 Poster: A snowHead
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I suspect that when a TO buys places in a hotel they screw the hotel down to the lowest possible price - so guests get no frills, and certainly can't expect the same quality of stay as an individual booking direct. That was certainly our experience, staying in an Austrian hotel through Inghams. I can't imagine the other guests were served such revolting food (all week - not just one night) as we were. We had a rather cramped table in the corner of the dining room and absolutely no choice.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sharon1953, i dont think I would want a big meal at that time after a long trip where ive basically been sat idle. ive never known anything other than a cold plate being left for a late arrival but its always been great. You will however benefit from being there for the breakfast which the early starters on leaving day (5am etc) will miss.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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pam w, never experienced that, i used to always book with TO and got the same food as the rest of the hotel. However, recently hotels and TO seem to have been looking at ways to reduce costs everywhere to pass on the savings to consumers - we cant afford the holidays we used to be able to afford. Maybe letting chefs go at the end of service, rather than hanging around for one or two late guests is worth the savings if it means cheaper holidays?
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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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who rates this 4*? Tour operator ratings are always exagerated 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Shimmy Alcott, the year it happened to us we were supposed to be in a catered chalet, which was next door; the building belonged to the hotel. In the event there was no adequate kitchen - Inghams must have been aware of that all along, but we didn't know till we arrived and were told we were eating our evening meals in the hotel. We would have cancelled and booked somewhere else if we'd known - it was really poor. When the lift got stuck between floors at 1 am the proprietor objected mightily to being woken up to deal with it, and my son had to call out the fire brigade (he was a fluent mountain German speaker, luckily, despite being drunk..... the poor guys stuck in the lift were also dying for a pee. 
We had a great holiday, because it was a big happy family group. the Inghams chalet boy was also lovely - but the hotel was truly not a success. Neither was the trip home - 8 hour delay in Innsbruck, with nowhere to sit (because all flights were delayed by fog). We sat on the floor for the 8 hours, playing cards.
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Shimmy Alcott, we fly out at 3 pm by 8.30 pm I'll want something hot to eat and drink, having only had access to airport food from 1pm! Even when we've left early on homeward departures, we've always been given a substantial breakfast and hot drinks laid on, but then breakfast is a much easier meal to leave prepared.
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kioksor, Tourist Board of the resort. Stars are awarded by inspectors for all sorts of things though, like having a swimming pool, wifi connection in rooms, the furniture in the room, reception facilities, health spas, having a lounge or bar, it's not a precise indication of how good the food is. But that's what the www. is so good for!
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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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It just seems that tour operators often exagerate the stars, and if they can do this, exagerating the number of meals wouldn't be past them!
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sharon1953, In situations like this I always go to my nearest Clinical Hypnotherapist or download a soothing tune from http://www.hypnosisrecordings.net/. Honestly, try it, you'll be OK.
Anyway, relax, you're on a late charter flight... a few small delays on the earlier flights will compound and that means you'll be lucky to make breakfast the following day 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Does it say in the brochure that the resort is beautiful and sunny, and benefits from a snowsure record ? What will you do when it's a whiteout one day and you cant see teh tops of eth mountain ? Definitely complain - i bet they didnt say anyhing about that
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| I suspect that when a TO buys places in a hotel they screw the hotel down to the lowest possible price - so guests get no frills, and certainly can't expect the same quality of stay as an individual booking direct. |
This is true. Direct customers normally get the better rooms and often get better tables in better parts of the restaurant (especially true in the bigger hotels)
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There's a mass point-missing exercise going on here. Crystal have advertised seven four-course hot meals. They are supplying six. It doesn't matter whether some of you wouldn't want a hot dinner, or others have had cold platters on arrival or whatever. sharon1953, paid for an advertised service and isn't getting it. She is therefore well within her rights to be grumpy.
