Shearings Coach Holidays - Overall Rating based on 74 reviews
Featured Reviews
Reviews (74)
No reviews yet!
Find companies you have experience with and write reviews about them! Your reviews contribute to a more transparent market and improve the reliability of companies.
Holiday in spain
Lost 400 pounds as refused a refund. Partner has cancer but angela fowler manager replys we dont want to refund it. Disgusting company report to abta DONT USE. ROBBING COMPANY NEVER ANSWER PHONES.
You have had a very lucky escape! Although no one could have foreseen these present circumstances, Shearings should still adhere to ABTA recommendations and given refunds. However they have set themselves above the law and are refusing what is blatantly ours. They are playing the long game and are using every excuse they can think of in refusing these refunds. It is very short sighted and already appear to have lost many faithful customers of old.
Totally agree with Jan. Just check out Trust Pilot for Shearings and National holidays both the same owners. We are all experiencing the most disgusting treatment. So many vowing never to travel with them again.
Impossible Task
Can only comment on customer service since I have been unable to get any further than that. I'm wondering if, in these volatile times, Shearings have gone bust? If they haven't it's certainly a future possibilty based on their operations management. I have been hanging on the phone for days trying to ask a simple question before booking a coach trip for a small group of friends. I tried emailng and got no response. I requested a brochure on-line and have not received one. I've tried calling at the recommended times and hung on for up to 16 mins. I've tried several different numbers and answer options to no avail. I had a missed call from a wigan no. yesterday whilst driving but no message was left so I've no idea if that was them. Clearly business is good and they don't need our custom or they are simply not there anymore. Shame because the tour fitted our needs perfectly. Back to looking at other companies then.
After what is happening just now you are well shot of using this company. They are refusing to refund money paid when holiday cancelled by them. They don't adhere to the ABTA law.
Absolute disgrace. Flaunting ABTA rules in not giving cash refunds when requested.
Tarbet Hotel Lock Lomond
Had 5 day break at the Tarbet hotel with Shearing’s holidays 18/11/19, the appearance of this hotel from outside is pleasant situated across the road from Lock Lomond with breath-taking views , on entering the Tarbet hotel the reception area is very nice, we had a basic plus room at the front with views having paid the extra to do so, our room was well heated, but it was supposed to have been refurbish in 2018 but could do with a further refurbishment .
The bar lounge area is nice but can be cold at times, also the restaurant has been refurbished and serves nice food but while you sit there you need to wear you overcoat as it is freezing cold.
The hotel staff overall are well mannered and polite, but there are a few members of staff that let the standards of the rest down, i.e. 2 restaurant and one bar staff are not practically dressed for working in a hotel and need to be tidy and presentable, one was wearing black trainers while others shirts looked like they had not been ironed, but you have to say this is the fault of the management for not overseeing standards.
The hotel has a wonderful old staircase that we used with lovely carpet, but it was a shame some leaves from outside were brought in on someone’s shoes which were left on the carpet for some 3 days highlighting the house keeping or the lack of it, so again management overseeing standards to blame. Also beware of the patchy Wi-Fi or the lack of it, not to be relied on, and if you are going during the colder months take some warm cloths practically for dinning or drinking in the bar
While you would be feed and watered and be comfortable ok at this Hotel it goes without saying if this Hotel applied for star rating l would say it would struggle to get 2 stars and l think that is generous .
My review is not meant to be of criticism but on facts experience for feedback to improve standards all-round for the purpose or benefit of the Tarbet Hotel .Shearings Coach Holidays
Last week stayed at Bay Majestic Eastbourne Hotel.
Dining room service was poor and some food not acceptable.
Have been to other Shearing hotels when sevice and food was acceptable. I accept its all to a budget.Hotel samba Lloert De Mar
The drivers were brilliant, but the staff at the hotel samba most of them were ignorant and unfriendly,the dinner and evening meals most of it was cold and some not even not cooked through properly, I would go with Shearing again but not to Hotel Samba.
Austrian All Inclusive
Wonderful holiday. Thankyou.
The hotel Neuwirt Oberndorf was fantastic. The hotel was well maintained, spotlessly clean and comfortable, the bedrooms were spavpcious and it is in a lovely location, food was excellent, fabulous entertainment. Stefan deserves a special mention he worked so hard and ensured our drinks were regularly topped up. Our drivers Graham and Kevin were fantastic, their driving skills were excellent, the tours were very informative and brilliant. Graham and Kevin were extremely helpful and worked over and above their duties to ensure we all had a great holiday. They are an asset to Shearings. I would thoroughly recommend this holiday. Everything was fantastic. Thank you for the wonderful holiday.Express coach to Lake Garda ,Venice and Verona
We had a great time. Thanks to our drivers Daryl and Domanic, they certainly made the holiday. Thankyou both for making it fun and a great holiday. You both went above and beyond drivers.
