Olympic Holidays

[roger]

In skim reading some contributions on the conference , I am horrified to hear some stories about Olympic - a company I have had problems with before - which stem from the lack of a rep in Plakias , including people arriving in the middle of the night , as I shall , and not being able to find their room with no one to refer to . Can someone reassure me that it is not that bad - and what to do if I cannot find my room !
 roger

[Mike G]

In skim reading some contributions on the conference , I am horrified to hear some stories about Olympic - a company I have had problems with before - which stem from the lack of a rep in Plakias , including people arriving in the middle of the night , as I shall , and not being able to find their room with no one to refer to . Can someone reassure me that it is not that bad - and what to do if I cannot find my room !
 roger

We had no problems in May with Olympic and the transfers were fine. I was under the impression that Morven, the Olympic rep, is resident in Plakias. If not then very close. Maybe someone else knows (and please don't anyone get George going again- Posh Harribobs please note).

Mike

[harribobs]

(and please don't anyone get George going again- ).

Mike

morven seems to be doing a good job on that herself    

 


and on topic, i'm pretty sure she's based in Plak, she always seems to be around  ( if not,.... we all know where the kosmar rep lives     )

[roger]

(and please don't anyone get George going again- ).

Mike

morven seems to be doing a good job on that herself    

 


and on topic, i'm pretty sure she's based in Plak, she always seems to be around  ( if not,.... we all know where the kosmar rep lives     )

Many thanks to both for reassurance on this
Yes I know where the Kosmar rep lives but when I arrive  probably about 6 30 or 7 am - flight lands at 3 45 am I think =- she will probably be in the land of nod and not thank me for turning up on her doorstep .
roger

[George]

(and please don't anyone get George going again- ).

Mike

morven seems to be doing a good job on that herself    

 


and on topic, i'm pretty sure she's based in Plak, she always seems to be around  ( if not,.... we all know where the kosmar rep lives     )

Here we go...!! Countdown...          

george g...

[Ali & Dave]

Mike

Whilst I would love to help please don't wake me up when you arrive  

Whilst Morven is based in Rethymno, there is someone based down here who assists with 'see-ins' as we call them in the trade.  And hopefully on most occasions someone should be there to meet people.

Ali

[paxmere]

Roger, I hope that you have a better experience with Olympic than we did last year. First we were not informed of the three hour plus transfer. then when we arrived we were told our room number at Kostas-Chrysoulla Studios, we were then left alone... the rep scarpered.
Upon opening the bedroom door with the key we were given.. we found another couple inside!!  I won't go into the following details of the long and sorry tale. We made an official complaint via Morven at the time and a few hours were spent filling in forms with her. Upon return to the UK we wrote a two page long letter to Olyimpic detailing the faults and problems of the holiday. The result ? ..... nothing... just a letter from them denying any responsability. We could not put ourselves through the hassle of pursuing the case further.
This year we made all of the arrangements ourselves, saved some money and had a flawless holiday... good luck with Olympic... we shall not use them again. Customer service is not their speciality.

[sheryl]

sorry if i worried you
there isn't a problem with olympic or morvan, although she does stay in rethymno
there will be a rep to meet you at the airport, and one to put you on a bus or taxi - if you are left on your own you will have all the details you need to get you to your room and the reps will be there the next day for your welcoming meeting and to answer any questions.
you will not be kick out in the middle of plakias and expected to find your room.......the couple i refered to in a recent post only looked at the first bit of the accomodation which was costas chrysoulla and never told the taxi driver it was the zorbas apartments
i have never had a problem with olympic but can understand how it goes wrong sometimes

as for wakening up ali..........just check the beach bar  eh ali - or am i a bad influence???

[George]

Mike

Whilst I would love to help please don't wake me up when you arrive  

Whilst Morven is based in Rethymno, there is someone based down here who assists with 'see-ins' as we call them in the trade.  And hopefully on most occasions someone should be there to meet people.

Ali

The Olympic bus dropped us off at the car park last year, and one of the guys from Monza took us and the luggage to the appartment/s, in the back of a truck!

My biggest gripe last year was not only the 3 hour 45 minute transfer time but the fact that there was not an Olympic rep on the bus from Rethymnon to Plakias.
I am not an afficiado of HS but I tried to explain the possible problems that might occur if there was a problem of some kind.
I won't go into some of the gory scenarios that I put forward, but Customer Services never answered any of them directly, only with the usual negative diplomacy.
The best answer I got was that, at that time of year (August/September) their 'staff are very busy', which gave me the impression that the customer always comes second.

I wrote five letters and they were all polite and I got replies to all, makes me wonder why I bothered.

Theres always this year  

george g...

[Mike G]

My biggest gripe last year was not only the 3 hour 45 minute transfer time but the fact that there was not an Olympic rep on the bus from Rethymnon to Plakias.
I am not an afficiado of HS but I tried to explain the possible problems that might occur if there was a problem of some kind.
I won't go into some of the gory scenarios that I put forward, but Customer Services never answered any of them directly, only with the usual negative diplomacy.
The best answer I got was that, at that time of year (August/September) their 'staff are very busy', which gave me the impression that the customer always comes second.

I wrote five letters and they were all polite and I got replies to all, makes me wonder why I bothered.

Theres always this year  

george g...

