Maria_19
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
I've just returned from the Riviera Splendour holiday. What a fantastic trip!

A big Thank You to Freddy our tour manager who struck the right balance....... he gave you interesting facts about the locations and all the necessary meeting arrangements without going into 'information overload!' He also demonstrated a caring and considerate nature particularly in regard to an incident involving one of the older members of the group. I wouldn't hesitate to do another tour with him.

The excursions were fabulous! The weather couldn't have been better. It's busy if you do everything, which I always do but I wouldn't want to have left anything out. Having said that, I personally would have preferred the itinerary to have either by passed Ventimiglia altogether or to have spent less time there and spent more at Isolabona where we enjoyed the most delicious Italian lunch and wine tasting and then onto the equally delightful Dolceaqua.

I do have two negatives 😞 The food at the hotel was pretty awful. I think they were trying to cater for the supposed bland taste of the English. The results were often indescribable at the evening meal. Luckily there are two nights when you can eat elsewhere which we gladly did! The other downside was the different variety of noises which awoke you early mornings. These are actually nothing to do with the hotel directly but they did become a daily talking point and eventually a source of amusement. From the noisiest seagulls I've ever heard, the ghostly sound of the wind under the door making you wake with a start, the dustcarts at 3 am, the 4:45am daily express train whizzing by and finally on the last two days a guest who moved into the room next door and snored for Italy!!!!!

All these however did not detract from my enjoyment of the holiday. The staff at the hotel were lovely and friendly and if you speak in Italian to them they really appreciate it. I would just suggest they change the chef !!!!!

Judith M

Julia
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Judith,

Thank-you for taking the time to share your experiences with the Just You community. I'm delighted that you enjoyed your trip.

I have forwarded your comments on to the wider Just You team to review.

Kindest regards,

Julia

AnnF
  • (Member)
(Member)
Thank you for this, Judith. I'm glad you had an enjoyable holiday but this holiday has been on my wishlist (i.e. turned down corner of the brochure) for the last couple of years and I'm now having second thoughts! I could probably cope with the hotel food, although after your comments perhaps the folks at JY can convince the hotel that the British nowadays do have an "educated" palate, but I'm afraid the noise would get to me. I always take earplugs with me but they are not always effective; I can usually cope with muezzins at the crack of dawn but certainly couldn't cope with snoring neighbours. Oh well, I'll have to check out the new brochure when it comes out later in the year and look at other possibilities.

Ann

joybelle
(Member)
I`m going on this holiday in September, hope the food quality

improves by then.

There are lots of negative hotel reviews of this and other

hotels that JY use, very concerning.

I`ve just returned from a holiday with another single holiday

company and the food was very good.

Maria_19
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Please do not be put off this trip Ann. The daily excursions are fantastic & let's face it,you spend very little time in your room. Maybe a large grappa for a nightcap might do the trick if you have a noisy neighbour! :thumbup:

I did hear a whisper while there that the hotel may change for Sept but don't quote me.

Maria_19
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
It was a lovely trip and yes the hotel food was disappointing. But please don't let that put you off. There are plenty of decent places to eat along the beach for the nights you don't eat at the hotel. Also I did hear that the hotel may be changing for the Sept trip so it will be interesting to see if what happens.
SarahS
(Member)
It seems that food is becoming a big issue on the majority of JY tours to Italy. Such a shame as it's a beautiful country to visit. I do hope JY are taking note of all the adverse comments. So many travellers can't all be wrong. I am due to pay the balance for my trip to Pompeii next week, but am seriously considering cutting my losses and cancelling if no assurances of improved restaurant standards can be given.
marks
  • (Member)
(Member)
'Maria_19' wrote:

It was a lovely trip and yes the hotel food was disappointing. But please don't let that put you off. There are plenty of decent places to eat along the beach for the nights you don't eat at the hotel. Also I did hear that the hotel may be changing for the Sept trip so it will be interesting to see if what happens.

Julia, could you confirm whether maria is correct and that the hotel is changing?

Thanks

Mark

marks
  • (Member)
(Member)
'Maria_19' wrote:

I've just returned from the Riviera Splendour holiday. What a fantastic trip!

A big Thank You to Freddy our tour manager who struck the right balance....... he gave you interesting facts about the locations and all the necessary meeting arrangements without going into 'information overload!' He also demonstrated a caring and considerate nature particularly in regard to an incident involving one of the older members of the group. I wouldn't hesitate to do another tour with him.

The excursions were fabulous! The weather couldn't have been better. It's busy if you do everything, which I always do but I wouldn't want to have left anything out. Having said that, I personally would have preferred the itinerary to have either by passed Ventimiglia altogether or to have spent less time there and spent more at Isolabona where we enjoyed the most delicious Italian lunch and wine tasting and then onto the equally delightful Dolceaqua.

I do have two negatives 😞 The food at the hotel was pretty awful. I think they were trying to cater for the supposed bland taste of the English. The results were often indescribable at the evening meal. Luckily there are two nights when you can eat elsewhere which we gladly did! The other downside was the different variety of noises which awoke you early mornings. These are actually nothing to do with the hotel directly but they did become a daily talking point and eventually a source of amusement. From the noisiest seagulls I've ever heard, the ghostly sound of the wind under the door making you wake with a start, the dustcarts at 3 am, the 4:45am daily express train whizzing by and finally on the last two days a guest who moved into the room next door and snored for Italy!!!!!

All these however did not detract from my enjoyment of the holiday. The staff at the hotel were lovely and friendly and if you speak in Italian to them they really appreciate it. I would just suggest they change the chef !!!!!