The only thing we didn't like was the long distance travelling through the night to get to our hotel.
If we could have an overnight stay on the way we would definitely do it again.8 days in Bournemouth
My wife and I have just returned from an 8 day trip to Bournemouth including a day on the Isle of Wight. Our accomodation was the Savoy Hotel. The hotel has a very good location overlooking the sea. We paid extra for a sea view. It was worth the cost. The hotel is in need of some love and attention. Our room was on the 4th floor. It was of adequate size despite part of the roof slope running through the room. The bed was comfortable and we slept well. The en suite unit was big enough but not up to scratch. The shower unit was small. The hot water took some considerable time to come through. Quite a waste of water in a week. The handbasin was awkward to use due to its positioning next to the loo. The shower could be bigger without much trouble. The washbasin and loo could be repositioned without much of a problem. New tiles and a coat of paint would also help. Both the room and en suite were kept clean and tidy.
We arrived on a Saturday. The 1st meal was dinner. It took nearly 2 hours. The food was poor and of smallish portions. The restaurant was obviously way understaffed. Sunday was the same. On Monday it was all change. More staff and a big jump in food quality. By Tuesday most people were satisfied with the staff and food. The breakfast buffet was good. The bar was well stocked if a little overpriced.
If money could be found to give this hotel the make over it needs it would be ideal.
Our driver/courier, Jim, was OK although he upset several people when trying to sell the optional excursions. A little over the top and not appreciated. The day trip to the Isle of Wight was to much coach and not enough sightseeing. If you want to see the island I would suggest having a few days rather than a fleeting visit.4 nights 5 days royal hotel whitby
Having used this hotel in the passed quite a few times ,
I booked a double room , room 332 , on the 20th of June for the 9th of September,
On previous occasions the gravel car park has been free when I arrived on the 9th of September I was told there was now a charge of £6 a night ,This was not explained to me when I booked and no one informed me before I arrived, My room was overlooking the car park nothing had changed it was not secure at night there was no camera overlooking the car park, The only camera was the anpr camera , The barrier was not secure, So why now is there a charge when nothing has changed, On previous occasions after evening meals there has been free tea and coffee now this has stopped ,It seems this is all to save and make money, I find it unbelievable that I was never informed about the car park until I arrived at the reception,Prague,Vienna and Budapest.
Fantastic holiday,lovely hotels,hotel rooms were very good,showers always nice and hot. Food was good but could have been better in hotel in Vienna. Coach drivers Mick and Jason were excellent, always helpful with lots of good advice in fact nothing was too much trouble, There are lots of hours on the coach trips so be prepared for that.
The hotel we stayed in overnight in Frankfurt was beautiful, just wish we could have stayed longer. Overall excellent value for money.5 day break for 2 people july 8/ 2019
Stayed at the Broadway Park hotel in Sandown.Value for money could not be faulted, room139 and service excellent, Food good quality and quantity, Coach driver Jim Boddington excellent, skills and courtesy, a credit to the company ( a brummie!) 5 star holiday
Andre Rieu
have had a fabulous break...going to see the Andre Rieu concert...we had a great time....the hotel was lovely even had a swimming pool....no complaints at all...but always someone will ....driver coach ferry..fine....another sashing holiday with Shearings...
Pitlochry holiday
We stayed here last we for our wedding anniversary,and had the best stay of the many holidays with shearing.We could not fault anything, rooms, staff, food,
It was also a good idea to have a day free to explore the town,even the weather 30 degrees lovely to sit in the grounds.our driver was great also and very informative on our days out.
Our driver was also greatMon-Fri break to Whitby 24-28 June
Firstly I would like to comment on our driver his name was Kenny and what a asset he is to Shearings in every way,cheerful,smart and his sense of humour and helpfulness,Secondly the hotel Bay Hotel Whitby I payed extra for a Premium room which we found was value for the upgrade,all the staff were fantastic and we had entertainment every evening inc Quiz,Bingo and Live Music,and finally the Food which was a self service buffet breakfast which was excellent,and then the Evening meal with a good choice of courses or you could get a’la cart at a supplement,so overall we were very satisfied with our break in Whitby and are looking forward to our next break with you
11/6/2019 Splendours of th Danube
Fabulous holiday. Drivers did not seem very knowledgeable. They were only interested in having a good time. Not very friendly. Would book again hopefully different drivers.
