Uday Samudra Hotel - 2 extremes of opinion

Hi

I have been using this site for sometime now, and never before have I ccome across two extremes of opinion regarding a hotel than I have when reading reviews for the Uday Samudra.

As it is a hotel I am planning to book for late this year, Ive been reading about it on this site and others. The only thing I can conclude is that if you travel independently, you are treated in an inferior way than if you travel with a (UK) tour operator.

This then means that I am better off arranging the holiday with FC, for example, than on my own.

Any thoughts ?

Uday Samudra Hotel - 2 extremes of opinion

That%26#39;s what I thought.

All the complaints about overbooking, putting people into Trivandrum hotels and being given the wrong rooms seemed to have come from independent travellers. They also all seemed to have happened around Christmas and the New Year (peak occupancy)

I discussed this with First Choice and they said the Uday Samudra wouldn%26#39;t dare overbook with THEIR customers or give them grotty rooms or they wouldn%26#39;t renew their contract. They said no UK traveller on a package ought to experience this type of problem.

We are going on March 20 so will post a review and let you know.

Uday Samudra Hotel - 2 extremes of opinion

Further to this last, look at the latest review (2nd March) from an independent traveller, which seems to bear out what you say.

Our favourite hotel in Goa was similar, not a bad hotel at all, but not really geared up to coping with independent single bookings, who very much had to take what was left over after the big UK firms had filled up the rest of the hotel.

Hello

We were due to stay at the Uday this April 2008 but yesterday our travel agrent rang to say that our tour operator (Kuoni) are no longer sending ANY guests to this hotel and have found another hotel for us to stay at instead. The reason stated was contractural ???

It might be best to avoid this hotel if tour operators are pulling out.

Rah.

Have they told you what the alternative is ?

I think they have pulled out because the hotel has upped its prices. At the beginning of the year First Choice were also not selling this hotel as they were under discussions with the hotel for the new contract, but they are on sale again now.

My thinking is that the hotel has invested money in the complex by adding more rooms and another pool, and they are thus trying to get some og this back through the tour operators.

As I sais I%26#39;d be interested to know what they have offered you instead and what you think about it.

Don%26#39;t avoid the Uday! It%26#39;s a great hotel - we loved it (as I%26#39;ve said several times already on this forum).

If the prices have increased, that%26#39;s a different story, but do not avoid it on the basis that a tour operator is no longer using it. it could be for all sorts of reasons. (I don%26#39;t have any shares in the hotel - honestly I don%26#39;t!)::))

Em

We were also booked into UDS with Kuoni and have now been offered Estuary Island (near Poovar)instead. We are not happy with this as local cuisine and nightlife outside the hotel has always been one of our prime reasons for picking where we stay, and this doesn%26#39;t look like an option at Estuary.

Kuoni have offered full refunds but this does not include costs of Visa%26#39;s and airport parking which are already paid for. Don%26#39;t really know what to do now, - Leela is an option I suppose but it is going to cost us alot more.

I think it is fairly sensible to take advice about whether or not to %26#39;avoid%26#39; the UDS from guests who have actually stayed there, like Emiline.

I would not avoid a hotel just because Kuoni had failed to negotiate a new contract with it, but I might avoid booking with Kuoni in the future for moving disappointed clients at no notice to a completely different resort.

I can%26#39;t understand why Kuoni%26#39;s packages cost a lot more than First Choice anyway. I caught myself nearly booking the UDS via Kuoni, saying to myself %26#39;it MUST be good if Kuoni use it.%26#39; The holiday would have cost us many hundreds of pounds more AND it would only have been B %26amp; B instead of the good deal on half board we got with FC.

stjohnshouse. I know what you mean about Kuoni%26#39;s prices, but we have travelled all over S.E.Asia with them over the past few years and have found them to be the best as far as we are concerned. One reason for their higher prices is that they use scheduled flights with people like Thai Air %26amp; Emirates Air, - more legroom, better in flight entertainment + FREE BAR etc. UDS have a bit of a reputation for jacking up their prices at short notice and I guess that is what this is all about.

We will just have to remain sober and keep our legs to ourselves on the flight, but for us the flight is very much a means of reaching our destination- if you%26#39;re on a tight budget (like us) it%26#39;s always a trade-off, isn%26#39;t it?

We would have loved to have been able to afford to have flown with Kuoni and stayed in the Leela or the Taj Green Cove- but we can%26#39;t, so that%26#39;s that. We truly believe we have got the best deal for our family with our limited dosh.

Anyway, we hope you manage to get a decent hotel in a place you want to be and we are sorry the usually-reliable Kuoni have mucked you about this time.