Secret Escapes

A question about : Secret Escapes

Has anyone ever used www.secretescapes.com?

I was wondering if anyone had any feedback if they had made a booking through them?

I get their email but I'm a bit weary the deals can look too good to be true.

Cheers

Gem

Best answers:

• I have checked the prices of a couple with the hotels direct and it was cheaper. With others it was a saving, if it looked OK and I had done that check I would book, using a credit card Also, check out the reviews, a couple of the hotels didn't get as good reviews as they looked like they would from their ads!!
• A friend recommended me to the site a while back and from the emails I've been receiving they do appear to stack up. I checked a few prices and the Trip Advisor links they provided (which surprisingly provide both good and bad so a proper reality check before you book). They do not appear to be trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. They do great write ups on the emails and do seduce you into booking but ultimately they don't expect you to believe their hype and instead provide direct links to travellers' reviews. (Am a big fan of Trip Advisor - never book anything without checking first!)
  I read something about them in a magazine my wife showed me with a load of their deals. From what I could make out the prices available are because they are a membership site so they can beat the likes of Expedia and Hotels.com. The snag is that the deals are only available for a limited time so you have to make a decision within about a week before the offer ends. Seems a lot better than some flash sales though where you can't pick the dates of travel - I've been caught on a couple of Groupon purchases which have turned out to not quite be as 'available' as I'd thought.
  Another friend who signed up after reading about them in the Sunday Times said that they had earnt money in their account when they joined - perhaps they do promotions every now and again - to generate more members I guess. He has a mate at work who has just booked him and his girlfriend at the Goring Hotel in London where Kate Middleton was the night before the Royal Wedding.
  I've not booked anything but been wondering about a weekend away without the kids for an anniversary treat - think my wife would like the pampering. I saw one deal that had massages and dinner for two included but didn't book in time! Will be interesting to see if anyone else has any experience of using the site too. I'll report back on my trip, if I can get something booked.
• Brilliant, thanks for your help Leechy!
• You must do your homework. Secret Escapes are not always cheaper than other sites even though they claim to be. I just received an e-mail offering deals at the Rookery Hall Hotel in Cheshire. the place looked nice so checked the prices for two nights, 7th & 8th of April. Secret Escapes quoted Ј314. A quick check on other booking sites quoted Ј278.
  They may well be cheaper for other dates but this offer obviously didn't work for the dates I was looking at. Like I said earlier, do your homework as it may well be cheaper elsewhere for the dates you wish to travel/stay.
• I've used them without problems and they are also available on cashback sites. As others have said, compare prices.
• We've just come back from a 4 day break to Gran Canaria in an apartment booked through Secret Escapes. All was fine - decent accommodation at a good price. Will probably use them again for an upcoming trip to London as there's a nice one near Tower bridge which has come up a few times, so hoping it'll come up again in April/May.
• Essentially it's like Groupon... Enticing every time but not something you really need.
• I'd be tempted to use Secret Escapes if the actress from the TV adverts came with the deal
• Only handy if your fortunate enough to have London Gatwick as your departure airport. Forget any discounted prices on overseas offers if you live north of England, Northern Ireland or Scotland. There are selected deals which give you a choice of departure airports. However, these only include London Gatwick, Birmingham or Manchester.
  Regards
• I would warn people against the pitfalls of booking with secret escapes. If anything goes wrong they claim no responsibility as they say they are 'just an agent' They also claim that flight times may be subject to changes -be warned these changes can be dramatic - in our case we lost two days of our short trip. I would not book with them again.
• I signed up for three or four of these so-called special deal websites last year.
  I'm not sure whether it was the tsunami of emails or the fact that virtually every deal I was interested in could be found cheaper elsewhere rapidly made me unsubscribe from them.
  The bottom line is that independent research and a small bit of effort will virtually always be cheaper.
  How else do they make their commission ?
  The best joke of all are the sites which put you on a " waiting list " to fool you into thinking they're somehow exclusive. They aren't. Why on earth would a website restrict the number of people it was trying to sell a product to ?
• I used Secret Escapes last month. The deal looked good, saving nearly Ј80 over two nights, so I got in touch with the hotel direct, suggesting they 'price match' The answer was thet could not. So I said I would then book thru S.E. and they then said they would look forward to seeing us .
  Moral ....... that web site does work.
• Hi - I just wanted to let everyone know about my awful experience with Secret Escapes...
  I booked a seven night holiday to Cyprus with Secret Escapes in December 2013, for April 2014, having been enticed by their attractive marketing and sales campaigns.
  Following the booking, the email confirmation named the third party holiday company which the booking had actually been made through and advised that we would receive our travel tickets two weeks prior to departure.
