Caledonian Travel
Reviews and Complaints

I booked a package hotel break at the above mentioned hotel. This was a mini break that I was looking forward to.

The package was a dinner bed and breakfast and I have to say the meal selection in the evening was very disappointing. I had completed a dietary requirement form before I arrived at the hotel and clearly the request was not provided to the waiting staff at the restaurant.

The dietary requests for me are no cream or milk, the majority of the meals were served with cream and I was unable to eat these meal, despite asking if soup or desert to be provided with no cream I was advised that this was not possible and this was the same with the main meals.

To say I was disappointed is an understatement as there was no other choices available on the menu.

It was on the 3rd evening that I was asked if I would like an alternative and I was given 6 x chicken wings with lettuce I do not feel that this is an efficient alternative and I did have to provide my own food from outside the hotel. I don't feel this was acceptable considering I had paid for a dinner bed & breakfast.

I have booked my holidays with your company for over 15 years and this trip was so disappointing.

The above information should be passed to the hotel management to avoid other customer feeling the same disappointment with the meals that I have and avoid future disappointment for future guests

Recently had a four day break at the Caledonian Claymore Hotel.
Unfortunately we were not at all pleased with our bedroom, No.1, for which we had paid £40 each for a loch view.
Whilst there we did express our dissatisfaction at the state of our room and also contacted the Hull Office.
The ceiling had obviously had a leak from the room above which they had repaired with a filler but left unpainted with wallpaper still coming away.
The floor had slant which, particularly during the night felt very strange.
The TV was on a prominent slant on the wall which was not good for viewing.
The general cleanliness of the room was left somewhat to be desired
Reading reviews we saw that the hotel had undergone some refurbishment and in choosing to spend the £80 we fully expected to have one of these
We feel really let down at the said charge especially when others guest had loch views at no extra charge.
Unfortunately this is delayed as I have not been well.

We have just returned from a long weekend staying at Canary Wharf….. hotel and food and staff pleasant and helpful not the coach driver!
No communication regards where, what time pickups and he was late back after the stops on Friday ,,, must have his smokes! Lousey attitude towards us all
Bit off putting when he yawned at the start and said he didn’t know the tour!
Not the usual Caledonian attitude usually there to enhance the experience with chat and at least a smile
Yes it was a long day from 7am- 7pm with an accident in the traffic which unavoidable but the shake up we all had the the emergency stops jarred my back- so glad of seat belts!
Not the usual standard of driving as on other trips
Ted and Jan Robson

The way where treated and spoken to lady who met us snappedatus told us our room not ready for 5mins we got drink sat in lounge she wanted our dinner order we had dry chiken dried chipspeas had seen better days we could not eat this rubbish she also shouted at us when finished our drink across the room i told you your room not ready then had the cheek to have her meal this side reception desk we got our room lovriy but cold water in bathroom no hot water all our stay shower in bath we could not use

This journey took far too long as we were held up on the M62 after last pick up in Huddersfield, think the driver knew about the problems and one would have thought he would have found a different route.
It took around seven hours for us to reach Llandudno which I think is unacceptable, it has put me off travelling with Caledonian in future.
The holiday was booked by my sister in law on 17 th December 2024.
Booking reference T521138.
Holiday reference 5569M 98.

Tuesday 4 th March during evening entertainment at the New Loretta Llandudno, I (Diane) was having a dance with our driver Paul his Newcastle driver was also there, wearing Paul's glasses , he indicated that Paul needed his glasses and also said to Paul , I thought you were fed up! Not hard up ! Left the dance floor didn't say anything as I was shocked and upset, my partner had also heard these comments. He then decided to join our group, as he wasn't working the following day so he was drinking heavily and sniggering on and off , he asked my partner why he wasn't speaking to him . Mike then said you know why! He then offered Mike outside saying let's have you outside now then, at this point I stood up and blocked the Newcastle driver , as Mike is recovering from his second lot of cancer , he's 64 yrs , I'm 66 yrs and we don't need the hassle , as we are having enough upset either what going on with heath issues already . The bar man intervened and took him away , but he came back again he was Beckening over my shoulder at Mike on several occasions, I told him , I'm not having it ! Tried to find out the drivers name the following morning, no one would tell me, so he came in from outside with Paul, still wouldn't admit what he'd said, and how he was acting the night before, saying he'd got witnesses all blew up from there !