Since when was it 'demanding' or 'having unreasonable expectations' to think you should receive the service promised by the provider?
kioksor, TOs never exaggerate tourist board star ratings - they'd just be begging to be sued. Their own in-house rating system is an entirely different matter.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Bode Swiller wrote: |
Anyway, relax, you're on a late charter flight... a few small delays on the earlier flights will compound and that means you'll be lucky to make breakfast the following day |
Flying in to innsbruck that is a very possible scenario
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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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sharon1953, Although a confirmed DIY'er myself,every so often a deal crops up that I cant ignore,and its usually with Crystal.So..this Christmas we are off to Austria in a Crystal Chalet.Should I be concerned  Not in the slightest.I take your point about a TO's obligations towards you,based on what they have stated,and this is a bit remiss of them.But no more than that IMHO.I feel sure that the staff will take good care of you(they will be well aware of your later arrival),so.... focus your venom on the company till they squeal and cough up  They would,no doubt,hold you to contract,and you should have the same expectation(though I doubt Crystal will see it that way!)
Different people have differing expectations of a TO.....mine are simple. That the flight leaves roughly on time,and lands in the correct country.That the hotel/chalet exists,and the coach driver has a rough idea where it is(having witnessed a driver get lost..twice?) That the food is generally edible,and the rooms warm! I go to ski,and treat most of the rest of the package as a sideshow to the main event
Don't get me wrong.I've also paid out and expect(roughly)what I've paid for......however,with the likes of Crystal,I just don't set the bar too high.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Oh FFS even if Crystal are guilty I strongly suspect it's not deliberate unless they had a negotation with the hotel over mealtimes and Crystal willingly said "Yes sod our customers arriving on late flights we'll save £2 a season". I suggest as they've breached the T&Cs you spend the rest of the lead up to your holiday trying to prise the price of a kebab out of their cold dead hands or exercise your right to cancel and demand a full refund.
Surely anyone going with a mass TO gets promised (or reads into carefully worded brochure "omissions") lots of stuff they don't get? Sunny skies, perfect snow coverage, spacious bedroom, bed that is long enough for an adult male etc etc.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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sharon1953, So what time is your flight?
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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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| sharon1953 wrote: |
| we fly out at 3 pm |
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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sharon1953, I think you are being unreasonable and getting worked up about something that is really very trivial as you are still getting a meal provided, you are not going hungry. It is a few years since I last used a TO and I can't remember ever being given a time that you would arrive at your hotel, is this a time that you have estimated from flight arrival, transfer time etc.
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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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larry1950, It's my estimation landing time + collecting luggage + plus waiting around + transfer and drop offs - and a time Customer Aftersales department thought "more than likely…" Which of course could mean anything!  Perhaps the reason the German's get such a good service is because they won't put up with anything less, this keeps the standards high in the resorts they frequent. Perhaps our service industry is poor because we only offer what we expect to be given, it stands to reason therefore, that if expectations are low, standards will be too. I can see no long-term gain in shrugging my shoulders, turning a blind eye and almost feeling grateful that Crystal have ‘allowed’ me to book and pay for a holiday with them and then heaven forbid have the audacity to complain when they fall short of their obligations. It’s just not good enough, it’s not good business, nor is it ethical! snowskisnow, When I buy a car, a phone, a pair of skis, a set of bindings, I don't expect a different spec than the one advertised and I bought as a result of that spec. It's comes under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Can't see the difference here
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Crystals T&C under food says
"Meals usually start with dinner on the first day of your arrival in resort and finish with breakfast on your day of departure."
(my use of italics). Enough said.
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I can't believe this thread even exists.
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sharon1953, where are you flying in and which resort? If it's Innsbruck.. I'll be able to give you a better idea (ex-rep yah') from experience how long it all takes.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hi all,
Just to throw a small spanner into the works . . .
Crystal run and manage an awful lot of hotels across an awful lot of countries and although they contract professionally for them I suspect that the things of importance to them are location, standards of the hotel, licensing etc and not so much whether the meal for the last flight is serveral hot or not on the first night. Although I can completely understand why it matters to you!
So, despite what the lady at the call centre told you, I suspect that it is the hotel and not Crystal who will be making the call on this on the specific day that you arrive. So, I think that there is a pretty good chance that if you genuinely do arrive only 20mins after the hotel dining room closes they will put the full dinner onto plates and serve you that. Probably along with what is left of the salad bar and the cheese too . . .
For the kitchen staff that is easier than making a seperate cold meal. The problem will come if your flight/transfer is delayed past the time when the staff are still in the kitchen.
Whatever happens, I hope that you have a lovely holiday. . .
