Solos Holidays www.solosholidays.co.uk

I, like many others have been waiting since April for a refund on my cancelled holiday. Every month Solos tell a different story and refuse to refund cash. Now I am told they do not know when they can make a refund.

Is disgraceful action from a travel company. Solos are still advertising new holidays and taking money but will not refund. Avoid this company and do not give any money to them.

When I read on other review areas many other people have bad experiences with solos and are waiting for money.

Just came back from a holiday in Corfu with them and I will never use them again. The rooms were in a terrible state: filthy toilets, dirty bedsheets, shower curtain not long enough so the water would go everywhere, rusty old sinks, wardrobe reeking of humidity. Sadly all hotels were fully booked otherwise I would have moved out. Other travellers had to buy cleaning products and clean their rooms or wires coming out the wall near the shower (!) and electric shocks when putting the lights on. Still, despite all the complaints, Solos keep sending people there as it must be very cheap for them. Despicable and it was not even cheap.

The Fabulous Lanzarote apartment at Sun Park Living was sold to us as De Luxe which means superior excellent top value. It was none of these. It was a standard apartment for which we paid nearly twice as much as the advertised standard apartments for a two week stay. Various problems emerged with the apartment including broken tap, loose shower handrail, unpredictable shower water flow and heat,no English users guide for the cooker, no fridge freezer, only three cups and other crockery so unable to entertain couples staying with us etc. We then heard about cockroach infestations in other apartments and were glad to be leaving. The people we met living or holidaying at the complex were great and we enjoyed meeting them.

Our complaints were ignored until we were near to leaving late in our second week and then only the tap was fixed. Since the holiday we have written to Solos Directors and the Fabulous Lanzarote staff and founders and have had no reply. So very poor customer service.

I booked with solos as I wanted to go away . However it turned into a holiday nightmare . The age range was 42 to 89 . Most people where over 65 . But what I did not prepare for was the awfull hotel I stayed in . In Malta . Dirty room , opposite lift . Food was disgusting in restaurant . Overall a horrible holiday . Because I believe they book hotels other people would not stay at . Malta itself is a dump.

Decided to try the concept at an exclusive Club Solo's property in Porto Cristo. There was a price reduction or I would never have booked. Es Nautico Suites offers clean, basic accommodation with brilliant staff who go out of their way to look after guests. However, the experience was spoiled by the host who spent the majority of the week badmouthing the company, hotel owner, local agent and guests. The unprofessional behaviour soured the holiday right from the start. Solo's charges a huge premium for having company at meals and for my part is not worth it.

I have recently returned from holiday at Thinali Gardens, Corfu which was described in the brochure and on the website at the time I booked as a "beautiful newly renovated" hotel . This was blatantly untrue. I heard only 6 of the 20 rooms were updated. I was only expecting simple accommodation but my room was much smaller and darker than others with tired, scruffy decor. My bathroom had crumbling grout and an unpleasant smell, there were thin well used pillows, one on each of the 2 beds, hard scratchy dark blankets instead of duvets/bedspreads and dated thin curtains, nothing on the walls to cheer it up. The pool area was nice and the staff were lovely, but Solos lied about the standard of the hotel and restaurant. 3 meals were to be taken on-site but these were a disaster for earlier guests and so we were taken to a local taverna. This was nice, but there was no restaurant to speak of and the breakfast was very poor and widely complained about. From the forum, I saw that efforts were belatedly being made to replace curtains and hang a few pictures and tidy up in general etc. Solos removed the words "newly renovated" from their website.

In response to my complaint, Solos replied after 3 weeks that they still maintained their brochure was accurate and they had delivered as promised and that ALL the rooms had been refurbished prior to the season starting, including new soft furnishings and that 4 of the rooms needed new bathrooms and the rest would eventually be brought to the same standard! So why change the description on the website and start putting new curtains up etc if it was already renovated??!!! They clearly do not care at all about customer satisfaction. I would have thought better of them if they had at least offered me a small amount off a future holiday with them, but no, they just dismissed my complaint, probably because it is one of their least expensive holidays. I have complained to Trading Standards because their reply was so patronising, otherwise I would not have bothered.

On my week they had brought in a very experienced tour leader to replace someone who was much less so and, so I heard, was struggling to deal with the complaints made in the first weeks of the season. Our tour leader was hardworking and has been much praised but was also expert at fielding complaints and tried to promote sympathy for the poor hotel managers in response to issues raised. I would not blame the hotel owners, but I do blame Solos for not bothering to check the hotel properly before the holidays started and for agreeing the contract.

I've travelled with them 6 or 7 seven times now and generally had great holidays, but this is the first time I have complained and I'm disgusted with their response as the issues I raised have been complained about in detail by others and I tried to be fair and mentioned the positives as well. I will be travelling with a different company in the future and feel very let down indeed.

The guide behaved like she was on holidays herself and treated the group as a nuisance. I submitted a complaint and am waiting for Solos response. Stay away, there are plenty of such companies on the market so I am sure you can do better.

Booked a Norway holiday with Solos. Realised two days before leaving that I had not had tickets. Rang Solos, spoke to a man and then a woman. They both said it was not their fault the etickets had not arrived, it was BT's fault and that I was to complain to BT as none of their emails were getting through to BT email addresses. I asked if they could send by special delivery, they said no, only if I paid for it. They would send by 1st class (which takes 2 days to reach this village and would be too late). I gave a friends email address who then forwarded to me to print off. The two Solos staff were extremely unfriendly and rude. When I arrived back from my holiday the tickets had not been sent, surprise surprise! I WOULD RECOMMEND WHEN BOOKING TO STATE THAT YOU WANT THE TICKETS SENDING OR YOU WILL NOT GET A LUGGAGE LABEL WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN LUGGAGE GETS LOST.

With regards the holiday. Our tour guide was brilliant, especially as this was the first time for this trip and we were the unknowing guinea pigs. Considering the price paid I would have expected better. One of the hotels was different to the one in the brochure and was a poor standard 3 star. Holiday ok but had expected better. There are lots of other holiday firms that cater for single travellers, have a good look around before booking.

I'm booked to go on my second solos holiday in two weeks. They have just contacted me to say the invoice issued was arong as they forgot to charge for the flight. I have to pay another £900. Or they cancel my holiday. Is this legal?

Lanzarote Xmas & New Years Holiday is for the 60+ only. If not in that age group do not bother, you will be disappointed. It is overpriced and worth shopping around.