Holiday Gems Reviews

Name: Holiday Gems
Address: Unit 14, Telford Court,, Chestergates Business Park, Dunkirk, Chester, Cheshire West and Chester
Rating: 4.61

4.6 Rating 2,785 Reviews

91 %

of reviewers recommend Holiday Gems

Company Reviews

Metrics

Info

4.6

Based on 2,785 reviews

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
Average Delivery Time	Next Day
On-time Delivery	97%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.6 out of 5

About Holiday Gems:

HolidayGems.co.uk provides a comprehensive range of travel services, including holidays, flights, hotels and other ancillary services. We also specialise in Late Deal holidays.

Our travel specialists work within our three call centre locations in the North West of England and in addition we also have a network of homeworkers both in the UK and throughout Europe.

All of our holidays are ATOL protected (ATOL 11461) for consumer financial security.

HolidayGems offers an independent and impartial travel service tailored to our customer’s needs. Whether you are planning a trip in the UK or to the other side of the world, our professional travel service will cater for every need.

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Holiday Gems 5 star review on 6th November 2024

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Rated 2 None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“I never received a call back i left so many messages and have been passed from pillar to post. Still waiting, after booking my holiday the information on my documents was in correct and needs amending.”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 month ago

Hello Emma Tarafder, thank you for your comments. We are sorry that an aspect of the information was incorrect and whilst we cannot identify why you encountered a delay in getting a reply about this or the issues experienced when reporting it, we do apologise that this has caused you to post the review. Timescales to deal with enquiry can be longer, especially over the weekend since not all of our departments are working. But the correction has now been made and all is well.

Posted 1 month ago

“This is my first purchase from Holiday Gems. I used to use "love holidays" app from years but holiday gems found cheaper price for me. Next day after booking my holiday, agent contacted me and I was informed that I have to pay higher price for my booking. I never had a situation like this that price which I was agreed yesterday been changed day after. Despite of professional attitude of staff, Martin was my agent, I am not happy from outcome.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 months ago

Hello Robert, thank you for your review and we're sorry you feel we did not meet expectations. Firstly and in order to explain, whilst our booking system relies on live feeds from our suppliers, brokers and airlines we are unfortunately not in control of momentary price changes, fluctuations or changes in availability provided by the same and whilst the vast majority of bookings will be confirmed without issue, we, along with many other well-known Tour Operators in the market cannot be held responsible whereby these changes affect our ability to confirm travel arrangements. In your case we can see this is exactly what happened. When you make a booking with us and prior to the point of actually confirming the arrangements for you, we “ring fence” the amount from your payment method although and critically, we do not debit your payment type and it is only held within your account until the point of us confirming you chosen arrangement and ourselves obtaining the relevant confirmation codes from our suppliers, brokers and airlines. Should we not be able to confirm your arrangements, your order is passed by one of our sales agents who will then investigate and try their utmost to provide you with an identical or near-matched arrangements and we will offer this to you. It is then up to yourself to proceed or not with the new arrangements. If you do not wish to proceed, we cancel your order down and release the “ring fence” amount for you. We also note in your case, you decided to proceed with the alternative and your payment type was therefore debited. Please note, our sales agent will always try to obtain the same, similar or cheaper pricing for any alternative arrangements found however, this may not be possible as once again, we are simply not in control of pricing, yield changes and availability of our suppliers, brokers and airlines. At all times, we work within strict company guidelines and always with your interests at heart. We would also like to mention that further details of the aforementioned are listed throughout the website in our Terms and Conditions to which you duly ticked when you made your online order with us. In closing, we hope the above explanation and facts helps you understand the situation which gave you cause to issue a negative review and on balance, once you have had time to digest the above we would appreciate any amendment you could make to your review which would then be reflective of the service level and experience you had with us.

Posted 4 months ago

“I was delighted to be booking holiday again with Holiday Gem and got a great price for all I inclusive for family of four. I booked it one night with price and then next day Holiday Gem operator rings to say I need to pay an extra £133 extra due to either flight increase or else hotel. She could not say. She stated that this is in the terms and conditions that I didn’t read and sometimes she would do that herself .I am very disappointed that all of a sudden you get an extra increase next day!! Feel that holiday should be booked and processed when you decide what you are looking for!!! All she could say was sorry for bearer of bad news. Not good enough customer service when there is plenty of companies that you can choose from online or in stores!”

