The National Holidays
Reviews and Complaints

Dear Sir or Madam,

We came back a week ago from our holiday to Ireland,Titanic,Giants Causeway and Mountains of Mourne.We had a really wonderful holiday but it was spoiled by the time taken picking up passengers.We got on the bus at 4.15am in Leeds abd took so long picking up passengers both sides of the Pennines.Altogether we left at 4-15am and got to our hotel at about 7-15pm.It took 8 hours to go from Leeds to Chester.

On the return journey we had a 20minute break at Chester and then we did not have another stop except at Huddersfield bus station where we were told we could use the toilets and get something to eat in Greggs.

Such a long journey for two people of 78 years old was very hard and tiring and really not acceptable.You need more feeders to cut the time of the pickups.We felt that a really wonderful holiday had been spoilt by the travelling and just wanted to bring this complaint to your notice.

John and Norma Corbridge [protected]@outlook.com

My husband and I paid £5 each to book seats. We allocated no seat numbers and the driver said we could 'sit anywhere'. Further into the journey, people had booked seats and had been allocated seat numbers. Some passengers were obliged to change the seats they were in because those seat numbers had been allocated to them.

Why did we have to pay and extra £10 for allocated seats to ensure we sat together when we received no seat numbers and could have been asked to move.

I think we should have a refund of the £10 we paid for booking our seats which were not booked as we were not allocated any seat numbers.

I booked two holidays over the last few months only to see both have been cancelled One was to Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall but because of parking problems due to Manchester United playing Chelsea on that weekend it was cancelled. Secondly I booked a five day holiday to Eastbourne in June and now see that has been cancelled as well. I am extremely angry about this as I had purchased tickets to go and watch the Professional LTA Tennis Tournament happening that week. I feel extremely let down by your company as I have been on numerous trips over the last few years without any problems. Could you please look into this matter as I feel extremely upset after many years of really happy Holidays . I would like my money returning as soon as possible so that I can book holidays with a more reliable company.

I notice there are many unhappy members of the public complaining about your service and so feel it necessary to write to the appropriate department to find out if they will look into my complaint and am sure - many many more unhappy people.

Afternoon,
I have phoned several times had call backs several times all giving me different information on when i will be Receive my refund.

I have now been asking for around ten weeks this is not at all acceptable this is not about the amount i am owed it's the principle of this issue.
I have also sent emails regarding this.

I have spent a lot of money over the past couple of months with your company and will not be doing this in the future and will not recommend to my friends and family.
I will now be making an appointment with my local Citizens advice on what i need now to action
Pam Erving
[protected]@outlook.com

I booked a concert and was told I had to pay the full amount which I did do, unfortunately due to covid ongoing it had to be cancelled. I have asked on many occasions to repay me back or speak to me but to no avail on nothing. I received a credit note but told them because of my health issues I have now I can no longer do these trips, can anyone advise please on what I can do next
Thanks everyone

Hi booked online for a 2 day break in London to see jersey boys on the 27nov I paid £150 deposit then error come on screen but the money was taken straight away from my bank I would like to cancel this trip and get refunded please my name is David hazelgrave 11 west Lea crescent Wf31dj email [protected]@live.co.uk [protected] I've tried 10 to call but no one answered

I booked a trip with national holidays to York and the polar express trip in November. It obviously got cancelled due to COVID but I have had nothing but problems since. I paid £670 for the trip every time I ring they are either rude fob you of or you just can't get through to them. They don't reply to complaints when you email them. Really bad company very unprofessional on their side.

