Expressions Holidays Reviews 15

You delivered exactly what we asked for. The hotel choices were very good, including the location we requested, for which you had little knowledge.

Brilliantly organised and tailored to our requirements. Hotels excellent as was communication and service overall.

Good support from Expressions staff.
Good travel arrangements
Very nice hotel

Very well constructed programme encompassing our opera bookings for the Puccini festival. Thank you for organising a splendid trip for us.

Everything went absolutely smoothly. The opera seat selections could not have been better, the transfers were excellent, and all supported by a first-class itinerary pack.

It all made for a thoroughly relaxing trip for us, which is what it is all about. Thank you.

It was a good holiday except the hotel, while very grand and comfortable is very impersonal because it mostly caters for guests who are “doing” Europe, so it has no atmosphere and the pleasant little village has no Italians, mostly Afghans or Pakistanis in the trattorias. 2 days would have been enough, 7 was seriously too long. Very good breakfast, but overelaborate restaurants for dinner with over priced food. The house wine was €55 per bottle (€8 in the supermarket!). But the flights were excellent, as were the transfers. We wouldn’t go back

We have just spent just over a week at the Grand Hotel Menaggio on Lake Como. We asked if we could have a room with a balcony which could have been a challenge! Our room was perfect with an amazing view and everything was so well organised for us, transfers, flights etc. The staff at the hotel were amazing, nothing too much trouble and so pleasant.Grazie

We had an excellent week in Assisi. Many thanks for everything.Lovely room in the hotel which was very central , excellent food and transfers from and back to Rome were really efficient. Hope to return !

We are just returning from the most incredible few days at Hotel Pinede Plage in La Croix Valmer. Tippi was super helpful and very efficient so that everything ran smoothly. Thank you so much! ❤️

We wanted to experience Sri Lanka at a more leisurely pace than the standard itinerary, so Expression Holidays added in extra nights where we requested, as well as reduced travelling time on certain days. All of the accommodation was in fabulous small boutique hotels, some no more than 6 rooms in former plantation managers properties in magical locations with the most fabulous views. The staff at these hotels couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful. We also had a knowledgeable and informative driver throughout our holiday who ensured we visited the more popular sights ahead of the larger groups of tourists as well as providing other tailored sights. Altogether a thoroughly enjoyable trip; Expression Holidays were very knowledgeable, efficient and helpful throughout. We highly recommend this company and will definitely use them again.

We spent a lovely weekend in Florence booked through you. The hotel was just right for us, very comfortable, and the advice and assistance we received with the booking was excellent. Subsequently I have had a most enjoyable time on one of your wine tours. It is your attention to detail and personal service that makes your company so special. Thank you so much.

We booked our Orient express holiday through Expressions, they were great at selling the holiday and taking the money, after that it went down hill, some of it not caused by them, but they exasperated the issue.
Due to a landslide the trip on the orient was cancelled, we were told by the Company Director that they couldn't get us out to Venice any other way, and we wouldn't be able to phone them back, this was apparently do to having to call all the parties (we later found out this was just us and another couple). They advised us to cancel in writing straight away for insurance purposes, which we thought was logical, so we did as instructed.
However, when we called and ask for the insurance claim details, the Company Director said we couldn't claim off them as we cancelled the holiday not them, I called to speak to the Director in person, on this call, they danced around their small print, when challenged with the facts they reacted in a very duplicitous manner. I asked for full disclosure using the Subject Access Review and received a very hostile response, in this I could see they had instructed the hotels not to speak to us.
We ended up using legal means to challenge the company and received a full refund (apart from excess).
The whole affair was very unpleasant and challenging.
so in short.
Loads of promises, efficient at collecting the money, if it all goes wrong woeful, disrespectful and duplicitous in dealing with it, they look to protect themselves and throw you under the bus.

We recently returned from a holiday in Nice arranged by Expressions. We were attracted by Expression's assertion that 'You'll also have access to the most beautiful private beach in Nice, situated at the foot of the hotel.' There was no access to any private beach. When I phoned the company to ask for an explanation I was told by a very angry person that I was being unreasonable and that if I had any common sense I would have checked with the hotel before we travelled. I asked if that applied to all the information Expressions had given us and was told I was being 'ridiculous' and 'nasty'. The 'conversation' ended when she said she was 'busy' and had 'better things to do than talk to me.
On a happier note, French Railways were terrific and the hotel in Paris was excellent.

Expressions Holidays

Is your holiday cancellation fee fair and proportional?

I am aware of the terms of the contract of the holiday booking - loss of deposit if customer cancelled. However I thought, due to the unprecedented situation we are all in, that the company would have seen their way to returning part of the £1600 deposit. The situation changed dramatically since we booked the holiday in 2019 and it was in good faith we agreed to move the travel date from 2020 to 2021 in the belief at that time that travel would be open to everyone. However the UK government is now starting to instate quarantine for returning travellers and many other countries are doing the same. New variants of the virus are developing and the ability to travel worldwide is becoming more restricted. Therefore we feel it is not right to continue with our travel arrangement and pointless to try to rearrange a date and time. Had we asked for a refund or voucher in 2020 we would not be in this position to lose such a large deposit.

We contacted the company with our concern in September 2020 asking to cancel. This was giving good notice for a holiday date of June 2021. However we were told we could not cancel without losing our deposit but could only rearrange date or trip and then only for the same value. We then waited to see what would happen and re-contacted January 2021 to ask again to cancel, requesting return of the deposit. We had hoped to at least receive part refund but were told it is perfectly legal for the company to keep the entire £1600. I did not feel I experienced empathy for our situation and indeed felt there was no willingness to enter into any negotiation. I have also not yet received a transparent and detailed breakdown of monies spent although I stated that I failed to see how £1600 could have been spent by the company on our booking.

I have checked out the situation on the Government website; and see that the amount a company keeps must be in proportion to what they are losing due to the cancellation. I have kept the company informed of our unhappiness and of our research into this situation and I recommend you proceed with caution and take advice as we are, if you are in a similar situation to us. I will not be considering using this travel company in the future.

Following forwarding my intention to post the above on social media the company asked us to wait the 28 days allowed by ABTA for a response. Today, 25 days later I received an email again outlining the legality of retaining the deposit and the reasons why the company feel this to be totally, unquestionably, reasonable. They asked me to upload their response with my posting but I feel confident they will be able to respond on this social media platform with a copy and paste of the document they sent to me.
I feel it is worth highlighting this situation as I am aware that it may not be uncommon when holidays are booked a considerable time in advance. I have now logged an ABTA complaint and realised that Expressions Holidays are not registered under that name but under: Garland & Hoff