Helpful Report

Posted 9 months ago

Hello Nicola, we are very pleased you have chosen to book with us again but are surprised that you therefore appear to be unaware of the website order process. Clause 2 or the terms and conditions you ticked to accept cover clearly about the price and what happens if the Package Holiday is available but not at the price quoted. Non the less we’re sorry you feel we did not meet expectations. In order to explain, whilst our booking system relies on live feeds from our suppliers, brokers and airlines we are unfortunately not in control of momentary price changes, fluctuations or changes in availability provided by the same and whilst the vast majority of bookings will be confirmed without issue, we, along with many other well-known Tour Operators in the market cannot be held responsible whereby these changes affect our ability to confirm travel arrangements. In your case we can see this is exactly what happened. When you make a booking with us and prior to the point of actually confirming the arrangements for you, we “ring fence” the amount from your payment method although and critically, we do not debit your payment type and it is only held within your account until the point of us confirming your chosen arrangement and ourselves obtaining the relevant confirmation codes from our suppliers, brokers and airlines. Should we not be able to confirm your arrangements, your order is passed to one of our sales agents who will then investigate and try their utmost to provide you with an identical or near-matched arrangements and we will offer this to you. It is then up to yourself to proceed or not with the new arrangements. If you do not wish to proceed, we cancel your order down and release the “ring fence” amount for you. We also note in your case, you decided to proceed with the alternative and your payment type was therefore debited. Please note, our sales agent will always try to obtain the same, similar or cheaper pricing for any alternative arrangements found however, this may not be possible as once again, we are simply not in control of pricing, yield changes and availability of our suppliers, brokers and airlines. At all times, we work within strict company guidelines and always with your interests at heart. We would also like to mention that further details of the aforementioned are listed throughout the website in our Terms and Conditions to which you duly ticked when you made your online order with us. In closing, we hope the above explanation and facts helps you understand the situation which gave you cause to issue a negative review and on balance, once you have had time to digest the above we would appreciate any amendment you could make to your review which would then be reflective of the service level and experience you had with us.

Posted 9 months ago

“Mark was very helpful compared to other colleagues of his we dealt with in the past few days.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 months ago

Hello Samuel thank you for your review, we are pleased to hear your comments about Mark and would expect that others also reached our required high standards. We will therefore raise this to the relevant department head(s) and appreciate your feedback. We apologise if there has been any disappointment.

Posted 11 months ago

“I have been charged £144.00 on top of the original price of my holiday in that vain I'm not exactly that happy with this. I didn't know I was going to pay extra expenses.”

Helpful Report

Posted 11 months ago

Hello Amanda, thank you for your review. We are disappointed with your comments about the extra charges since you booked on our website and selected the arrangements you wanted. You did not select luggage to be included and the website informs customers that it is an optional chargeable extra. This is in part why your final holiday cost was higher. Additionally, as you are aware the original online order initially failed and when you agreed to book some days later the prices overall had increased. Our website terms that you ticked to accept clarify that our booking system relies on live feeds from our suppliers, brokers and airlines and we are unfortunately not in control of momentary price changes, fluctuations or changes in availability that occur. You appear to have been unaware of the process and we are sorry it was overlooked or you had any different expectation based on previous experiences elsewhere. In closing, we hope the above explanation and facts helps you understand the situation which gave you cause to issue a negative review and on balance, once you have had time to digest the above we would appreciate any amendment you could make to your review which would then be reflective of the service level and experience you had with us.

Posted 11 months ago

“Having booking holiday with holiday gems ...good flight times good accommodation...transfars as well ...good price ....then came phone call ....12 hours after booking...they hadn't got the room we booked in the hotel we picked ....but could up grade us for more money which I refused ....I asked for full refund ....he said he could get the same room we was going have then though different agent for more money ..which refused asked for full refund ...end up in same room same hotel same flights and transfers...for same money ...holiday why do you think people so gullible why you think it right to try extract extra cash out holiday makers ...I now this is a normal practice with your self as I have booked 30 plus holiday I not fell for it once ...this practice spoils what could be good experience booking holiday with your company....this a honest review same you don't take notice of people's reviews thier mostly like mine”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Mr Harris many thanks for your review and we’re sorry you feel we did not meet expectations. Firstly and in order to explain, whilst our booking system relies on live feeds from our suppliers, brokers and airlines we are unfortunately not in control of momentary price changes, fluctuations or changes in availability provided by the same and whilst the vast majority of bookings will be confirmed without issue, we, along with many other well-known Tour Operators in the market cannot be held responsible whereby these changes affect our ability to confirm travel arrangements. In your case we can see this is exactly what happened. When you make a booking with us and prior to the point of actually confirming the arrangements for you, we “ring fence” the amount from your payment method although, and critically, we do not debit your payment type and it is only held within your account until the point of us confirming your chosen arrangement and ourselves obtaining the relevant confirmation codes from our suppliers, brokers and airlines. Should we not be able to confirm your arrangements, your order is assigned to one of our sales agents who will then investigate and try their utmost to provide you with identical or near-matched arrangements and we will offer this to you. It is then up to yourself to proceed or not, with the new arrangements. If you do not wish to proceed, we cancel your order down and release the “ring fence” amount for you. We also note in your case, you decided to proceed after our consultant had as a gesture absorbed the additional costs and your payment type was therefore debited. Please note, our sales agent will always try to obtain the same, similar or cheaper pricing for any alternative arrangements found however, this may not be possible as once again, we are simply not in control of pricing, yield changes and availability of our suppliers, brokers and airlines. At all times, we work within strict company guidelines and always with your interests at heart. We would also like to mention that further details of the aforementioned are listed throughout the website in our Terms and Conditions to which you duly ticked when you made your online order with us. In closing, we hope the above explanation and facts helps you understand the situation which gave you cause to issue a negative review and on balance, once you have had time to digest the above, we would appreciate any amendment you could make to your review which would then be reflective of the promised service level and experience you had with us.