Judith M

Hi,

This one is still at the top of my list despite the bad food which i hope JY will resolve.

marks
  • (Member)
(Member)
'Maria_19' wrote:

I've just returned from the Riviera Splendour holiday. What a fantastic trip!

A big Thank You to Freddy our tour manager who struck the right balance....... he gave you interesting facts about the locations and all the necessary meeting arrangements without going into 'information overload!' He also demonstrated a caring and considerate nature particularly in regard to an incident involving one of the older members of the group. I wouldn't hesitate to do another tour with him.

The excursions were fabulous! The weather couldn't have been better. It's busy if you do everything, which I always do but I wouldn't want to have left anything out. Having said that, I personally would have preferred the itinerary to have either by passed Ventimiglia altogether or to have spent less time there and spent more at Isolabona where we enjoyed the most delicious Italian lunch and wine tasting and then onto the equally delightful Dolceaqua.

I do have two negatives 😞 The food at the hotel was pretty awful. I think they were trying to cater for the supposed bland taste of the English. The results were often indescribable at the evening meal. Luckily there are two nights when you can eat elsewhere which we gladly did! The other downside was the different variety of noises which awoke you early mornings. These are actually nothing to do with the hotel directly but they did become a daily talking point and eventually a source of amusement. From the noisiest seagulls I've ever heard, the ghostly sound of the wind under the door making you wake with a start, the dustcarts at 3 am, the 4:45am daily express train whizzing by and finally on the last two days a guest who moved into the room next door and snored for Italy!!!!!

All these however did not detract from my enjoyment of the holiday. The staff at the hotel were lovely and friendly and if you speak in Italian to them they really appreciate it. I would just suggest they change the chef !!!!!

Judith M

Hi Judith,

This is still at the top of my list despite the shoddy food! Too much that i want to do haha although i hope JY will resaolve the food issue. Problem is, Calabria is creeping back up the list again :)

Mark

AnnF
  • (Member)
(Member)
'Maria_19' wrote:

Please do not be put off this trip Ann. The daily excursions are fantastic & let's face it,you spend very little time in your room. Maybe a large grappa for a nightcap might do the trick if you have a noisy neighbour! :thumbup:

I did hear a whisper while there that the hotel may change for Sept but don't quote me.

Thanks for this, Judith. I'll keep an open mind and check out the September brochure. I seem to remember that last year this holiday wasn't showing beyond the end of 2014 and when I queried it, JYWill said it would be appearing but they were tweaking it a bit. As it looks exactly the same this year as last, at the moment, I can only think that they had a problem somewhere along the line. So, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Ann

Julia
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi all,

Having spoken to one of my colleagues, I can confirm that the team are looking at possibly using a new hotel for 2016.

Kindest regards

Maria_19
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Judith M

Hi Judith,

This is still at the top of my list despite the shoddy food! Too much that i want to do haha although i hope JY will resaolve the food issue. Problem is, Calabria is creeping back up the list again :)

Mark

Hi Mark

Put it this way.....I'd happily repeat the trip despite the food. I'd also love to do Calabria but my problem is a like of flights from the North of England.I've been to most parts of Italy now except the South which I would dearly love to visit but it's nigh on impossible to get to Gatwick without a lot of inconvenience as there are no connecting flights....only to Heathrow. And I don't see why I should have to travel to Italy ( or anywhere else in Europe) via London when there's a major hub of an airport at Manchester!!!

Maria_19
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'AnnF' wrote:

'Maria_19' wrote:

Please do not be put off this trip Ann. The daily excursions are fantastic & let's face it,you spend very little time in your room. Maybe a large grappa for a nightcap might do the trick if you have a noisy neighbour! :thumbup:

I did hear a whisper while there that the hotel may change for Sept but don't quote me.

Thanks for this, Judith. I'll keep an open mind and check out the September brochure. I seem to remember that last year this holiday wasn't showing beyond the end of 2014 and when I queried it, JYWill said it would be appearing but they were tweaking it a bit. As it looks exactly the same this year as last, at the moment, I can only think that they had a problem somewhere along the line. So, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Ann

The 'whisper' was that the hotel would no longer be accepting JY guests from end of June 2015 & that our party was the last to stay there. So there may be a change from next Sept. But please do visit the riviera.....it is stunning!

J

gailtravels
(Member)
Looks like Riveria Splendour and Calabria are destinations for me next year as the airport is changing and hopefully the hotel on Splendours is going to change. All set for next year then - thanks JY
gailtravels
(Member)
'Maria_19' wrote:

'AnnF' wrote:

'Maria_19' wrote:

Please do not be put off this trip Ann. The daily excursions are fantastic & let's face it,you spend very little time in your room. Maybe a large grappa for a nightcap might do the trick if you have a noisy neighbour! :thumbup:

I did hear a whisper while there that the hotel may change for Sept but don't quote me.

Thanks for this, Judith. I'll keep an open mind and check out the September brochure. I seem to remember that last year this holiday wasn't showing beyond the end of 2014 and when I queried it, JYWill said it would be appearing but they were tweaking it a bit. As it looks exactly the same this year as last, at the moment, I can only think that they had a problem somewhere along the line. So, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Ann

The 'whisper' was that the hotel would no longer be accepting JY guests from end of June 2015 & that our party was the last to stay there. So there may be a change from next Sept. But please do visit the riviera.....it is stunning!

J

Looks like Riveria Splendour and Calabria are destinations for me next year as the airport is changing and hopefully the hotel on Splendours is going to change. All set for next year then - thanks JY