Travel Republic www.travelrepublic.co.uk Review

Overall Rating

We booked to stay in a 5 star hotel (Pachtuv Palace hotel) in Prague with Travel Republic for a long weekend. It was our first time to Prague, so we didn't know what to expect. The hotel made us feel very welcome however, they were not aware of our booking when we arrived - even though we had booked the hotel chauffeur to pick us up from the airport. We handed them the Travel Republic booking confirmation (which clearly stated that we had been booked into the Pachtuv Palace hotel) & went for a walk around the city, as we weren't allowed to check in until 2pm. At around 1.30pm, I received a call on my mobile from Travel Republic saying that the "problem with our booking had been sorted out", however, we were unaware that there had been a problem with our booking. The remainder of the trip went without incident & the hotel was fantastic & really made us feel welcome - that was until we checked out & found out that Travel Republic's booking agent - Travco - had paid the wrong hotel. So, even though we had a confirmation booking notice from Travel Republic & the hotel had collected us from the airport & was about to drop us off back at the airport for our return journey, we couldn't leave the hotel until we paid the hotel again, even though we had already paid for our hotel stay to Travel Republic before we travelled!!! We had to pay 667 Euros on my credit card as I didn't have any other cash on me. I telephoned Travel Republic from the hotel & they said I should pay the hotel - AGAIN - & they would reimburse us directly. However, they said that they would only repay the cost of the accommodation that we originally paid to them & that I would have to write to Travel Republic - with copy receipts - for the extra money that we had to pay the hotel directly. This really annoyed us, but our hands were tied as we had to make a dash for the airport. This whole incident really upset us & spoiled an otherwise lovely stay in this beautiful city. Once I was home, I wrote a detailed e-mail to Travel Republic explaining how upset we were that they had put us in such an embarrassing situation. I also asked for a full refund of the extra money that we were forced to pay over to the hotel & I also demanded compensation for this incompetent error. I had to wait 27 days for a response (I had to telephone them myself today - 27th Oct 2009) & after all their incompetence & the embarrassment that my partner & I suffered, all they are going to give me back is the money that we are out of pocket - i.e., the difference between what we originally paid to Travel Republic & the extra we had to pay the hotel direct plus a miserly 5% discount off any future travel arrangements we make with Travel Republic - how pathetic - why do they even think that we would risk our future travel plans booking with them again? They obviously don't care if their customers are left high & dry due to their errors & the errors of their booking agents & once they are "found out" they offer nothing to placate the situation. Now, I only wish that I had read the comments left on this website before we booked this trip with Travel Republic. If this is the way this travel company works with its customers, I would seriously ask you all to avoid this company like the plague. It's such a shame that we now have to check out both the hotels on Trip Advisor & the travel agents on sites like this.