star ratings are national, not international. A Cuban five-star is a comfortable four elsewhere, Japanese rooms are small at every price, and Turkish all-inclusive outperforms its rating almost everywhere.
Star ratings are national, not international. A Cuban five-star is a comfortable four elsewhere, Japanese rooms are small at every price, and Turkish all-inclusive outperforms its rating almost everywhere.
Search engines rank hotels by price and rating. Neither tells you whether the holiday will work.
Transfer time from the airport matters enormously with young children and appears nowhere on a listing. Whether the pool is heated decides if it's usable in April. Whether the kids' club is genuinely staffed or a room with a television. Whether a 'pool villa' means a private pool or a shared complex one. Whether the beach in front is sheltered or Atlantic-facing. We ring and ask, and we put the answers in writing before you pay a deposit.
Places where two hotels at the same price deliver very different holidays.
The house reef is the single biggest difference between resorts, and it isn't in the rating.
West coast or east coast decides whether you can swim. Same island, same price.
North coast is swimmable at every tide; the east retreats hundreds of metres.
Seaweed exposure varies beach by beach between April and August.
East coast for the best sand, west for still air. The wrong coast in July is windy.
Altitude decides the snow. Book above 1,800m and the problem mostly disappears.
Two airports two and a half hours apart. Match the airport to the hotel first.
Which coast depends on the month. The right hotel in the wrong season is a wet week.
Beach or Downtown — the choice is between swimming and walking to the Burj.
No, and we wouldn't claim otherwise. But we check the specifics with the supplier before recommending, and we tell you what we've confirmed and what we haven't.
Yes, though it isn't ATOL protected in the same way. We'll tell you clearly what protection applies before you pay.
Report it to the supplier's representative immediately so they can move you or fix it. Then tell us, and we'll help you pursue it with the principal.
We'll pass any request on — high floor, quiet side, connecting rooms, honeymoon. Requests are never guaranteed, and we won't pretend otherwise.
No flights — for driving trips, points redemptions, or a second week bolted on.
Five-star for less than European four-star, especially May to September.
Central hotels booked with the museum slots you'll actually need.
Useful if you're using points or a low-cost flight you've already booked.
Resort plus seaplane transfer, without the flights. Transfers still matter.
Eixample and El Born, walking distance to everything worth seeing.
No flight needed, and August needs booking a year ahead.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, accommodation and transfers where stated. They indicate what a holiday of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, board basis, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
No forms with twenty fields. Send us the rough shape and we'll come back within one working day with real options and real prices.