“I went on a mystery weekend on 4th and 5th November we went to leamington Spa stayed at a holiday Inn at Aylesbury then went to Oxford then back home. Brilliant weekend our driver Tony was great , I have been on several other weekends with caladonian and I will definitely be going on more ,”
“We traveled to Bournemouth .The driver was excellent.He had only been working for you 3 weeks .very polite excellent customer service skills.the driver name was Thomas .excellent driver .He made our trip great from pick up .to going home .we stay at Carrington house hotel.Had a lovely stay .The food was good .staff was very nice and helpful.”
“Just come back from Bosworth Hall 3rd visit but will never return or recommend..our room was really dated small cold .radiator wouldn’t work they knew this because put a small heater in . Fan didn’t work in bathroom no hooks to hang towels on .when you got a shower water took ages to go down plug hole so ended up with feet stood in water not good when you’re pensioners.bath panel didn’t fit properly.floors so squeaky unbelievable so our name for it now is squeaky Bosworth Hall .save your money and stay home where it’s warm ..Our driver deserves a mention he was fantastic Tomas drove in all the bad weather on Friday nothing was to much trouble he was very helpful ..pity I can’t same about hotel”
“The staff at the gates branch are amazing they will help you always
And will help you always
Went to llandudno chatsworth house
Room warm clean meen were a little let down not hot luke warm
Entertainment was fab
Out bus driver was Jason
He was friendly funny and always spoke to you if he seen you helped u always”
“We went to the Edinburgh Tattoo with Caledonia Travel in August 2023. Stayed in the, 3 star, Brittania Hotel, which was dreadful and should not even be rated a 1 star! We waited 1.5 hours to get checked in, others waited longer. When we eventually got to our room it was disgusting; filthy windows; stained and un-hoovered carpets; dirty sink/bath; no hook to hang wet towels, curtain coming off the rail and very poor decor. The view from the room was of the reception roof which had empty cans, used vapes and other litter strewn around. Slept on top of the bed due to the uncleanliness of the room.
The lounge/bar area was unpleasant and poorly furnished. We were informed the bar closed at 11pm despite it being a Friday during the Edinburgh Festival. The dining room was dull and set out like a canteen. Meals were self- service so food trays had to be carried from the lounge to dining area causing some difficulty for people with mobility difficulties. The choice of food was very basic and unappetising. Desserts were also left on a counter, uncovered for 2 hours, before meal time. We ate out in Edinburgh including breakfast the following day, which was an added expense but at least it was fresh and appetising.
Caledonia Travel must have been aware of the poor online reviews for the Brittania Hotel yet continued to use it for overnight trips to the Edinburgh Tattoo. Coaches cannot park directly outside the Brittania Hotel! We witnessed people struggling to climb the hill to the coach due to mobility issues and breathing difficulties. It's a disgrace.
I've done trips with Caledonia Travel before but will NEVER use them or recommend them again.”
“Enjoyed Windermere hotel holiday very much.single room very basic. No room service unless requested. Food good & plentiful. Driver Darren very helpful. Trips were badly planned. No sail on the lake included. Carlisle & Cockermouth were not impressive. Nicer places with more interest should have been included. All in all value for money 5 day break”
“Had a lovely time on scotland inclusive oban fort william trip Gary our driver was really friendly, helpful, fun and very knowledgeable. Weather wasnt good but he offered great alternatives. Dennis was the other driver who was really good too. Hotel was a clean a little tired but busy being renovated. Food great staff lovely and for the money couldnt complain good value for money if it was 5 star it would be really expensive because of wonderful location. Thank you Gary and Dennis”
“Just back from Aberdeen 5 days trip. Coach on time, stopped twice on way down.
Brittania hotel was good, ignore bad reviews. Room was nice, clean, comfy bed, lush shower. Fully stocked beverage tray and refill help yourself to refills on Reception.
Meals good, self service.. Bar prices reasonable and very good service.