George,

There wasn't an Olympic rep. for this leg of the journey for us either this year. Morven met us off the coach. However, this was a day flight so it may not always apply to night ones. Indeed, on our first night I hadn't locked our door and a couple of women came into our room in the middle of the night, looking for their room. There obviously wasn't anyone to meet them.

Mike

Roger, I hope that you have a better experience with Olympic than we did last year. First we were not informed of the three hour plus transfer. then when we arrived we were told our room number at Kostas-Chrysoulla Studios, we were then left alone... the rep scarpered.
Upon opening the bedroom door with the key we were given.. we found another couple inside!!  I won't go into the following details of the long and sorry tale. We made an official complaint via Morven at the time and a few hours were spent filling in forms with her. Upon return to the UK we wrote a two page long letter to Olyimpic detailing the faults and problems of the holiday. The result ? ..... nothing... just a letter from them denying any responsability. We could not put ourselves through the hassle of pursuing the case further.
This year we made all of the arrangements ourselves, saved some money and had a flawless holiday... good luck with Olympic... we shall not use them again. Customer service is not their speciality.

Hello Paxmere,

If you don't mind sharing the info I would love to know how you bettered Olympic's prices by booking independently.

Mike

[George]

Hi Mike
I always do day flights!

george g...

[roger]

I am getting a very mixed picture = some of these accounts worry me whilst others are reassuring . Given transfer times and since my flight lands about 3 45 am , it will probably be daylight by the time I arrive so at least the possibility of someone around if there are problems - though i am not surre what I woudl do if I found someone already in my room !
 Certainly if I get the sort of problems some people have had and given my previous experience of Olympic , i will persist and after 2 letters if no satisfaction , i will go to ABTA - but here is hoping i do not have to
 As for prices I certinly cannot complain - a week ago I was offered £405 , and that is for 2 weeks mostly in august and with single supplement , but i have ended up paying £340 which seems incredible since the normal full price is about £570 for a single
 If all else fails i will go and see Dionysos in the Livicon - he opens quite early
 roger

[John R]

There wasn't an Olympic rep. for this leg of the journey for us either this year. Morven met us off the coach. However, this was a day flight so it may not always apply to night ones. Indeed, on our first night I hadn't locked our door and a couple of women came into our room in the middle of the night, looking for their room. There obviously wasn't anyone to meet them.

Mike

This scenario is not entirely new. Until last year when we went independent we always went with First Choice - with whom we had virtually no complaint - other than them abandoning Plakias.. We were usually bussed to Rethymnon and then taken on to Plakias either via taxi or bus. The rep on the trip to Rethimnon gave us our room numbers and a plan of the accommodation (always Stella Pension in our case). There was never a rep with us on the way to Plakias even though there was always a First Choice rep living at Plakias. I think on arrival at Plakias we may once have been met by the rep but it was not the norm The Taxi drivers took us to the accommodation and we relied on the plan or our prior knowledge to find the room. Once when we came on a bus, Yanni was there to meet us and he took our luggage on his pickup while we walked the short distance to Stella. I noted however that other people going to other accommodations were looking lost and we had to direct them. We thought this was the norm and got to never expect a rep on the Rethymnon to Plakias leg on the Journey.

John R

[roger]

[

This scenario is not entirely new. Until last year when we went independent we always went with First Choice - with whom we had virtually no complaint - other than them abandoning Plakias.. We were usually bussed to Rethymnon and then taken on to Plakias either via taxi or bus. The rep on the trip to Rethimnon gave us our room numbers and a plan of the accommodation (always Stella Pension in our case). There was never a rep with us on the way to Plakias even though there was always a First Choice rep living at Plakias. I think on arrival at Plakias we may once have been met by the rep but it was not the norm The Taxi drivers took us to the accommodation and we relied on the plan or our prior knowledge to find the room. Once when we came on a bus, Yanni was there to meet us and he took our luggage on his pickup while we walked the short distance to Stella. I noted however that other people going to other accommodations were looking lost and we had to direct them. We thought this was the norm and got to never expect a rep on the Rethymnon to Plakias leg on the Journey.

John R
[/quote]

My experience with first choice - and i travelled with them regularly and also found them excellent - was quite different . I dont think I ever had to find my accomodation . A rep usually met the coach when we got to Plakias and took people to rooms . However I have almost always travelled overnight - perhaps they made more of an effort then but i thought that was the norm
 I have usually had direct transport to Plakias but occasionally changed at Rethymonon but often changed there on the way back to the airport
 roger

[John R]

My experience with first choice - and i travelled with them regularly and also found them excellent - was quite different . I dont think I ever had to find my accomodation . A rep usually met the coach when we got to Plakias and took people to rooms . However I have almost always travelled overnight - perhaps they made more of an effort then but i thought that was the norm
 I have usually had direct transport to Plakias but occasionally changed at Rethymonon but often changed there on the way back to the airport
 roger

It might have been a seasonal thing. We also travelled overnight but late in the season - and on a flight from Newcastle with very few people - perhaps only 4 - going to Plakias. Usually it was by Taxi (from Rethymnon) and the driver knew where to drop us - which seemed an adequate arrangement to us. It was rare to have a bus on that leg of the journey and on that one occasion I remember we were all dumped in the Centre of Plakias and we were met by our Hotel owner - more than satisfactory for us but others were not met off the bus.

John R