  Having not received any further correspondence or tickets, I called the travel company a week before the planned departure date, to receive an automated message saying the holiday company had gone into administration and I should contact the Civil Aviation Authority to pursue a claim through ATOL.
  I logged on to my Secret Escapes account to find that my holiday was still showing as an upcoming booking, with no note or reference to having been cancelled. I subsequently called Secret Escapes to be advised that the holiday company had indeed gone into administration and the holiday was cancelled. They said that I should have received an email from them and the holiday company, advising me of this - which I hadn't! I asked for their help and assistance in finding an alternative and also asked if I could transfer the money to another booking. I was told neither were possible. They could not assist with the refund or rebook a holiday using the credit. They totally washed their hands of me.
  I was left with less than a week to find an alternative and ended up having to pay twice, and paid an additional Ј400 as no comparable deals were available at such short notice. Had SE contacted me in February, which was when the holiday company went into administation, it would have been far less stressful and I would have been more likely able to find a comparable holiday at a similar price, rather than the very last minute panic we had and additional cost.
  I have since tried to contact Secret Escapes via email and Fascebook over a dozen times since April and have received two holding messages to say my complaint is being looked at by their Head of Customer Service Shaun Simpson. I was also assured that I would be contacted within 7 days with a response and was not. I contacted them again and was told that ironically Shaun was on holiday. I have still not received a response from SE. I have found the entire experience totally unacceptable; meanwhile I am seperately pursuing the CAA/ATOL for a refund on my original booking.
  I would never use SE again, nor would I recommend them. Their customer service has been shocking.
• Only thing secret about this company is how they can take your money without letting you know they have taken your money and not letting you know that you won't be getting any written correspondence.
  Paid Ј1438 for a half-board holiday with flights and transport to Gran Canaria for two for a 10 day holiday. All was exciting and we really were looking forward to it both being self-employed and working hard to be able to relax on such a lovely break! Right? WRONG!
  Money taken without any email or written confirmation after going through their on-line booking system, we booked our time off as we were able to complete booking application without any indication of what was to come!
  Received a phone call (only) from somebody claiming to represent SE.
  Was told that the holiday was not available, scamming for more money as they were meant to be coming back with alternative dates someday. No call or alternative dates given so following day I booked with a reputable travel agency and set up. Next day received a call offering 4 days prior or 3 days later than originally booked. I informed them that , that was not suitable and they had not come back to me as promised so had booked elsewhere. I also said as the holiday was never available then they better had not taken my Ј1438 as I had paid a company for a holiday they could and would actually provide.
  I was shocked and astounded that they said they had taken my money in the knowledge that either the holiday wasn't and/or wouldn't be available. So after parting with almost Ј3000 for a holiday that only one company could give me I told them I wanted all monies returned immediately with interest, charges, etc added on top as I would now be charged for being O/D and how dare they after knowing they couldn't provide us what we'd ordered. Nothing heard again until the next day, when the same male rep told me the holiday was now again miraculously available at our original booking date and package. Now forgive me call me cynical but who in their right mind would accept this? So still no refund and nothing else dealt with DO NOT use these poor excuses of a so called company, they are clearly CROOKS AND THIEVES with POOR PRACTISE ON MANY LEVELS!
  I have not received any emails and/or anything from them with a reference or the like, they have not provided me with their ombudsman details although I have requested and they are well aware this is a formal complaint!
  SECRET ESCAPES will NOT GET AWAY with this cowboy carry on, and they certainly will not keep me quiet. NOTHING will be kept a secret and they will NOT escape!
• Working in the 'hospitality' industry I would say it is always cheaper and better to book direct. As another poster has correctly said, Secret Escapes have to earn their commission from these hotels/holidays which they sell on to you. Cut them out and go direct to a provider who can offer you what you want, not a 'booking agent' who are only interested in their commission...
• Ref #14
  What then, when I bypassed S.E. and went straight to the hotel and asked them to price match they said it was not possible?
• Who did you speak to at the hotel? Reception staff may not have much discretion but of course manager will. The managers job is to maximise profit and if you booked direct he is paying no booking fee to the booking agent. We run a Guest House and are often approached by Groupon to offer our rooms at half price. The deal for us is appalling - they want us to let them sell our rooms at 50% off and then give them 25% of the room rate. We tell them to ****off!
• I have used Secret Escapes previously. Got a great deal on a 5 star hotel in London (St Martin's Lane) just after the Olympics. Was cheaper than any rate I could find elsewhere at the time (including direct) and included a couple of extra benefits which I cannot recall - think it was breakfast and something like 20% discount in the restaurant. I think I even got cashback via Quidco which made the deal even better!