Trips out, day one not very good, day two to was much better. Didn't go on day 3.
Driver Ray, sorry but not very informative. Great bunch of people on the trip, everyone got along.”
“Was at Scarborough at weekend our driver Andy was perfect driver helped the passengers with their luggage to hotels ,hotel was absolutely gorgeous meals were great staff excellent,I would give the whole trip 10out of 10”
“Been on a shirt break with your company to the Ayrshire coast and Loch lomond shores wouldn't go again we stayed at the Adomton Country House Hotel you can tell it dates back to the 11th century food lukewarm rooms dirty the first room didnt even look like it had been cleaned and excursions are OK if you want to go shopping every day not much of a scenic holiday wouldn't recommend this holiday maybe someone from the caledoian office should stay at the said hotel and see if its exetable to ask paying guests to use it also some of the kitchen staff were rude you couldn't even go out of an evening unless you were prepared to pay £15 for a taxi to go to Prestwick really disappointing holiday.”
“Just had a fantastic mystery weekend 2/9/23 went to Durham and whitby with caledonian Coaches weather beautiful both days hotel in Middlesbrough City centre holiday Inn was brilliant it was all so lovely and clean staff couldn't do enough for us but what really made it was our driver Jason he only been in the job a month he explained what we was doing and we're we was going he had really good banter with all people on the trip we will go away with him driving anytime thank you .”
“Great value for money. Mystery tour took us to pitlochry then up to Aberdeen. Dinner overnight stay and breakfast. Accommodation was fine and food was fine. Understaffed and free for all at the dinner time. Dirty plates lying on tables as not enough staff to clear them fast enough for the amount of people coming in. There was a singer but we wernt informed of entertainment, no one seemed to know if there would be or not so missed half of it as we wer in the room. This is the fault of the hotel and organisation. Our driver was dave and he was the best. Great sense of humour and excellent driver. We stopped in Dundee the next day. The only thing was the hotel was outskirts of Aberdeen so not walking distance to see the place or go anywhere. Pretty much stuck at the hotel. I did enjoy the rest of the experience and I will book again.”
“We are currently enjoying a four day break to Warwick. The driver ( Chris ) is pleasant courteous and professional. The hotel ( the brittania in Coventry ) is fine . Nice and plentiful food and pleasant helpful staff. It's situated in the heart of Coventry.. all in all great value for money.”
“They changed my seating reservation without my knowledge…. They supposed to let the person in question who reserved the seat ,of any changes… used this travel company numerous occasions… sadly they have lost six customers now… bums on seats policy… they often change the itinerary without prior notice.. saying includes trip to Manchester. Then go to Salford keys.. not recommended…”
“Just returned from NC 500 trip , what a fabulous holiday, first 2 nights in Castletown Hotel excellent evening meal, fabulous breakfast, and lovely staff , next 2 nights were at Gairloch Hotel again couldn’t fault it, room ,staff ,food and entertainment excellent, our driver , sorry “Steering Wheel Attendant “ was Danny this guy looked after us from start to finish , a great ambassador for your company , and Scotland , Thankyou Danny for making our holiday .”
“Awful, was supposed to be first coach trip of many.Britannia hotel Bolton filthy, total dump, driver knocking shots back in bar with passengers on first night, didn't get to one of drops at lakes because he couldn't find the coach park, awful, will not book through Caledonian ever again.”
“17th June 2023, day trip with the excellent driver - Callum.
Unexpectedly, we stopped off at Biggar and were able to take in their traditional gala day - so enjoyable, as were the stops at Peebles and Moffat.”
“We had a lovely holiday in Blackpool at the Georgian hotel Blackpool carol our bus driver was a good driver .only thing we didn't know that we were going to call at windermere on our way home .caladorian didn't send any email to tell us that this could happen .would still travel again with them”
“Our last trip to Blackpool for 5 days staying at the Savoy hotel was excellent. It was good value for what we paid. The food was excellent along with the service in the hotel.”