I would like to complain of extremely dangerous driver you have he over took use over speed limit at the end of dual carriageway and nearly caused serious accident I took picture of the culprit bus it been forwarded on to traffic police he needs to be reprimanded he has a responsibility for paying customers and for due care and attention on our motorways and respect other road users I would appreciate national holidays take note you have a dangerous driver on your books this was 16 December at 10.00 on our way to York from Scarborough

we went on spectacular party break on 20/12/2019 to the marine hotel (Llandudno), we were promised a Christmas dinner on one of the nights as advertised on your website. Friday night service was
very chaotic, very slow people were queuing to be seated at 6pm.
the food was poor quality, we didn't get our sweet, waited half an hour. and gave up, there was little choice, the staff did what they had to do just but were not helpful, and made no effort, nothing festive
about the break apart from a tree, no decorations, second night no
Christmas dinner, people were in uproar, they said we never promised but the website did. we have been there before but will not go back there, we might go with national again somewhere else, if you acknowledge our complaint, and don't just fob it off, we are loyal customers and deserve better service. you will get a few complaints I bet . the staff did the bear minimum and looked miserable. no carols, a couple of things on the wall but that was it. we are not happy to say the least.
we have not received a 10% leaflet since August.

On the 12th of November I travelled with you on a 2 day holiday to London to visit the Tutankhamen exhibition. After getting up at 5am to get on the coach at Middlesbrough bus station at 6.30 am, we were then told we had to pick up passengers at Whitby which put an extra hour at least on to the journey time. After arriving at Whitby there was nobody there to pick up. The driver then rang his office and was told that the journey from Middlesbrough to Whitby took 2 hours when in fact it only takes 50mins to 1 hour. This resulted in us having to wait at least an hour for the passengers to turn up because of this the journey turned out to be extremely long. Then because of the time we had in London 4hours which personally I could have done without we didn't arrive at the hotel till 20.45 so by that time everybody was exhausted.

Regards
Rosalind Davey

Ref. 695869

Stan Alderson Vince Archer .Holiday R797052 Sun Hotel Skegness 10 Oct 2019
We expected entertainment at the Hotel, but this was limited to one night the Monday. Tuesday night was mainly a karaoke provided by the barman & ourselves. Wednesday therewas none & the bar was closed at 9.45 supposedly because of lack of custom.Thiursday the concert room did not open at all. We were obliged to go to another hotel on both nights.
the draught beer & lager ran out early Monday evening & the bar was stocked with cans from the local shop which we were over charged for. The draught beer was not available for the rest of the holiday.
The shower in our room was either scolding hot or cold & we were give akey for another room as an alternative ffor wasshing. The wash hand basin was also inadequateonly 15" wide & the bathroom door would not close.
I have just booked a holiday for 8 ai the Higlands Spectacular Celebration 5526N3 I do hope we fare better there. Stan Alderson. [protected]

Booking ref: R800639#2 12 -13 October 2019. Stayed at the Sporting Lodge Inn at Leigh as part of our tour, to say it was bad was a understatement. First we were given a room which the key wouldn't work, it took half a hour to relocate us to room 602. First the toilet constantly ran with water, the beds were disgusting, stained mattresses and dirty sheets, I had to take them off the bed and use sheets from second bed. The mattress was so worn it dipped in the middle. When we went down for dinner there was not enough tables so had to sit in the bar area, we waited for cutlery about 20 minutes, absolutely shocking. Breakfast was exactly the same, floor had been mopped with wet signs all over, not really practical where elderly people are walking, health and safety was a massive issue. On top of all this the lift was out of order, so people with disabilities were expected to climb three floors, absolutely not acceptable. Please do not use this hotel as part of National Holidays.

On the 1st of October 2019 me and my father who is 87 years old booked to go to hull to catch the ferry to brugges we boarded one of your coaches at Ashton U Lyne ol5 --- at 11.30 the driver scared us half to death he was driving way to close to other vehicles in the pouring rain the spray of the traffic was horrendous I drove buses for 10 years and I feel this drivers actions is a accident waiting to happen I am not one to complain but feel i have to this journey took us until 4.30 so you except going to ur the houses is this a acceptable amount of time ? .Also on our return one of your coaches was waiting to take us back to Ashton u Lyne i am On crutches and classed as disabled i have spinal arthritis we took ages getting through passport control and the driver was loading the coach i asked him if I could have a quick ciggie he said no I want to get home and am not waiting for you to have a cig he was so rude and both me and my father was shocked at his tone and rudeness he could have just said in a civil tone that he was in a hurry and I would have understood more than most how tight there schedules are .I struggled enough getting on the coach to begin with and none of your drivers lowers the steps for me .So altogether we both had a bad experience and feel like we won't be traveling on your coaches again the second drivers registration was Nh18egh miss Jacqueline Powell email [protected]@gmail.com address 22 cambourn road Hattersly hyde sk143dl phone number [protected]

