Worst airline ever!!
Sunweb and Onur Air,
A true nightmare combination. We booked a trip to Belek over Easter. Our first negative experience was that we could not book seats ahead. That's what Sunweb told us. As it turns out we could have although at extra cost. Oh well we decided to go to the airport early to make sure we got seats next to eachother and so we could eat dinner and do some shopping before. The ticket said we needed to be at the check in 2.5 hours ahead. So we were there 3 hours before. Big mistake. Check in opened less than two hours before so were stuck in the check in area for more than an hour. There was no automat check in, and there was no info about which counters they would use. Around 2.5 hours we noticed a huge flock of teenagers starting to gang up on the check in counters we had been looking at fro over an hour. My wife asked where they were going, sure enough same destination. They had obviously been told before anyone else. So now we were almost at the very end of the check in cue. By the time we got checked in it was only an hour left before the flight. And we got shitty seats in the middle of a teenage party for 4 hours. Here's a positive - the lady at the check in was friendly enough so I didnt have a heart to air my misgivings at the time.
We took off a half hour late. Apparently due to some unexpected maintenance. That does not sound comforting… Fortunately the pilot managed to catch up so we landed as scheduled. As I said the Seating was shitty. The leg space was a joke. I had to sit with my knees spread and feet crossed the entire flight. The table could not be folded down because too little space. Ok I am a big guy but I also have several hundred flights history including both charter and budget airlines. I’ve never had those problems before.
The staff was not very friendly on board. The prices for onboard service were criminal, the bubbly was warm, they did not accept credit cards (which noone told us beforehand), they were sold out for the items we wanted, the temperature was too high, the noise from the teenagers was deafening. I tried to watch a film on my tablet with Bose noise cancelling headphones and couldnt hear the dialogue at full volume… . Did I mention legspace - my toes had numbed before we even took off. Oh yeah and there was no onboard entertainment, hence the tablet.
So the holiday started with the travel agency lying to us, causing us to waste two hours of our lives, and the flight felt like a cattle transport. Even before we reached our destination we both agreed we would never ever again use any one of these companies.
Upon arrival we had another surprise in store. My wife was let through passport control easily enough, but I wasn't. As a Norwegian I needed a visa. Apparently Danes don't. Go figure why there's a difference. Anyhow, I had to go back to some kind of visa kiosk and pay €25. I got a stamp in my passport that read €15 so I guess the boys at the airport score an extra 10'er there. But my complaint is really about why neither the travel agent nor the airline found it necessary to tell me this? I am now considering to send an invoice to Sunweb for our time waiting in the airport because they fooled us into meeting too early, plus the €25 I had to pay for a visa. That is not exactly "all inclusive" now, is it?
When we finally got out of the airport things started to improve. The staff that welcomed us and guided us onto the bus were friendly and first impressions of the hotel were really good. However it quickly became apparent that the hotel, Crystal Tat Beach Golf Resort and Spa, also had some issues. It is marketed as a 5 star hotel, but it is not more than 4 at best. It was ok, but just not up to spec for a 5 star hotel.
Positives: Friendly staff, clean and good location for the beach or for playing golf.
Negatives: Staff was very poor at English, they were not very attentive, the SPA section was very dirty towards end of day, the guest relations staff knew nothing about the area, services nearby, and would not help book golf on any other course than "their own".
And here's another - there is no golf course at this "golf resort". You take a shuttle bus to a nearby course which is hugely overprized. The Tat Beach golf resort is a rather common, boring course where each hole looks like the previous one. It is not very challenging, no matter how bad a shot you always find your ball. In the same area there are true championship courses designed by people like Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomery at the same price or lower. So stay away from the Tat beach golf. 80€ greenfee was the price to pay as a guest at the hotel. 40 would have been the right price compared to UK or Spanish courses, with further rebate for hotel guests.
To finish off negatives about the hotel, for some reason they closed the bars much earlier than announced. It seemed like after 6 pm you were not supposed to be outside as all the outside bard closed, even if they announced they were open till 10 or 12. Last thing was there was no cash machine at the hotel, and all the services such as car rental, shops, haidresser were inside the hotel premises, but you could not charge the room, and some did not take credit card. So unlessnyou brought a lot of cash to the all inclusive hotel, you were stuffed. Oh yeah, the nearest city center was some 7-8 km away so good luck walking if no cash for a cab.
As we're getting ready to go home there is yet another small hick-up. The agency is supposed to post information about pick-up time at the hotel 24 hours before. That does not happen so we end up calling them. The guide says she doesn't know but will check and call back. After more than an hour we hear nothing and call again. This time she promises to send email. After another couple of hours we finally get the mail. In good enough time so it works out fine, but it is still just yet another little annoying thing that is also costing us a couple of phone calls at roaming rates.
On the flight home we have prebooked seats at extra cost. When we get to check in (that is the slowest working check in lady I have ever seen) We get assigned standard seats. Since the girl at the check-in counter hardly understands English it takes some time to cet her to understand, and then she has to ask her superintendent for help. In the end we get sorted out with seats with legroom, but it took nearly 30 minutes to check us in!
So we get on the plane all right, and here I get my last little surprise. For some reason the armrest on my seat has a metal plate with a sharp corner. So at one point when I get out of my seat I end up tearing my pants. I complain to the attendant and get to speak with the steward. I ask him for a written statement so I can make a complaint and get compensation. He convinces me that that is not necessary, he gets my email address and phone number, and I get email address for the airline customer service. Surprise, surprise - after two emails to both airline and travel agency Sunweb) I still haven't gotten an answer. I guess they lied to me again!!
I would recommend not to use these companies, not Sunweb and not Onur Air. I
certainly will not! It may be a little bit cheaper but it simply isn't worth the hazzle. And with obvious unwillingness to pay their dues after causing damage to my personal property it is borderlining fraudulent behaviour as well. So stay away!
7 May 2014
Unprompted review