“Hello, my name's Zoe and I'm an Autistic Young Adult. I have been travelling with Caledonian Travel for six years, back in 2017 up to June 2023 I enjoyed every single coach holiday with Caledonian until the company started to go downhill. They have been ignoring my hidden disability recently when I explained to them about it.
From 01/08/22 to 05/08/22, me and my carer went to The Lake District where we stayed in The Seacote Hotel in St Bees for four nights, the excursions felt rushed and the food in the hotel was at a poor standard with the music blasting to almost 100% volume.
From 27/10/22 to 28/10/22 we have done The Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry with an overnight stay in Perth where Nino the Driver from MacPhails Coaches mistreated me throughout the two-day coach break. One Time during our coach trip the driver laid over to my seat and whacked me so hard in the head with a thick layer of tickets and angrily scolded me for absolutely no reason at all which he found funny, hurting and yelling at an autistic person. My carer told the driver "Do not hit or shout at my granddaughter like that, she's special needs. She was only showing me where the USB socket is". I got upset about Nino yelling and hurting me on the coach. I didn't understand why I got punished for it. When my granny and I had finished doing the forest the return journey to the whisky distillery was absolutely terrible. I was very anxious and uncomfortable on the minibus due to lots of people packed into one minibus and the lack of legroom between seats. I started to sweat like mad and started to feel sick too along with cramped legs on the minibus. It wasn't a nice experience for me. I ended up feeling sick and not able to sleep during the night because I had a very hot body temperature, I also had an anxiety attack after a rough experience on the return journey to the accessibility bus meeting point on the crowded minibus and also the driver's behaviour towards me. The food in the hotel was poor standard for Dinner and Breakfast. I and my carer got food poisoning after we had breakfast. I've reported this to customer service and unfortunately, there's no further action taken about the coach break and a £ 25 holiday voucher from Caledonian for my disappointment.
From 27/01/2023 to 29/01/2023 me and my carer went on the Peterhead and The Northern Lights coach break, the whole coach break was rubbish except for our accommodation which was The Waterside Hotel. Excursions weren't very good, especially The night excursion to chase the northern lights. The Coach journeys to and from were very stressful. The passengers shouted from the top of each other, telling everyone their whole life story and carrying on in a very inappropriate manner, blasting music without consideration for other passengers, especially passengers with additional support needs like me. kept pulling down and slamming their fold tables off our seats every two minutes and drunk alcoholic beverages on the coach. I was getting stressed out about the situation to the point. I ended up feeling drowsy, anxious, worked up, didn't want to eat and feeling overwhelmed for the rest of the coach holiday after three days of torture for me, our coach holiday had gotten too much for me. We had the worst Search of the Northern Lights experience ever, I locked myself in the en-suite bathroom and had a warm bath and cried about when people will ever understand my story of me having autism and accept me for being who I am. I've reported this experience to Caledonian and nothing has been done but give us a £20 voucher for the distress on the coach trip.
Lastly from 17/04/2023 - 21/04/2023, I took my mum on her first holiday to The Cotswolds for five days. we stayed in The Royal Court Hotel where we had the worst experience staying there. We have to move into multiple rooms throughout the week due to some of them being allocated are at a very poor standard. The staff were very ignorant and refused us customer service. Every time we went for breakfast and dinner, it was always a stewards inquiry by the rude restaurant staff at the door. I had to explain we were with a Caledonian coach party, this was not only embarrassing but very distressing for a mother and an autistic young adult like us. It totally ruined our trip to the Cotswolds. I've told Caledonian and requested a full refund on the trip. But a month later Caledonian emailed me back today saying they could not refund me for the holiday and gave me a £60 holiday voucher from them and my disability was ignored.
It was my last straw using this company, it shows that they no longer accommodate young people with hidden disabilities on their holidays anymore. I’ll not be using Caledonian Travel again after the way they have been treating me.”