Posted 1 year ago

“Prices competitive and booking process easy to follow. Unfortunately, we belived we had booked 2 flights and rooms, as we were travelling with friends, however the next day they received notification that their booking had not been honoured due to only one room available at the price booked. There was nothing to say only 1 room available at the price, and in fact they could have a room, but £200 more! Ended up flying a day later than us from a different airport! Put a real damper on the holiday... 😞”

Helpful Report

Posted 1 year ago

Ms Woods we are pleased that our process is easy and prices appealing. However, we regret you feel our service regarding the actual booking warrants this review based upon your friends experience. Your bookings were made individually, and our website specifically says if larger groups want to be sure of sufficient availability for any flights/hotels they should call our call centre. This would be the intention for anyone in the circumstances you mention. You would have all ticked independently to accept the terms and conditions and we are sorry this was overlooked. Our website states that you are making an offer to purchase the Package Holiday selected and if it is available at the price it is confirmed. This appears to have been the case for your booking which we are pleased could be the case and whilst we sympathise with the situation encountered for the other party, we have no control over the availability of flights or hotels which are affected by supply and demand. In accordance with out terms where we cannot provide the offer, customers are given the next available supplier price and can chose whether to accept or not. It seems that your friends did and we hope that your holiday together is not marred by this misunderstanding.

Posted 1 year ago

“Still waiting for holiday confirmation to be sent as promised by Shameer on Saturday and unable to get through on the phone despite holding on for quarter of an hour. Overall doesn’t create a very good impression. PLEASE ENSURE YOU EMAIL OUR HOLIDAY CONFIRMATION TODAY.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“The accommodation we stayed at was damp dirty , smelly run down and a disgrace really , we emailed photos to Finn who helped us book but have not had a reply which is a shame . I have sent some pictures but not all .”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Mr James we are sorry to hear this but you have not emailed to the correct team to address this. It is not your consultant that handles such complaints and the correct process is in the booking terms and conditions you agreed to as well as on our paperwork. If you did this whilst in resort, we also have a process about contacting us to report matters so we can assist at the time. Please can you check and submit to the correct team who would be happy to investigate,

Posted 2 years ago

“I book a holiday on line then some one phoned me up to say they dint have room in apartment so ad to go with another company so that ment my holiday ad gon up by 48 pounds if I would have known this I would have booked with love holidays as they are 55pounds cheaper so I would not book with holiday gems again so much for price match yiu haven’t gave me a price match”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Mrs Gervis you agreed to our website terms of use and they state who we price match with, we regret you have overlooked that and that it does not include Love Holidays. Furthermore, the terms you ticked to accept state that the price on the website is clarified as an offer to purchase the Package Holiday selected, if it is available. If the arrangements are not available because other customers have taken advantage and the lower price offer is exhausted, you are informed of the next supplier price. The prices offered on our website will fluctuate due to supply and demand which we cannot control and if suppliers chose to promote a limited number at a lower price, once they are gone, we can only give the next price.

Posted 2 years ago

“Prices are never as advertised, after booking and the online system charged the bank card the company called to change the flight as the online dates/flights are incorrect or more expensive than anticipated. So had to pay over 100 extra for the holiday. Had a few holidays with the company but i will not book with you guys in the future, i will just go to a different company. Disapointing and stressful as in my opinion what they do online is totaly missleading.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Peter, we are sorry to hear this especially since you ticked to accept the terms and conditions of the website and how it operates. The price on the website is clarified as an offer to purchase the Package Holiday selected, if it is available. If the arrangements are not available because other customers have taken advantage and the lower price offer is exhausted, you are informed of the next supplier price.