26/05/2019-Battlefield tours
We have just returned from the Discover the Battlefields tour. Cannot speak highly enough about this experience. The coaches were clean and very comfortable and all the drivers very competent as well as being helpful and supportive. The hotel was clean and comfortable and the food reasonable. Everything ran very smoothly in relation to the tour. It was the tour guides in which Shearings really excelled. Simone and Conrad made it so very interesting with their vast knowledge and it was very clear that they cared about the subject
Heart of Italy tour
Heart of Italy
My wife and I booked this tour with anticipation, we were picked up at 5am by taxi at our local pickup point and driven to the Stretton Interchange picking up another couple along the way. At the Stretton Interchange we boarded a feeder bus that took us to Stop 24 in Kent where we met our main tour bus, we then drove to Reims in France via a ferry crossing from Dover, here we met out two Drivers Mark and Lee, they then drove us in turns overnight to our destination.
We arrived approximately 2pm the next day travelling for around 33 hours in all. It is very hard going, the coach is comfortable if you are average size, but you do get plenty of stops en route, approximately every two and a half hours.
On arrival at the hotel you are allocated your room, your suitcase from picking up at first point (TAXI in our case) is taken care of by the drivers and was delivered to our room, a great touch in my eyes.
The room we had, 507, was spacious with its own ensuite. It was very clean with two single beds, wife not too happy about that, there was a small safe (broken), a fridge and extra blankets in the wardrobe. The shower over our bath had no curtain and the water blew hot and cold often to burning point, the toilet seat was loose, other than those issues the room was great.
In the main area of the hotel you had a small bar at one end, the barman was polite and very friendly, you buy your drinks on a tab paying your bill on the morning of your final day, drink prices are what you expect in a hotel.
The dining room breakfast room is down two flights of stairs, there are lifts to all floors. In the dining room you are allocated a seating spot which you use for all meals. We shared our table with a great couple and their grandson who we got to know well over the week, we had some great laughs a lot of which was over the food.
Your meals consist of a soup (no choice, it's what is on that day), most where good but often luke warm or cold on only one day out of six was it really hot. This is then followed by a pasta dish, again no choice and again often cold and in my opinion over cooked. The main meal was a choice of 3: a meat dish, a fish dish (with bones so be careful ) the third choice being an omlet as my wife is vegiterian she had very little choice, she also does not eat eggs. You get your main meal served almost everyday luke warm, the vegetables are brought out around 10 minutes later. I can't see why these can't be put out first as they come out in a portable hot plate unit and you serve yourself. There is also salad put out daily. The dessert is one choice. Two nights it was like a jelly based blamonge, another was creme caramel, another mixed fruit and the others that good I've already forgotten to a distant memory,. On the whole the food is around 4/10 yet a few simple changes could so easily change this. Breakfast on the other hand was very good: a great selection of cereals , boiled eggs, meats, youghurt, drinks and the waffle machine was well used by me!
Right, moving on to the tour, the main place you stay in is Chinciano. The hotel is on a hill and if you have problems with walking then take note! It is a spa town and has shops, bars and cafes, it was being prepared for the season whilst we were there. There is a noddy train that you can take that shows you the new town and old town. At 7 Euros this is very good value you can hop on and off at certain stops. The full trip is around 45 minute, there is also a local bus stop outside hotel. The town was very clean.
Now the excursions: 3 are included and I'll do those first. The first one is on Monday and is a half day, leaving around noon, this trip is to Siena, a medieval town with narrow streets. It is a lovely place and a great start for the week to come.
On the Tuesday it's an early rise as you have to leave hotel at 7.30am for a visit to Rome. Whilst in Rome there is an optional tour guide, if you haven't been to Rome before then you should do this tour, our guide was superb and very funny, We got to see almost everything you could in one day, this was a fantastic day out. The optional tour is £20 per person but money well spent in my eyes. The third trip is on the Friday to the city of Florence, again with an optional guided tour at £11. This again was very good, the usual guide was not available so we had a stand in, he was very good and had a real love and passion for his job, it's good when a guide makes good eye contact and draws you in, we had a wonderful day here at a very steady pace. It is very crowded in Florence and be very wary of pickpockets.
Optional tours are:
Wednesday: the Hidden Tuscany trip at only £15 per person is a great trip, we got to see some lovely places and fantastic scenery and views. We would both highly recommend this trip.
Thursday's trip was to Assisi and Lake Trasimeno. To me, this was the best day of our holiday,. I loved Assisi, it's an absolute gem. You really must do this optional tour, I promise you will not regret it! The views, the pretty streets and the churches are to die for, I really can't say any more. Why this is not in the main package I don't know, but at only £26 per person it's fantastic value, late afternoon we stopped by the lake for an hour to relax and watch the world go buy with a nice cold drink.