Heather
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Are we heading towards a "pandora" moment
Rather than trying to spell out everything they should be doing and what your not happy with on here, expend this energy on telling them and getting an answer from THEM
Let us know when you are done!
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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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| Quote: |
It's my estimation landing time + collecting luggage + plus waiting around + transfer and drop offs - and a time Customer Aftersales department thought "more than likely…"
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Hmm. One of those moments where a French customer service person would have said "normalement" (see the thread on difficult to pronounce piste names). TO transfers are a good moment to practice meditation techniques. I wouldn't tackle one without a good book, a sandwich and a heart ready to rejoice if I get to bed in time to be on the first lift in the morning. If you want convenient, you have to pay the large sums for a private transfer.
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Seems to me it depends on the quality of the meal they give you. They won't pay for you to have slap-up nosh elsewhere, but it does seem reasonable to expect them to spend about as much on you as they would have done if you were having the normal meal, so that could be a very nice spread of cold things.
The hotel must be used to people turning up late on change-over day, even the Germans who have driven down from Hamburg or wherever might miss the normal meal time. As you say, they wouldn't put up with sub-standard food.
So it might turn out fine. But it would be sensible for Crystal to give you proper info. Customer service, attention to detail!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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ooops dp alert
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 29-11-11 10:32; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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1gunsalute, spot on.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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With this moaning before the holiday starts, I imagine the OP will be sufficiently worked up that there will be grumblings at the dinner table for the other six nights. Can you imagine the other guests around said table!! They will no doubt catch the misery bug also! Would they then have an action against the table that caused them irritation and grief? The OP paid less than the market price you had been able to source DIY, which is a good thing! That said you will not get the same quality and size of room that the TO has acquired for you! I hope you will enjoy the week away in the mountains and be ready for the long hard slog of work for the remainder of the year!
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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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i wouldnt bother going at all. you'r not going to have a good time. The weather will be too cold, the hotel will be dirty and they cant even guarantee when it will snow!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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CEM, I'm waiting! Timbobaggins, It’s a picture! If they "Guaranteed knee deep snow” in writing and charged accordingly, you would have grounds to complain, as it is they haven’t and no T.O would be stupid enough to make such a guarantee, let alone put it in print. Insurance should cover you for transport costs to get to where there is snow nearbly if there isn’t any at all, at least ours does! Why are some people here making the assumption I have booked a budget holiday but expect luxury standards? It certainly wasn't a budget price, it's the most expensive so far in celebration of my husband's 60th earlier this year.
I know I will have a great holiday, because I am generally a positive person, and nothing short of an avalanche will spoil my time on the mountains, I’m with people I love, doing something I save all year to do. But as I get older, I cannot and will not tolerate substandard “anything” unless I have been given the opportunity to make an informed choice. If I fly with jet2 or easyjet, I don’t expect any frills, but I still expect a seat, a toilet, and to take off and land as per ticket, unless something unexpected prevents this.
Judging by some of comments here, I assume you will all smile sweetly and say ‘oh well…what can you do” if you find your 6 day lift pass runs out 4 hours before it should do; because you can rejoice in the fact that you’ve just had 5.5 days skiing !
Now I’m off to do some work, where I shall be offering my clients the exact service they have been told I will provide, with a smile!
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cran
cran
Guest
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| Quote: |
| the dining room closes 8.30 pm |
That's quite early closing...
But if I arrived on a flight after 8:30 in the evening then I doubt I'd be looking for a cooked 4 course meal... a beer (or ten) would be a much higher priority 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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cran, we arrive at Innsbruck @ 18:30, so it's tight!
On a lighter note....Thank you all for your input, most enlightening and thought provoking as usual and much appreciated….now where’s my letter template????
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OP contracted with Crystal to provide 7 hot meals.
It turns out they are only going to provide 6.
This is a breach of contract. It may well be a sufficient breach in order for OP to terminate the contract with Crystal.
So, OP, cancel your holiday - as there is no other possible solution (certainly not Crystal's paying for a 4-course slap up dinner in town for you, LOL).
And if you won't... then you are agreeing that there is nothing to worry about.
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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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Time elapsed between scheduled landing time to sitting down to dinner in hotel, with a TO transfer - just two hours??? Might be a world record.
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Boredsurfing, that seems a bit cheeky, can't think he would want bothering on here?
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