This break was made difficult for me because my limitations were not catered for.When booked, 26 th February, I made clear I was disabled and could only manage a few steps.Your agent arranged for me to take my mobility scooter which I was very grateful for, also, if no lift at hotel an accessible room would be booked.Our room was down 2 flights of stairs and about as far away from reception as could be.As we were leaving for the show within 25 minutes and I was in a distressed state, in agony and exhausted, there wasn't time to ask for a change of room.At the Show, our tickets were YE, right at the top row.A Steward saw it was impossible for me and took us to the booking office where, very kindly they swapped our tickets for accessible seating.Again I had told your agent I could only manage a few steps and was assured if this wasn't the case I would get accessible seats.If possible, I try to stay with the others and use disabled facilities when and where I need to.My complaint is that my needs, fully explained, were not taken into account making my trip unnecessarily stressful.The driver was helpful and courteous.Thankyou Carole Edmenson.

Recently booked a 3 day get away with my sisters Friday 27th sep the Saturday we was due to go to liver pool for the day after everyone was seated on the coach the driver asked everyone to get off the coach has he was at the wrong hotel. So we waited a hour and half at the hotel for the same driver to turn up and tell us someone has taken his passengers from another hotel so he had to take us... So we didn't get the full day in Liverpool.. The day to come home the coach should of picked us up at 1pm but it never arrived we got told it was because of a accident on the motorway but we was left 4 and half hours.. We had to pay for drinks and food at hotel my sisters birthday was the Sunday she had to cancel her party that was arranged has we couldn't get home.. The holiday was great but on both days the coaches was horrendous.. If 1 day was delayed that would of been acceptable but not both days.. Why was other hotels picked up at 1 o'clock but our hotel was left... We stayed at the Prince of Wales hotel in Southport.. We wanted to book another get away but with the messing about we had with the travel we are not too sure..we paid all together £405 but can't justify that amount now with getting messed around Yours sincerely Gillian Powell 7 greaves avenue lupset Wakefield wf2 8ay [protected] ref number R760751 #1
Tour ref number 5332H 1

Hello sir,
I am pramod abhyankar, work as a fire & safety officer in modern veer security force
(msf), this doesn't pay for national holidays like independence day, republican day, gandhi jayanti & other national holidays, but this against the indian constitution, please help me
Company name-: msf modern security force
Company contact-: 24320135
Company control room-: 1800225500
Company mail id-: customercare@modernforce.com
Controlroom@modernforce.com

I are currently staying at this hotel on a 5 day break with my husband
The holiday was bought as a gift for my husbands 70th Birthday from our two daughters.
The hotel is disgusting!
We arrived to be shuttled through a rear entrance which was absolutely filthy with an absolutely awful damp smell. We were given our keys and directed back to the rear stairwell which again was disgusting
The food is frozen The bar is supposedly maned from 11am til 11pm but at 5 pm we had to go looking for service.
We have dealt with 3 drivers from the beginning with all being quite rude and sorting the trips was organised chaos this morning.
The most disappointing fact is our daughters spent a lot of money on this break and we feel guilty by having to lie to them as we feel dreadful for them wasting their hard earned money
I await your response
Regretfully yours
Sheila Wilson
sheila.[protected]@talktalk.net

My booking ref No R761398#1 to Stratford & the cotswolds villages, I was expecting to stay in Stratford at a hotel there but we ended up in the not very nice hotel 50 mins away. The hotel was badly in need of refurbishment, carpets, decor etc. The food was not very good until our last meal on Tuesday night. Shortage of staff did not help. It also seemed to be a drop off point for Emigrants before being moved on elsewhere. This upset older ladies travelling on their own. On a plus side Paul our driver was very good.