We booked to go to yarmouth in 24th february a paddle boat trip was included that was the reason we booked only to be told on the day we couldnt go as the season didnt open till the following week by that time we were back home. Also we stayed at the waverly and on the second day we were locked in our room the door was shut tight reception came up to let us out. Then the day before we were due to come home we were locked in our room again so again we rang reception and the manager came up to let us out but he came in the room and shut the door so myself my sister and the manager were locked in he had no phone on him and there was no one on reception so luckily we had a phone number for one of the other guests so we rang him and the manager spoke to him and told him to find a member of staff to get a key and to come up and let us out or we would of been stuck if there was a fire I dont know what would of happened anyway then we had to change rooms because maintenance didnt come to fix the door we have been with caledonian for years and never had anything like this and to be honest it was scary

We have just returned from the Grand Scarborough, we were allocated room 340, when we opened the door the room stank of smoke and the bathroom light was not working plus were requested a sea view room, we were facing another hotel, went to reception told me that they were busy and come back later on the way back to the room we spoke to the manager and his the deals with Caledonian was attracting wrong type of clientele who have no respect for Hotels standards someone will be up immediately to fix bathroom light?, We went for a walk, 2 hours larger we returned to the room (no light), so I manager to see the manageres and she said that the hotel was full and no change of room was available and someone would be up immediately to fix the bathroom light (ha ha) all weekend we had no bathroom light and the door had no night lock so we had to the ironing board up the door for safety.
THE FOOD
What can I say that it was the most unpalatable
that we have ever had.
1. Everything was cheap and nasty
2. The Bread was stale
3. The sausage was awful tasteless chewy
4. The scrambled egg was in water
5. The deserts were still frozen
6. The plates were dirty
7. The cutlery was for children it is tiny
8. The gravy was so thin I had to say to the chef and he just shrugs his shoulders
I could go on about all the things that are so bad about the restaurants.
Entertainment doesn't start until 9.45, before the entertainment the BINGO £38.00 for two, the pay out was a rip off.
We stayed Caledonian many times and this is the first time that we find that we must complain for Caledonian to investigate and address the poor standards for future travellers.
Yours
Mr and Mrs Knox
Ref:T546899
Hotel ref : 5321Z 189

My sister& I were on a London trip on Saturday 15 th February till Sunday 16 th for a London show . We were staying at the Hampstead Britannia hotel.
We received a continental breakfast,& had not been advised of this, & ourselves & most of the people on our coach were not happy about it either.
We have been on quite a few coach trips over the years & never before have we received a continental breakfast.
The hotel was nice but we would not want to stay there again. We were looking at booking another show but would be wary of it being this hotel. Yours sincerely
L Howard

I am writhing to complain about the recent trip on 24th /27th January. This was the day of the red weather warning, I thought the trip would have been cancelled due to weather alert, after calling several times including the morning of the trip were informed that it was going at ahead, following your advice we got the couch at Hamilton but we were feeling very uneasy about travelling, I feel the trip should have been cancelled ,it was a pretty terrifying experience due to the storm, with possible threat to life. The driver Water thankfully was great and tried to keep everyone calm.on reaching Luss, we had to wait 30 minutes in the bus waiting until he could drive again, because he had been diverted so many times due to hazards on the road, it was scary on the bus as it was rocking with the weather. We arrived at the hotel cold and hugry, the hotel was also cold and there was no food/meals available till 6 o'clock ,this was extremely disappointing as we had been on the road since 10 o'clock, the rooms were also not ready , we were made to wait in lounge with no heating no tea/ coffee or food available. The hotel offer packed lunches extra so they could have provided at least a sandwich and tea, but nothing was made available, this was an absolute disgrace and to be frank disregarded basic human rights, there was no reason for this lack of hospitality as the driver had called to inform staff the bus was going to arrive, so there was really no excuse. we arrived after 2 possible 3 oclock so I don't understand why the rooms were not ready especially considering we had to vacate the rooms on departure at 9.30 am. The staff were actually at the doors at 8.55 wanting to clean the rooms. Due to the weather there was nowhere to stop for something to eat and drink, we book lots of trips with your company but someone should have cancelled this trip or made better provisions for those travelling, especially for people like myself who are diabetic and require regular meals.although We understand The red was a storm but there was no entertainment on the first night and no bingo, also no bingo on the second night, We feel we lost the first day of the holiday, under these circumstances we feel we should have some form of compensation.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Ann Gallacher
4 Pladda Street
Motherwell

