SLM.de 

I recently booked a trip to the Maldives through HLX Touristik GmbH, specifically at the Riu Palace Maldives, and I am deeply disappointed with my experience. The issue lies not with the trip itself but with how HLX misled us regarding our room selection.

We were excited about this vacation and had our eye on the hotel, which offers several room types, including Junior Suites, Junior Suites with beach access, Overwater Suites, and Overwater Suites with private pools. HLX advertised a travel package that included the "Junior Suite" and a room they labeled as "Bungalow."

Given that travel agencies sometimes use different names for rooms, we assumed that the "Bungalow" was synonymous with the "Overwater Suite," as it resembles a bungalow more closely than any other room type. However, after booking the trip, we discovered that HLX's "Bungalow" was actually the "Junior Suite with beach access."

This revelation was incredibly disappointing. We would never have paid the price we did for the "Junior Suite with beach access," especially since there was no logical reason for HLX to label it as a "Bungalow" when they also offered a "Junior Suite." This misleading naming is confusing and could lead other travelers to make similar mistakes.

Moreover, when we brought this issue to HLX's attention via email and phone, their responses were unsatisfactory. They repeatedly stated that they had the right to name the rooms however they pleased, which I understand to an extent, but it should not lead to confusion or misrepresentation. They even claimed they do not sell the Overwater Suites, yet they feature pictures of this room on their website, further adding to the inconsistency.

To make matters worse, HLX has since removed the term "Bungalow" from their listings for this hotel, which only reinforces my belief that they were aware of the misleading nature of their terminology.

As a result of this mistake, I was forced to pay an additional €800 for an upgrade at the hotel. I strongly advise anyone considering booking with HLX Touristik GmbH to exercise caution. Their misleading room descriptions and lack of effective customer service left me feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with my travel experience.

The hotel was great, but the travel agency is really the worst.

Here are some examples:
The return flight from Dubai was on Saturday morning, but the hotel room was only booked until Friday. This means that checkout had to be done on Friday at 12 PM. What are you supposed to do until the next day? Seriously, this is an imposition and an absolute disgrace!

During the outbound trip, I would have had to wait a whole 4 hours in Istanbul for the connecting flight. I had planned to arrive in Istanbul a few days earlier and explore the city. I had arranged everything with the airline, which wouldn’t have been a problem, but HLX opposed it and said that the entire trip would be canceled if the first flight was not taken. Seriously, what nonsense. I never want to hear anything from HLX again. In my opinion, they did pretty much everything wrong that could be done wrong.

I was impressed by the personalized attention I received from Sara Rakipaj.
She made booking my trip to Izmir a breeze. From suggesting the best accommodations to arranging seamless transportation, every detail was meticulously taken care of. I had a stress-free vacation, thanks to their expertise.

Horrible booking experience.

The booking failed while they charged me 2185 euros. Customer service first claimed that I was not charged at all and that I received cancellation confirmation. Both of this is false, I got charged and haven’t received refund nor cancellation confirmation.

On top of cancelling my booking without proper communication, customer service has not offered any alternative.

E.Delilaj was a very big help and guide me very clear to finish the booking of our holiday.Thx a lot.

Mt. Kondi was very friendly and solved my problems immediately. Thank you!

Many thanks to Kevin Kondi for taking a lot of time to solve my problem. Unfortunately we weren't able to do so, but that was not his nor HLXs fault. Kevin was very eager and friendly! Definitely recommend his professionalism and motivation.

At first, I was not able to complete the booking because apparently it will not get confirmed if you use a discount coupon (Gutschein). I called the helpline and Ms. Raisa Curi very patiently answered all my questions. She also helped make a small correction in my booking and apply the discount coupon for me on call. Thank you!

Raisa Curi gave excellent help and assistance. Thank you!

Vielen herzlichen Dank für diesen exzellenten und professionellen von der Frau Wunderlich. Nach dem alle Mitarbeiter einen Service getreu dem Motto "kein bock" erbracht haben, hatte die Frau Wunderlich den vollständigen negativen Eindruck mit Ihrer Kompetenz und Wärme zum Ende den Eindruck gerettet :) Die Mitarbeiterin gehört definitiv in eine Leiterposition :)

Many thanks for this excellent and professional of the Mrs. Wunderlich. After all employees have provided a service true to the motto "no bock", the Ms. Wunderlich had the complete negative impression with your competence and warmth to the end saved the impression :) The employee definitely belongs in a manager position :)

Uncomplicated rebooking. Very friendly and helpful.

We booked a holiday to Dubai with HLX during and just returned home.

I would characterize HLX as incompetent, ineffective and chaotic and I would urge future travelers to avoid them by all means.

I spent maybe 20 hours on the phone and drafting emails over the past weeks to attempt to resolve their many blunders related to this one trip.

Below is just a selection of problems that arose:

- We booked and paid for a holiday for a family of four, but when we checked our flight bookings with Emirates Airlines in advance, only three flights were booked, including under the wrong name for my wife; we were initially only offered a refund of the trip and it took weeks and many calls and emails to have them correct my wife’s name and agree to book the missing ticket;

- Although my wife’s name on the ticket was corrected, they got her title wrong. According to Emirates Airlines, this could have led to a refusal of us boarding our flight. HLX was unable to correct the title on the ticket, despite numerous telephone and email requests (and promises by them) to do so. In the end the title stayed incorrect and we were lucky to be able to board the plane nevertheless;

- On 31 December, the day before our departure, which is not a public holiday, HLX was impossible to reach, even after waiting for hours on the telephone line;

- HLX’s call centre staff speak English and German poorly and it is therefore difficult to obtain accurate information;

- The call centre staff also make empty promises about sending information and confirmations, which are never received;

I had to cancel my travel package due to Coronavirus and the company reimbursed me the full amount paid. I will keep travelling with HLX. Thank you!

No respons on email. They cancelled our holiday. We have to wait 3-6 months for the refund of our fully paid holiday!

Shame on you!!!