Essential Escapes www.essentialescapes.com

It is worth pointing out that the necessity to change the date of travel (by one day) was driven by the fact that the last seat on the return flight was reserved by Essential Escapes and the price quoted for that flight was GBP 800 more than that available from Opodo for those exact dates (on the morning on which the reservation was made). Upon communication of this fact to Essential Escapes, I was told that one of their third party agents had reserved the seats and was advised to book the flight directly - which I could not given that that seat had now been reserved and was also advised that releasing the seat would not necessarily mean it would become re-available to the public. The discount offered directly to me by the hotel was on the exact date of travel which Essential Escapes had confirmed reservation for, and subsequently the hotel offered the same discount for the stay but with arrival being one day earlier (at my request (with the change of date required in order to secure flights with Opodo).

This is the first negative review we have come across in 8 years of trading, and given its inaccuracy, it is important to present a true account of what happened in this instance. In brief, the price difference was due to a change of dates, and the resort offering a new, exclusive price directly to the client. A full refund was given. Here follow the full details. This client asked Essential Escapes for advice on which spa retreat to visit in Thailand. Two properties were suggested, and a good deal of time was spent outlining the merits of each. At the client's request, further detailed information was emailed and the client was left to review this and decide which option was preferred. Once the client had made his decision, he specified exact travel dates. As this was a busy time to travel, the flight availability was very limited, however, we managed to secure the last seat on a flight on his requested departure date. There were several further phone calls and email exchanges before the holiday was booked. We ran through the pricing over the phone and he was satisfied at this point that we were offering a good deal. The client confirmed and paid in full for his holiday. Subsequently, the client received an offer directly from the hotel. Having changed his dates slightly, the client found better flight availability and, consequently, a cheaper fare. This is the case when there are more seats for the airline to sell. Having contacted us to point out the price difference, we offered him a full refund. The resort has since apologized to us as a company for undercutting a deal that was honoured to us as a tour operator. Responding to this review is important to defend the ethos of the company, which is attested to by the many loyal clients who book time and time again.