change of hotel

[pinkbabytots]

We have recently found out that the hotel we have booked for October has still got ongoing refurbishment work going on. We have tried to cancel and demand refund. However, they have transferred us to a 3* hotel instead and claim they they can do this. Can they?

[jno]

depends who 'they' are and what the terms in their contract are. If it's Thomas Cook or someone, have a look in the back of the brochure. If your original hotel was 4-star, you're due some sort of refund; if it was 2-star then you've got an upgrade. Why exactly do you want to back out?

[pinkbabytots]

The reason why we want to back out is because we do not trust the holiday company hotelsbooked.com, we have trouble with them from the start.

[jno]

their small print says they just act as agent for the hotel and your contract is with the hotel. I don't see how they can offer you another hotel in the first place? Sorry, I don't have any experience with them; before I book a hotel online I check them out on tripadvisor and check their own website; that seems the best way of finding out about things like refurbishment. As far as your legal situation goes, perhaps you could post a copy of this question in the Law section, you might get more knowledgeable answers than I can give you. Apologies.