 Poster: A snowHead
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I have booked a trip to Gressony in March with Crystal ski. i am meeting friends in resort so cannot go elsewhere.
In the last few days Crystal emailed me to say the Spa facilities in the hotel will be closed this Winter. This was not highlighted when booking or made aware at the point of booking.
I questioned this with Crystal who basically said tough. The hotel told them it was closed and there was nothing they could do. They didn't offer and money off and said re-book elsewhere if i wanted. obviously i am committed to Gressony.
Even a few days later they were still advertising spa facilities available t the same hotel.
After a few emails with Crystal they maintained the stance of not their problem.
Is this right??
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The closure of the Spa facility will have been the Hotel's decision - presumably due to the cost of energy - so is not the fault of Crystal. Unless Crystal is reimbursed by the Hotel, I would not expect them to give discount to every one of their clients all Winter.
Similar happened to me years ago at a Hotel (La Brunerie) in L2A, when going with Crystal. I chose it partly as it had Spa facilities - but IIRC The spa remained closed that week (shortly after New Year), as the French HSA had not given it the all clear to open, as they (supposedly) gave "French" Hotels priority.
It was a bit of a disappointment - but we were there to ski....so we all grumbled a bit and got on with the Holiday.
It was much worse for a family with a disabled child who was unable to ski, so the parents had specifically chosen that hotel as it had a spa.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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They should not be advertising something they know is not available - that is false advertising.
Take screenshots & then blackmail them 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If your not happy and something has been removed from the booking then cancel the booking which you should get a fully refund for and book else where to stay in Gressony
It's not great they have not updated the advertising but as others have said it won't have been their call and they have let you know rather than just waiting till you turn up.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Rob_Quads wrote: |
| ....and they have let you know rather than just waiting till you turn up. |
In our case, we only found out after we turned up.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Just a thought, but it might be worth contacting the hotel direct and asking them when they notified Crystal of the non-availability of the spa. If Crystal subsequently offered the option as part of your booking package, it’s possible you’ll have more scope for arguing for some compensation. Take to social media, OFT (?), Trading Standards etc etc.
Or, if you’re actually not that fussed, just accept it as part of the more challenging and ‘subject to change’ times we now live in.
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They found out after we booked as I asked that question but can’t tell me when. It is still advertised on the website but apparently one of the tabs now has an update to say spa is closed.
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Probably says in the TsCs somewhere what Crystal (or any other TO) consider to be material to your holiday and that they will not be responsible for additional services provided or not provided by a third party i.e. the hotel. Shame though it is you will probably have to suck it up or cancel at your own risk.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I have booked with Crystal for a party of 5 half board in Westendorf next Jan. Following the booking I was contacted by Crystal and informed that the hotel restaurant would be closed to us for 2 nights of the week ( reasons unknown). We were each refunded 25 euro per person per night the restaurant is unavailable by Crystal. We all like eating out anyway
Andy.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 26-11-22 17:52; edited 2 times in total
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Yep looks like we have to suck it up but won’t be booking with Crystal again 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@TOOTIE, bit harsh, non? Also, you might want to book with them again ... (Although I am not entirely sure why anyone would use a TO...)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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TOs seem to do this sort of thing with impunity. We once booked a catered chalet in Austria, with Inghams, only to find when we arrived (10 of us) that the so-called "chalet" had no proper cooking facilities so although there was a jolly nice "chalet maid" chap who made us all a cake every day, and ate with us in the evenings, we ate in the adjoining hotel, on very inferior food compared to that being served to the hotel's regular guests. We were on a dingy table in the corner of the dining room and the attitude of the proprietors left much to be desired. None of us wanted to spoil the holiday by complaining, and the lad was a real star, but it was very disappointing. The food was truly grim - if we'd been offered money to eat out we'd have been delighted. My son and girlfriend stayed on in resort (Alpbach) afterwards, staying in a local house with "zimmer" and planning to get jobs (he spoke very good German). He broke his ankle toboganning within a few days and the chalet lad, and the Austrian woman whose house they were staying in, were marvellous, but Inghams were hopeless when he turned up at the airport in a wheelchair and there was no facility to buy an air ticket with a credit card. I had to phone an Inghams duty manager on a busy Saturday and suggest that as I'd just taken a party of 10 to their so-catered chalet, and not complained about the atrocious treatment, he'd better pull his finger out and take my money and get them on a plane. Which he did. That was the last time I used a TO.
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| pam w wrote: |
| TOs seem to do this sort of thing with impunity. We once booked a catered chalet in Austria, with Inghams, only to find when we arrived (10 of us) that the so-called "chalet" had no proper cooking facilities so although there was a jolly nice "chalet maid" chap who made us all a cake every day, and ate with us in the evenings, we ate in the adjoining hotel, on very inferior food compared to that being served to the hotel's regular guests. |
I suppose the difference in your case, is that TO's have almost complete control over their Catered Chalets (so should describe them accurately), whereas they have little control over Hotels where they simply take rooms.
I have been going with TOs for over 40 years - and probably had 3 occasions where things were not as expected. One was described above; the Second was a Chalet Holiday where one of the two staff was fired and not replaced for 3 days (so we had to pitch in as there was too much work for one); the Third was a recent holiday where the Hotel said they "should" be able to accommodate a Vegan if given notice and then didn't - Crystal had advised at time of booking that there was no guarantee the request would be honoured.
Most of my issues with TOs have been on transfer to the resort.
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You know it makes sense.
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The "chalet" in our case was essentially part of the hotel, though of course we'd not realised that when we booked. It was new on Ingham's books and clearly the work to create a practical kitchen simply hadn't been done. And it must have been obvious well before we flew that we were NOT going to be staying in a "catered chalet". The switch to the hotel dining room would have been fine if the food had been acceptable, and the attitude of the proprietors better. The lift got stuck between floors one night about midnight - my son and his brother and cousins were coming back from the bar. It was only a tiny lift and my younger son opted to walk up the stairs, fortunately. He woke the proprietors who told him to go away, as it was the middle of the night. Fortunately he spoke fluent German (even when drunk) and phoned the fire brigade, who turned up promptly, fortunately, as they were all desperate to pee having been drinking beer. The firemen thought it was a great laugh, of course.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@pam w, Not good.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I used to go with TOs a lot and only had 1 issue. We had booked full board bit on arrival it was clearly only B&B. Luckily I had the invoice with me and the rep arranged for us to eat at a restaurant a few doors away. All done very well. It might have been Crystal
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We enjoyed a number of catered chalet holidays which essentially meant going with TOs. And was usually fine - we didn't pay a lot, and didn't expect a lot. But nowadays I think there are fewer arguments in favour of TOs.
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