Posted 2 years ago

“Not happy they keep calling once you've looked on line then when you book they put the price up and then to top is off after you pay your deposit you get a email saying about 10 days later they will debit your account half the remaining balance”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Mr Naylor we are sorry if you felt our calls were unwelcome after you placed your booking online on our website. The purpose was to make you aware that unless arrangements were secured, the flight and price could change or become unavailable. The price on the website is clarified in the terms you accepted and an offer to purchase the Package Holiday selected, if it is available. If the arrangements are not available because other customers have taken advantage and the lower price offer is exhausted, you are informed of the next supplier price. The deposit was paid under a payment plan agreement and the terms of that advised to you. If you did not wish to use a plan, we state that bookings made via the Website must be paid for in full at the time of booking. Otherwise we offer the plan to enable you to take advantage of spreading the deposit payment and you chose to do this.

Posted 2 years ago

“No leg space on plane, holiday hotel room right bye lift being used constantly hotel wouldn't change room after 4 days of asking neighbours had kids up all night shouting overall not a good experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“what kind of feedback do you expect, since you have hidden costs. The price shown on your website is not accurate, everyone thinks it is cheaper and after 30 minutes it turns out that there are additional costs such as travel costs or luggage. my additional costs are £ 110 for a flight and £ 65 for one large baggage return. So if someone thinks they got a bargain price, they are wrong”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Tomasz we are sorry you feel that there are hidden costs since this is simply untrue. You will have accepted and hopefully read our order booking terms that clearly explain the pricing along with how the website process operates. We regret if you did not however many customers manage to gain benefit by booking successfully at the prices offered and with appreciation of what is included or not.

Posted 2 years ago

“Great price, however that comes at other costs. Customer care was awful. To book the holiday we were sent a text to ring them. However the wait for an answer was horrendous. Then you could only speak with the person who it has been passed to, ergo if they were busy then you had to ring back as they didn't ring! Due to the late booking by us it was a very rushed procedure, however the consultant Nathan didn't seem that bothered. He didn't go through the booking with me and didn't explain the flight check in procedure which was different to how I've had to check in previously. That resulted in yet another phone call chasing him and more stress. Then they couldn't complete the resort transfer so had to chase them for a refund(which still hasn't been repaid) and sort our own transfers. Then after checking in online for the flights we realised they hadn't included the cases which we had paid for so guess what yep more phone calls to rectify another mistake. Overall a very poor experience and would not recommend holiday gems at all unless they are the only ones you can afford then use at your own risk and Check everything and then check it again. If you do happen to get Nathan then I would try for another agent beyond useless is his talent!”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Hello Mr Kendrick, we are very sorry to hear of your experience since it is not what we expect our customer journey to be and apologise for the issues mentioned. We will address this internally for attention.

Posted 2 years ago

“Don’t know how to communicate with you. You don’t answer the phone. When I do phone your robot speaks for a long time. That’s annoying cos we can’t talk to that. I’ve had to go to the community centre to ask them to email you cos I don’t know how to send an email. You say I owe you money I don’t know how much and I thought I paid you for the holiday. So I am very confused with the threats of cancellations and whether to turn up at the airport, because I don’t know if I have paid or not paid. Please phone me so we can sort this out. Otherwise I am unaware what position I am in. Please make an effort.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Mr Jones we are sorry to hear this and have asked for a team to contact you to discuss matters.

Posted 2 years ago

“I have still not received an email which initial email after booking seis would be sent within 72 hours wirh all my holiday details”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Martin this was sent on the day you booked, have you checked your junk / spam for the documents as they can often be filtered by customers account settings.

Posted 2 years ago

“Still no detail or confirmation? Expecting 72 hours after booking”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Byron this has been emailed already on 22nd to the email address you provided. Please check your junk/spam mailfolders since it perhaps has filtered there. We will arrange resend as well.

Posted 2 years ago

“booked a holiday for 3 at 275pp then got a call the following day advising that the price was increased by £120”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

“I saved a few £s compared to some other holiday companies but I have to say there are a lot of ways they claw the money back. Eg to pay a low balance, then an additional balance in a few weeks then the final balance you end up paying £13.50 in transaction charges. Credit card charges by the back door.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

The low deposit process is clearly stated on the website and by our sales team during any telephone conversation. You will appreciate that any deferred payment agreement incurs extra administration attention and therefore costs. We do not charge any fees for credit card payments.

Posted 2 years ago

Holiday Gems is rated 4.6 based on 2,785 reviews