I have travelled with your company for a number of years. This is the first time a felt I had to contact you and make a complaint about the bus that was used for the above trip. The driver was excellent, but the bus was not fit for purpose. When you book with Caledonia Travel you except to go on one of your own buses? The bus came from somewhere in Wishaw. As you know the weather last weekend was very cold. The air condition on the bus could only go from very cold to extremely warm. I have ashtma and found it very uncomfortable. By the end of the trip I had a ashtma episode. Hence the delay in contacting you. I now feel that I can no longer travel with your company. As it seems like pot luck which bus you get.
Mrs Mary Dempster
60 Nethergreen Wynd
Renfrew PA48HS

Hello my mum and I have just come back from a break to torquay staying in the caledonian torbay hotel. I've got a complaint about the state of our room. The room we were staying in (407). The room was absolutely disgusting my top sheet had a stain approximately 8 inches. The wallpaper was hanging off in places. The window frame was flaking with old paint. The window sill was mouldy and absolutely filthy with dead flies on the window. The skirting board had thick dirt and hadn't been washed for years. The bathroom had thick dirty limescale under the taps in the bath and the grouting had brown stains and looked as if hadn't been cleaned for a long long time. Everything in our room was disgusting.. The room hadn't been decorated for years. It was nothing like the photos on your site... We booked that particular hotel in accordance with the photos showing beautiful modern rooms.. We also had a dog in the room next door which was continually barking along with another dog on our floor... I wasn't aware there would be dogs staying in the hotel.. After speaking to other customers on the bus on the way home whose rooms were clean, modern and as described on your website... Our room was old fashioned and absolutely filthy.. All communal areas were lovely, clean and nicely decorated... We are really disappointed and the state of our room was absolutely disgusting... We will never stay there again... As a caledonian hotel I hold you totally responsible... That room should never have been available for use... I'm raising this complaint with yourselves... Before writing a review and taking this complaint further i'm giving you the opportunity to rectify the many issues and complaint... I await a prompt response concerning these serious issues found.
Your mrs chapman
(the break was friday 27th september returning monday 30th september..)

Whilst I fully appreciate the fact that the cost of the package was exceptional value for money, there were certain aspects of our experience which you as a company could take steps to improve upon.

Despite having requested a sea view room, I was allocated a room facing into an unsightly "courtyard". When I questioned this with reception, I was abruptly informed that sea view rooms incurred an additional cost however at no point during the booking process was I informed of this otherwise I would gladly have paid the extra money. The attitude of the receptionists (Rachel and Lesley) added to my anger, they were abrupt, rude and completely dismissive of my request, a trait that was evident in a number of staff throughout the hotel. Some intense training on customer service skills is badly needed in this establishment.

The room at first glance was acceptable however on closer inspection the carpet was filthy and "sticky" underfoot. The cleanliness of the shower area was disgraceful (photographs enclosed). Obviously the head of housekeeping is failing to check the standards of cleanliness.

Whilst I understand that the seating of so many people requires planning as is impostant to ensure that everyone is accommodated however to return from an excursion at 5.30pm only to be seated at 6.00pm without time to freshen up and change for dinner is far from satisfactory, a sentiment echoed by many.

On a positive note, the food was without fault, the entertainment excellent and the highlight of the trip was the care and attention given by our coach driver Caroline - she went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that everyone's experience was a success - a fantastic representative for your company.

I hope that you find my comments constructive.

