Jet2holidays has withdrawn a popular hotel in Gran Canaria mid-way through the summer season.
Clients who have already booked to stay in the three-star hotel in the resort of Puerto Rico are being offered alternative accommodation.
Several guests travelling to the Riosol Hotel in the next few weeks have posted on social media to say Jet2holidays has contacted to offer them a fee-free switch.
The hotel is not currently available to book on Jet2holidays’ website.
Jet2holidays told Travel Gossip: “At Jet2holidays we are totally committed to delivering award winning package holidays, and we are always reviewing our product portfolio to ensure that we are delivering the VIP experience that our customers expect.
“In line with this, we are not satisfied that the Riosol Hotel in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria, is meeting these standards.
“We want every single customer to enjoy their well-deserved holidays with us, so we have taken the decision to offer customers staying at the hotel in August the option to move to a suitable alternative accommodation, however, if they wish to stay at the Riosol they are able to do so.
“We have also stopped all sales to the hotel from 1 September and we are proactively contacting all affected customers to discuss their options including rebooking suitable alternative accommodation, and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Several other UK operators continue to send clients to the Riosol, including TUI.
Maribel Araguas, Commercial Director of Riversun Touristic, which owns the Riosol, admitted to Travel Gossip that the hotel, like others, has had complaints, but it said the percentage of Jet2 customers who complained was 10 times higher than with other operators – which it said was due to Jet2 having a rep at the hotel.
Maribel said the hotel was still suffering from the effects of the pandemic, and will continue to do so for some time.
“In March 2020 we were trying to finish the renovation works of the common areas of the hotel, but the pandemic arrived, and being forced to close the hotel for so many months, losing money and without income complicated our financial situation and we had to postpone the completion of the works and the refurbishment of the rooms, which suffered a lot with the closure, as some of them were even flooded,” she said.
“So now our renovation plans have had to be slowed down, and we are on a plan to improve the rooms and stairs (all are exterior) and the unfinished upstairs area that will take longer than we would like.”
But she said Riosol was in no way ‘a hotel of horrors’, pointing out that review site TripAdvisor has scored it four out of five.
“It is true that we have a lot of bad reviews (190), but the truth is that of the 2481 reviews, there are 844 customers who rate it as very good and 838 as excellent, which means that we get 4 out of 5, which is not too bad,” added Maribel.
“Perhaps this score is what makes clients think that they are booking a four-star hotel, and their expectations are much higher, especially after the pandemic, when Riosol is a three-star hotel.”
She said one of the issues was a lack of air-con, which is only installed in the most expensive rooms while other guests must pay a supplement for portable units.
“Because of our policy of sustainability, we avoid wasting energy, and at Riosol, being on the top of the hill and facing the sea, we enjoy the sea breeze which naturally cools the room temperature,” she added.
Maribel stressed the hotel has passed all health and safety audits, adding: “Our gastronomy, and our swimming pools in particular, are always highly valued.
“In any case, although it will take us more time than we would like, as we reform little by little, we hope to improve even more the opinions of our thousands of customers, who fortunately, continue to trust us to enjoy their holidays.”
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Clients who have already booked to stay in the three-star hotel in the resort of Puerto Rico are being offered alternative accommodation.
Several guests travelling to the Riosol Hotel in the next few weeks have posted on social media to say Jet2holidays has contacted to offer them a fee-free switch.
The hotel is not currently available to book on Jet2holidays’ website.
Jet2holidays told Travel Gossip: “At Jet2holidays we are totally committed to delivering award winning package holidays, and we are always reviewing our product portfolio to ensure that we are delivering the VIP experience that our customers expect.
“In line with this, we are not satisfied that the Riosol Hotel in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria, is meeting these standards.
“We want every single customer to enjoy their well-deserved holidays with us, so we have taken the decision to offer customers staying at the hotel in August the option to move to a suitable alternative accommodation, however, if they wish to stay at the Riosol they are able to do so.
“We have also stopped all sales to the hotel from 1 September and we are proactively contacting all affected customers to discuss their options including rebooking suitable alternative accommodation, and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Several other UK operators continue to send clients to the Riosol, including TUI.
Maribel Araguas, Commercial Director of Riversun Touristic, which owns the Riosol, admitted to Travel Gossip that the hotel, like others, has had complaints, but it said the percentage of Jet2 customers who complained was 10 times higher than with other operators – which it said was due to Jet2 having a rep at the hotel.
Maribel said the hotel was still suffering from the effects of the pandemic, and will continue to do so for some time.
“In March 2020 we were trying to finish the renovation works of the common areas of the hotel, but the pandemic arrived, and being forced to close the hotel for so many months, losing money and without income complicated our financial situation and we had to postpone the completion of the works and the refurbishment of the rooms, which suffered a lot with the closure, as some of them were even flooded,” she said.
“So now our renovation plans have had to be slowed down, and we are on a plan to improve the rooms and stairs (all are exterior) and the unfinished upstairs area that will take longer than we would like.”
But she said Riosol was in no way ‘a hotel of horrors’, pointing out that review site TripAdvisor has scored it four out of five.
“It is true that we have a lot of bad reviews (190), but the truth is that of the 2481 reviews, there are 844 customers who rate it as very good and 838 as excellent, which means that we get 4 out of 5, which is not too bad,” added Maribel.
“Perhaps this score is what makes clients think that they are booking a four-star hotel, and their expectations are much higher, especially after the pandemic, when Riosol is a three-star hotel.”
She said one of the issues was a lack of air-con, which is only installed in the most expensive rooms while other guests must pay a supplement for portable units.
“Because of our policy of sustainability, we avoid wasting energy, and at Riosol, being on the top of the hill and facing the sea, we enjoy the sea breeze which naturally cools the room temperature,” she added.
Maribel stressed the hotel has passed all health and safety audits, adding: “Our gastronomy, and our swimming pools in particular, are always highly valued.
“In any case, although it will take us more time than we would like, as we reform little by little, we hope to improve even more the opinions of our thousands of customers, who fortunately, continue to trust us to enjoy their holidays.”
The post Jet2holidays withdraws popular Canaries hotel following complaints appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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