We stayed at Hotel Trecarn which was advertised as a holiday to Torquay but was actually in Babbacombe and needed a local bus ride to get to Torquay.We feel this is false advertising and is misleading customers.The Trecarn is NOT up to the standard usually offered by National, cold soup, dirty cutlery, laundery being wheeled in and out of the dining room during meal times.The only decent meal was breakfast!No help for elderly and frail pensioners with their baggage to get to a room which the lift did not stop at.On the day of the sea and rail trip we were directed to the wrong bus by a Caledonian coach travel driver and many older people were confused after being ORDERED about by a coach driver.I must stress this was not John who drove us there and back.I think this mans name was Paul but can not be sure.A badly disabled man was told he could not go when his carer had been told at the time of booking that he could.We had many stairs to climb to get to our room and we found the lack of a lift very frustrating and painful.We were part of a party of Six and were not able to dine together at ANY meal and many times we were split into THREE tables.After using National many times and being well satisfied we know this is the worst ever.We travelled 9th September and have another trip booked in October but we will NOT go the Trecarn again.This hotel is simply not up to yours or our standards.

We are a married couple aged 82, and this trip was on medical grounds for my wife to recouperate from six operations in the past 18 months, and less serious conditions for myself.
Because of multiple medical appointments, we were only able to slot the Bank Holiday Weekend of August 23-25

Having left home, with a confirmed booking, three hours before arrival during a 200-mile trip from Cornwall to Exmoor, owner of Exmoor House cancelled our three-day booking by an unreceived telephone and email message. No alternative accommodation was offered or suggested howsoever.

Upon arrival to merely say hello to the owner at 12noon, were told to return for booking in at 3.30pm, although we were not asking to be booked in at this early time. The owner did not mentioned any cancellation at this time.

Returning at 3.30pm, owner asked if we had seen his message (of cancellation sent earlier), which we had not. He said not to bother about it. He did nbot wish to explain. Eventually after many requests when it appeared he did not want to explain, the alleged 'toilet problem' on which he relied for the cancellation had been mysteriously fixed - this on a Bank Holiday; there appeared to be no problem and we were mystified as to why he should have cancelled.

Next morning after a 930 breakfast we retired to our room, tiered after the trip and stress of th 'cancellation' story.

We asked to be not disturbed ; the room did not not cleaning; but this was refused
haughtily by the owner who claimed we had to leave for two hours at 11am because of 'rules'.

Unhappy at this, we nevertheless left.

Upon returning at 4pm, the owner confronted us with "You two have pissed me off."
He claimed falsely that we had left the front door of the building open because we were annoyed at not being able to rest after breakfast.
He said his evidence for such perceived action was that he had been behind us and saw us leave. In which case, he should have closed the door, if it had been left open, and mentioned this to us in a professional way without strong beligerance, insults and verbal assaults.

Our blood pressure rose to dangerous levels and our heart beats were concerning.

His tirade, standing up and with no invitation for us to sit down and talk reasonably, continued for 30 minutes in which he advised us to leave and wanted an immediate decision. I said we would sleep on it, remembering there would be no other accommodation available.

Next morning, my wife was ill in bed and did not eat breakfast. I could not eat either. We left one day early that afternoon, with the owners claiming they would refund the extra day.

This experience, without any reasonable justification, has left us both still ill and I understand from legal advice published in the Daily Telegraph from a travel law specialist that we are entitled to compensation for loss of enjoyment, and so on.

I have emails for the booking, cancellation message, and request for bank details to arrange a bank transfer of £95 for the one day. While this may be underway, at the time of writing this has not been received.

In a lifetime of travelling in various countries, this has been the most toxic, unpleasant and stressful stay ever - all of it caused with just cause by the owner's
shockingly unprofesional and uncalled for cantankerous display of deplorable behaviour towards an elderly couple who wanted nothing more than an essential rest. .

We therefore require a refund and compensation of £5, 000