Might not be First Choice next time (First Choice)

Member Name: englishrose

Product:	First Choice
Date:	16/02/09 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to book online, a great resort

Disadvantages: Not always as advertised, so watch out

We used First Choice to book a winter holiday which took place in January 2008. We booked online approximately 3 months earlier, and this part of the process was really easy and user-friendly. The First Choice website is very simple to follow, and gives step-by-step instructions of what to do next.

We used the search facility to find a holiday suitable for our needs, which was for 2 adults and 2 children , and we required a holiday with activities for children. This presented no problem for the site and we made our choice, and were able to pay fully online all in one session. The paperwork followed through the post a few days later.

The flight was available from several airports so we were able to choose the one most convenient to us with no problems.

Our destination was Holiday Village Sun Tropical, in Playa Blanca,
Lanzarote.

Plus-points:

The flight was on time and no problems, and the airport transfer bus at the destination was also on time, clean and door-to-door. Whilst on the coach, a First Choice rep was on board , filling us all in on the destination and activities available. She was also there to answer any more specific questions we might have had.

At the resort, there were many reps around the place day and night, so if you did have any problems, it was easy to find someone to help you or provide a solution. They were all easily identifiable by their uniforms and/or badges. The reception desk was staffed 24 hours a day.

The children's club was available every day, and the children were thrilled to discover that they could enjoy unlimited drinks and ice-creams while wearing their kids club wristbands. The staff provided games and entertainment for a couple of hours each session, plus some educational time too (was this because we were there during term-time, or do they do this all the time? I don't know)

Security was very strong, and the staff had a watertight system of measures to make sure the right person was collecting the children.

Drawbacks:

One of the reasons we chose this particular resort was that, as we were having a winter holiday in January, we wanted to be able to make the most of the sunshine by using an outdoor swimming pool, and all the family were planning to go swimming frequently: The website stated that the outdoor swimming pools were heated, but they certainly were not, which was a huge disappointment.

This resort has smaller pools by each 'square' of villas, plus a larger communal pool , so we were really looking forward to using them as promised.

The weather was hot and sunny , yet the pools were so freezing cold that it was impossible to use them. The children did try to swim but didn't last long and came out with their teeth chattering and goosebumped skin, which is something we could have got by staying home in England and not paid over £1200 for the privelige!


The accommodation was billed as "4 star" but I would put it more at "3 star" to be honest. I have stayed at all levels of accommodation before, and I really don't believe that this was 4 star. For example, our apartment was advertised as having 4 beds, and when it's labelled '4 star' , you take that to mean actually 4 beds: What we actually got was, 2 beds plus a sofa bed that sleeps 2 people seperately (one of those where one person sleeps on the main sofa seat, and another sofa seat pulls out from underneath and the second person sleeps on that). Again, I don't mind roughing it, if the price is in accordance with that. We took turns on the sofa bed, swapping around with the children some nights - None of us were impressed.

Also promoted on the website but not followed through in real life, was the availabiliy of a gym : I normally force myself to go at least 3 times a week, and First Choice boasted of having a gym on the complex , however whenever I went down there, it was always locked and didn't appear to be in use. Okay, so this was a good excuse for me to be lazy, but in was another example of something advertised by First Choice that wasn't reality.

Overall:

However, staff were friendly and helpful, especially with children, and a cleaner did attend the apartment every day which impressed everybody, and overall we did like the resort: It had it's own shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as an internet cafe. It was about 15-20 minutes walk from the sea and beach, and there was a good security perimeter around the resort. There were plenty of local shops and restaurants, and the general area seemed really pleasant.

There were many excursions available at extra cost, we only chose one of these, but I would highly recommend it: A submarine trip under the Atlantic Ocean. Expensive but what an experience!

When the time came to going home, again it was mainly smooth operating: the bus was slightly delayed, but you could see the communication going on to sort the problem quickly. A special mention must go to one particular rep, who was in charge of keeping all the kids amused in the main lounge area as we all waited for the bus. He had them all enthralled and I hope to see him on TV one day :)

Would I use First Choice again? Yes, probably, as they are probably no better or worse than other agents, but I might try another agent next time.

Would I visit Holiday Village Sun Tropical again? Yes probably, but it would have to be summertime, so that the lack of heating in the swimming pools wouldn't be an issue.

Summary: Good service, great resort, but not all that we paid for