On all trips out either Mark or Lee drove, even on their days off the Driver came along. As for these two guys I must say they are an absolute credit to Shearings, they were polite, helpful and very knowledgeable, serving hot drinks the whole week, they are really exceptional and again a credit to the company.
On the Saturday you need to vacate your room by 10am but they don't rush you, you settle your bills and the you can have a few hours for your last look around before departing on journey home at 1pm.
To sum up, if you haven't been to any of the places it is well worth doing all the optional excursions and guided tours they are great value, the Assisi trip is a real must. As a tour, this is exceptional value for money. It has been well thought out and is executed to a great standard.
Down points are the travel, the meals (could so easily be improved) and if you have disabilities or find it hard to walk distances or up very steep hills then maybe this trip won't suit.
Positives, clean hotel, fantastic days out and superb drivers. On all parts of the journey we felt safe and secure at all times, and the guides were very good, again many thanks to Mark and Lee for making our trip so enjoyable and a thanks for the lovely people who joined us on our adventure, my end score would have to be 9/10 dropping one point for the meal issue. It was a superb trip, a note to Shearings we will be joining you again, if you are considering doing the Heart of Italy tour don't think twice in booking this trip, but do make sure you do the Assisi extra at least. This review is my personal experience and I have been honest in all views of this trip.Trip Of A Lifetime
We have just returned from a Discover the Battlefields tour.
Everything about our trip from the driver Stephen to Conrad and Christine our Tour guides we have nothing but the highest praise.
Our itinerary was busy but no time was wasted in viewing the cemeteries and memorials and always had plenty of time at each site and never felt rushed.
Stephen our driver was so helpful and extremely informative and gave us lots of information as we drove along, we were told he was due to retire soon, a big loss for the company.
Our hotel was in France but right on the Belgium border, it was friendly, clean and food plentiful.
The entire tour totally exceeded our expectations and represented incredible value.
From arriving at Stretton Interchange to returning 5 days later we never had a minute of worry or concern, because everything ran like clockwork.
The trip was everything we hoped it would be but it went way beyond that.
A truly wonderful experience and I would highly recommend it to anybody.I have been on several shearings holidays home and abroad by coach
I have been on many shearings coach holidays in the past and will do so in the future ive been around Europe on them and did a few places at home. They are excellent value for money on time pick ups not so keen on pick up coach drivers feeder coaches some can come across abrupt and rude. The hotels coach drivers excursions food drink outstanding i have actually got a few firm favourite holidays the 10 day holiday to Switzerland and the bernina express some years back was excellent hotels were at great standard excursions amazing lake como Italy another good one Belgium and Ostend another i also have travelled to Germany czech republic Hungary and did the trip to Holland and Valkenburgh. Eastbourne the journey was long but hotel and drivers was great my all time favourite was to Switzerland and to Bernina Express and to Newcastle and Durham those holidays were really memorable and i still talk about how good those holidays where. I will be using shearings in the future they are the best ive gone and done other coach holidays with other companies but shearings are the best 5 stars i only had one bad experience that was to Germany holiday in 2006 to the Bavarian the hotel wasnt very good at all the shower leaked and water was all over the bedroom it was cold inside ended up sleeping with my coat on. The food terrible hotel staff old woman didnt know how to do customer service and handle complaints the trip to Munich was good but overall it wasnt a good holiday we was left very cold hungary and couldnt wait to get home. That was the only bad holiday with shearings i had.
Excellent i had the best coach driver Ray funny and went out his way to help very friendly person enthusiasm top notch driver
Excellent coach driver great hotel food fabulous hotel staff excursions brilliant. Hotel room lovely spacious tidy clean. Ray went out his way to please every passenger and helped everyone on board he was so friendly helpful and brilliant very nice bloke. He makes the coach journey pleasent and not as long. The trip to Newcastle was brilliant so was the trip to Hartlepool and the excursion to Sheldon train museum no faults there at all very informative and lovely lovely chap. I love trains and anything to do with history. Definitely worth going on this 5 day holiday again we stopped of to see angel of the north near Gateshead for 20 mins to take pics. Fantastic 5 day holiday to Newcastle and Durham and i would certainly do the holiday again in a heartbeat. Worth every penny and highly recommended. Coach was fab comfy and also had all the mod cons. Raymond our coach driver had everyone in tears of laughter ive never had a coach driver as kind thoughtful funny professional and enthusiastic entertaining has he was brilliant
Review with most votes
Berkeley and Cotswold's break
Read on