I'd certainly be strongly against it one of the attractions of JY holidays is that hotels are of a decent standard, yes some have faults and are not perfect but they are usuallly clean and safe which to me is the priority.

Mick

I've no wish to go on holiday and stay in poor quality hotels and that's not to say I expect 5* luxury all the time, but one of the things I like about JY is that in most cases the hotels are of a good standard. If JY did lower the overall standard they would certainly lose my custom along with many others I'm sure - something that Mick W has already alluded to.

I don't agree with having the option of choosing your hotel category either, as this would have the effect of splitting up the group for long periods; something which I think goes against the whole ethos of singles holidays in general. Obviously the main party may split up into smaller groups in the evenings depending on where people want to go or what they want to do (and also go their own way during free time), but to accommodate people in different hotels seems a bad idea to me.

Mike

I would never have another holiday with JY if that were to happen.

Sylvia

Avocet

Jaya

If the standard of hotels dropped I wouldn't go on that holiday and, as said above, I would rather take one fewer holiday every so often to afford the holidays I want to go on.

I will not be booking.

Just You should rethink this holiday and any future holidays planned to ensure everyone stays at the same hotel and that Hotel standards are maintained. I want comfort on my holidays.

Eve

Best wishes,

Bob

Well spotted re: Different hotel categories on the St Lucia holiday. This was the exact holiday I had in mind when I made the point about JY offering different hotel categories (although I didn't mention it at the time).

I should also take this opportunity to refer to my experience on the China trip in October, whereby people could chose an amenity package upgrade on the Yangtze river cruise add-on. Consequently, 10 people including myself had cabins on a higher deck, but far more importantly, we also had all our meals in the executive dining room while 4 others ate in the 'main' dining room. I told JY on my return that this arrangement didn't sit well with the concept of singles holidays, and I'm pleased to see that the Yangtze cruise is now offered with the amenity package included on all 2015 departures.

I do hope that JY have a rethink about the St Lucia holiday - if not for 2015 then certainly for 2016 if it's still in the brochure. In my experience, this just doesn't work!

Mike

I agree Jaya - I don't want to share with someone I don't know. I didn't mind when I was younger but not now. This is one reason why I haven't done the Kenya tour.

Cheers,

Bob

I DID THE KENYA TRIP 2 YEARS AGO BUT PAID EXTRA FOR

A ROOM TO MYSELF AS I DID NOT WANT TO SHARE WITH

SOMEONE I DID NOT KNOW.

SUE SOUTHAMPTON

I agree Jaya - I don't want to share with someone I don't know. I didn't mind when I was younger but not now. This is one reason why I haven't done the Kenya tour.

Cheers,

Bob

I DID THE KENYA TRIP 2 YEARS AGO BUT PAID EXTRA FOR

A ROOM TO MYSELF AS I DID NOT WANT TO SHARE WITH

SOMEONE I DID NOT KNOW.

SUE SOUTHAMPTON

Sharing of the room in Kenya for the few nights worked really well, it wasn't a problem for anybody in our group. I never even knew you could pay extra, I always thought you had to share as there are not that many lodges...

Cindy

Thanks for the info, I'll bear that in mind!

Best wishes,

Bob

Loopylou

I do mainly touring holidays, and for me the hotel just needs to be clean, safe and conveniently located. I honestly don't think in the long run, on the type of holidays I tend to do, that you spend enough time in a hotel to demand more. For those that choose one destination holidays I imagine the hotel is far more important.

What I do think is important is the quality of food offered at the hotels used. Especially when it is sold to you as included in the price. I was shocked on my recent holiday to the US at how poor some of the breakfasts were. For me its an important part of my holiday and I am not a fussy eater in any shape or form, but as a diabetic I need to watch the carbs and was shocked at how little there was that I could eat - almost everything was sweet or bread based out of a packet of tin - I've never come across this before!! Also when I went to Italy (Classic Cities of Italy) the room was on a half board basis and the quality of the evening meal was absolutely terrible. Especially when you saw what others not in a group were eating. In this instance if they know the food quality is poor - then I would prefer that JY find a hotel in a location where there are a good source of restaurants and not provide the evening meal. In Italy I certainly felt I was on a budget holiday, and I definitely didn't pay a budget price.

I have had a gander at some of the replies and can agree with many of them. JY is expensive, but is quite comparable with other tour companies when you add in food included, hotel standard, and included excursions. Ultimately, i don't want to travel on my own, and companies such as JY provide an amazing facility for stress free travel. This, you don't get from other companies where you could probably go to the same destination for half the price. Don't forget as well that tour guides and bus drivers need to be paid so this all adds up.

Thanks

Mark

On several recent JY hlidays, I have felt some hotel grades have been a bit overstated. Only in China have I been in four star hotels, and even these varied widely. Most of the others have been graded 3 star, hardly the luxury end of the market!! The grading doesn't only take account of room quality, but other things many customers expect, such as porterage, lifts, on site restaurants and wifi. On my last holiday to New England, two of the hotels, in Boston and Montreal were way below standard. I certainly wouldn't have been happy to spend the whole trip is such poor accommodation.

What a shame Sarah, I went on the Canada and New England trip this year and didn't find these hotels below standard at all. Yes the one in Boston looked dated, but the bed was supremely comfortable with quality linen, ditto the towels. The central position was fantastic, the hotel was spotlessly clean, breakfast was more than adequate, it just looked a bit tired partly due to it's construction. As for Montreal, most if not all of my party had suites, my rooms were enormous, with a 3 piece suite in the sitting room and a big kitchen with fridge/freezer, again it was spotlessly clean. Perhaps we all have different perceptions, the only hotel I wasn't too keen on was in New York, I would have preferred to have paid more to be nearer uptown. I think we have to remember what we are actually paying for too, not just the hotels, but our airfare, TM, driver, guides, meals, fuel, porterage, etc., all in all quite a good deal in my opinion.