Hays Travel - Ashford Reviews 

Excellent service as always and thanks to Tracey for your help

As usual staff at the Ashford branch very helpful and knowledgeable. We use to book direct but after dealing with your company we will not continue on that path. Thank you Hayes

Always happy with the service. Helpful staff, knowledgeable and always very friendly. Wouldn't go anywhere else.

Holli at Ashford branch was very helpful & patient. As we are in our 80s we find it difficult to take everything in at once. She was so respectful & we appreciated that.

Staff were friendly enough but I feel I wasn't given enough information and didn't come away with the booking I thought I had booked. Which only became apparent the week before the holiday after my daughter got involved to actually drill down into what I had actually paid for. Which is when we realised I hadn't got the cabins etc that I was told I had booked. What should have been a relaxing holiday to thank relatives turned into a travel nightmare. I think the staff need to listen more to what the customer is actually asking for and also make it clear exactly what they are booking and have it printed out in plain english exactly what is booked.

Extremely informative answering all our questions and researching everything we needed to know and helped us greatly with booking two holidays we really wanted.

I have thought very carefully before writing this review, particularly because the travel consultant involved was helpful in responding to emails once problems began to emerge. However, having now experienced the holiday my 82-year-old mother was sold, I believe serious questions need to be asked about whether this trip was ever suitable for her and her travelling companions.

My mother booked this holiday through Hays Travel as a very special trip with her cousin and his wife. She paid for the trip and was incredibly proud of herself for arranging what she hoped would be one last big adventure together while they were all still able to travel.

The principal reason she booked was the Caledonian Sleeper experience. That was the dream. The rest of the Scottish tour was attractive, and she is enjoying parts of it, but the overnight train journey was what made her choose this particular holiday.

In reality, a trip on the Caledonian Sleeper to Scotland, a few comfortable days staying in Edinburgh and then a return journey on the Sleeper would have been more than sufficient for what my mother actually wanted. It would arguably also have been far better suited to her age, mobility and the needs of her travelling companions. She did not need a busy coach tour involving repeated walking to and from the coach at different attractions; she wanted the special experience of overnight train travel and some enjoyable time in Scotland with people she loves.
This is why I find it so disappointing that more time does not appear to have been spent exploring what my mother actually wanted from the holiday before this particular package was sold to her.

My mother is 82, uses a walking stick and has sight problems. Her travelling companions are also older. Yet they were sold sleeper accommodation involving extremely small cabins with bunk beds, where one person in each cabin has to climb into a top bunk.

My mother says she believed she had booked a double cabin with private toilet facilities for her cousin and his wife and a bunk-bed cabin with private toilet facilities for herself and me. She knew our cabin involved bunk beds; she did not understand that both cabins would be bunk-bed cabins without private toilets.

This was not a minor detail.

Mr and Mrs Fowler cannot safely climb into a top bunk. My mother herself, with a walking stick and sight difficulties, is also not a suitable candidate for climbing into an upper bunk.

My mother was asked whether anyone required assistance and answered no because everyone could walk independently. But being able to walk around a tourist attraction is completely different from being physically able to climb a ladder into a top bunk on a moving overnight train.

At no point does my mother recall anyone specifically asking whether these older passengers could safely access upper bunks.

Hays Travel has since told us that the cabin information was in the brochure.

My mother was never given a brochure.

That point matters enormously. It is not enough for important information to exist somewhere in a brochure if the customer was never actually given that brochure and the booking documentation she did receive failed to clearly explain what had been booked.

The confirmation information my mother received afterwards contained next to no meaningful detail about the sleeper accommodation. It did not clearly set out, in a way an ordinary customer could readily understand, that both rooms were tiny Classic bunk-bed cabins, that one person in each cabin would need to access a top bunk, and that neither cabin had a private toilet.

Had this been made clear, we could have raised the issue immediately.

Instead, my mother was encouraged to book quickly because spaces were limited.

Only around a week before departure, after I personally contacted Newmarket Holidays directly and sent numerous emails trying to establish exactly what had been booked, did the full reality become clear.

My mother had not booked the Caledonian Sleeper experience she believed she had booked.

She discovered the following:

both cabins contained bunk beds.
one passenger in each cabin would need to climb into a top bunk.
neither cabin had a private toilet;
the cabins were extremely small and compact.
access to the Club Car was not guaranteed;
and the shared dining experience she believed formed part of the overnight journey was not guaranteed.

Our contact in the local branch, Anne-Louise has always listened to what we would like and found us a great location. Takes the stress out of booking yourself.

Anne-Louise was very helpful as always

The lady was very kind and helpful

Hollie listened to our requirements and kept searching until she found the best option available within our given budget.
Will visit again soon to book next years holiday with Hollie as she is so helpful.

Excellent service by Isobel, very knowledgeable and was able to answer all our questions

Hollie was very helpful, friendly and accommodating with helping me to book a family cruise. She was patient and careful in explaining all the options that were available to us. Great experience from both Hollie and her colleague Sandra, would definitely recommend this experience to take the stress out of booking a holiday.

Anne-Louise was our agent she was excellent explaining everything in detail to us . tried to get us the best deals. Very professional and lovely lady

Once again Sandra in your Ashford Kent branch helped us find and book a cruise for us and our daughter and family (spending nearly 2 hours ensuring every detail was correct)
We may look elsewhere but always end up booking with Sandra

Very professional and helpful.

Very patient & helpful, took time to get us a great holiday,

I was made very welcome by Sandra and Tracy. I explained when and where I wanted to travel and within several minutes was given the information that I required.

I felt confident in the information provided - I would recommend Hayes Travel, Ashford for their expertise and knowledge. There was a friendly atmosphere in the branch which is obviously important and means that all the staff work well together.

Visited the Ashford store to book our summer holiday and was seen by Sandra. I had a few questions and was a little indecisive but Sandra was brilliant and helped with everything! I ended up booking the holiday I wanted, for a great price. Sandra was polite, professional and very knowledgeable and even though she was busy, I never felt rushed. I will be going to see her again to book our next trip for February 2027.

Anne-Louise was very friendly and helpful in coordinating with the travel company to arrange the holiday we were looking for. Thank you!