Regards,

Mrs.Agnes Aitken

On our way back from Great Yarmouth on Friday 23rd of August at about 11am our driver made a dangerous move on a roundabout when he was taking a left turn .He could not turn directly as there was a bus on a bus stop picking up passengers so went round the bus and entered a dangerous area where he was facing oncoming traffic coming round a blind bend only to nearly causing an accident as a lorry came round the bend and had to brake hard to avoid a collision. It was plain to see he was heading for trouble making this maneuverer I have send you more details in the post. We got on coach at 1000 on Monday 19th August at Wakefield

We arrived at the hotel on Saturday 9th December in the evening along with another 3 coaches. we had to queue with our luggage on flights of stairs for possibly 45 minutes.

whilst checking in customers were returning to the desks to complain their heating was not on. there was a handyman near by who went off to sort this out. this made me think they were expecting problems with him being on hand.

we went to check in and were given the paperwork to point out our details to them. we got our key to the room, noted the sign saying no carry out food allowed and went to the restaurant.

At the restaurant there was a massive queue. there were no tables and chairs to sit at. We joined the queue and stood or one hour. The staff were having trouble understanding the orders. Two people were on the till, one person was making pizzas and the receptionists and the handyman were running out delivering the meals to the people lucky enough to have a seat and their meal ordered. People started to give up in the queue and leave without eating to go to their rooms. By the time we got to the front we had lost our appetite. The menu was terrible (fine if you like burgers and pizzas mind!).

The girl could not understand our order. I ended up paying for 2 drinks and taking them to our room where we ate cakes which we had purchased in London earlier that day. there were no seat for us to sit at. The two receptionists at the till were giggling and I had to ask them to take my payment for the drinks. they were very rude. i think the problem was there was not enough staff to deal with the amount of guests, there was certainly not enough table and chairs for customers to sit at and whilst I am not racist the fact that the staff were not english and could not understand the customers, slowed the process down even further.

I have travelled with caledonian travel in the past and stayed in lovely hotels without complaint but I would hate to every have to stay in this hotel again and it puts me off booking up again if i am honest. I would reconsider sending any of your customers to this hotel again in the future.

Can I just say our bus driver, Tim, was brilliant and he was so helpul and pleasant.

I await your reply.

This trip is so obviously a collaboration with the retail outlets in the locations. Instead of visiting Scotland we were driven to these outlets instead of the towns. We saw Gretna Green fleetingly (2secs) as we drove through on our way to a retail outlet. The walk back there and back would have taken 40 minutes. Loch Lomand, another retail center. Couldn't go to the Sea life centre as it wasn't specified on the itinerary that only pre bookings were accepted so back to the shops. Moffat, another retail outlet, had to walk into the town to see anything. If I'd wanted to go shopping for tatty trinkets or overpriced clothes I could have stayed home.

Plus the driver decided to take another route home which meant they dropped off in reverse order. Our lift that had been prearranged had to be cancelled and we then had to pay £28 for a taxi plus money for the cancelled lift.

The promise of scenery, country walks and quaint villages was so far from reality. If I had known the Adamton country house was ran by Brittania I never would have gone as their hotels are notoriously bad.

The hotel is like a borstal tacked onto a run down house/pretend mansion. The rooms weren't ready for some as they only had 3 cleaners, even the handyman had to help. Our hairdryer didn't work the cold water tap didn't work and the shower was a dribble.

The evening meal was inadequate, comparable to a school dinner, the meat ran out. The second evening there was a mediocre salad but no dressing of any kind, some sort of stew with chips? and cauliflower. No bread rolls but white sliced bread still in the packet in the bread basket then an unknown dry sponge cake without custard or cream. Spilled coffee left at the drink stations dripping everywhere and one very slow toaster (the other was broken) for 250 residents to use. The poor staff were overrun.

I understand that these trips are relatively cheap but stop advertising them incorrectly as they are just tours to retail outlets and poor quality accommodation.

I had a trip to Liverpool which by the time the bus broke down twice meant we literally had less than 12 hours there. The Adelphi is disgusting and had drug addicts and their dogs living there. Thought I'd give Caledonian travel the benefit of the doubt but these trips have put us completely off doing any more.

I have just returned from Torquay although the holiday was great, the driver was not, he was arrogant,rude he actually called a gentleman a dipstick when the gentleman was in early stages of dementia which is totally unacceptable,we couldn't believe what we were hearing, this happened on our way home at our drop of at darlington around 5.30-6.00 pm, this is the second time I have had this driver and he was the the same the first time although I go all over with caledonian, I will not be going back to torquay in case we get the same drivet