“We stayed in protaras in October 2023 a party of 5 . Villa was brilliant we had a few issues like batteries flat in the safe but we rang Solmar and someone came out within the hour . I have to say the Villa rep Suzanne Conway was fabulous and answered any questions and gave advise. This was such a lovely touch being visited by the rep x2 to see everything was ok we really appreciated it . In 6 years of renting villas this is the first time we had had a rep visit. Due to the personal touch we are looking to book again with Solmar this year. .”
“Terrible communication from this company. We booked a villa and then the place we booked disappear from the website, when I called k was reassured it was still all good and still available. We arrived and were sent the wrong address, luckily just next door!! Then it turns out solmar villas don’t own this villa anymore and the new company that owns it had no details of our booking!! So we were stuck outside for hours trying to sort out something that solmar should do sorted!! I got hung up on twice when I tried to phone them and deal with this. The company that owned the villa had to save the day!! Communication is awful from this place!! And I wouldn’t trust them or book with them ever again! AVOID if you want a stress free holiday experience!!”
“Booked a villa in Portugal, Villa Simoes building works is happening next door and Dean Robinson Solmar Villas rep is saying there is no alternative accommodation dispite there showing 13 available online.
He has sent a WhatsApp saying there is nothing he can do. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY .....AVOID AT ALL COSTS.”
“Had 2 weeks in August 2023 with the family at villa altamira in calpe the villa was perfect we rang solmar a couple of times with minor issues and they were rectified within an hour we wouldn't hesitate to stay again.”
“Cockroaches in the villa. The air conditioning in the living room didn't work. The bracket in the main bedroom shower was broken. The main bathroom shower had a comedically short shower curtain so water flooded the bathroom, and the hose would gradually fall towards pointing the hose out towards the floor. The protective blinds poolside were covered in green moss when you lowered them. They had clearly not been cleaned in months. When we arrived at the villa, delayed and late on a Saturday night at around 11pm after a long drive, we found no drinking water in the fridge. The light on the swimming pool was broken, it was full of leaves. At no point was the pool cleaned. We had to do it ourselves. The handyman came almost daily, fixing the shower bracket, bringing a fan for the living room and some cockroach poison which we had to spread around the house. None of the really major issues like the lack of aircon, despite it being advertised with aircon in the living room, were resolved. Even really simple things like the front door and main bedroom door didn't open properly, so previous occupiers have smashed the front door handle into the wall. The main door into the property has a dodgy lock. One night I had to scale the 8 feet fence to get in where it jammed. Everything here is broken. The pictures are quite ingenius as the villa is semi-detached at the back and completely overlooked on the side. It is more like being in an apartment block. The information pack gives the wrong Wifi address, no clue as to where the washing machine and dryer is (hidden away on the 1st floor balcony!!!) This place cost us £4k for 7 days. It was an absolute rip off. I could go on and on as to how bad this place truly was. It is worth £1500 absolute tops and its so filthy nobody would want to stay in it.”
“Watch out if you need to cancel or change your booking. There is a £150 charge for each change to your booking. If you need to cancel this is the response we received from Solmar Villas. "As you departure date is 405 days away, there will be a cancellation fee of 25% of the cost of the booking as per the terms and conditions." Companies with such aggressive penalties and charges need calling out. Make sure to read the terms and conditions before booking.”
“This was the worst experience for us as a family. The villa company were quick to accept our money and charge us for every extra but then had not even erected the pool fence six days into our holiday. Numerous issues occurred within the villa and no one would accept responsibility and we were just passed on to representatives and then suppliers. The company allowed contractors (without our knowledge) to enter the villa and pump sewerage through a bedroom window and when we returned to the scene and called the UK helpline were told to go out and have a coffee. Do you use this company.”
“I booked a villa in Portugal for my family, who live in different countries, to go in June 2020. Unfortunately we were unable to go due to our flights being cancelled but we did receive flight refunds from Ryanair.
However Solmar wouldn't give me a refund, despite me suffering financial difficulty due to the pandemic, although they did offer me £400 odds instead of the £1664 paid. Obviously I would not accept this so Solmar gave me a credit voucher for the £1664.
When I tried to rebook the same villa for 2021 I was disgusted to be told by Esme at Solmar that the price of the villa had increased to between 2 and 3 thousand pounds.
When I queried the vast increases, Esme told me it was the usual 5% yearly increase and some cancellation protection payment.
I told her that I was very unhappy with the price increase and was curtly told by Esme to fill out a complaints form! I am absolutely disgusted with Solmar, who have been holding my money for most of the year, and their customer service is completely unacceptable!!!”
“Cancelled our villa the week prior to arrival with no explanation why. Offered unsuitable downgrade that came with a child warning. Not great when travelling with children! Got a refund for the Villa 3 days prior but this didn't give us time, under current climate, to source suitable accommodation within out budget for I people. Consequently we lost all flight and transfer money. Wouldn't put my trust in them again and would apply caution if anyone else is considering booking with them. Contacted ombudsman and Abta as we had saved hard for a holiday we couldn't go on and whilst we got refund of the villa we couldn't claim for flights or transfers because of such short notice from Solmar Villa.”
“The villa no longer available 1 week prior
We were unfortunately let down by the company and was told a week prior to arrivalin Majorca that our villa was no longer available, despite having paid in full for it. No explanation.
We were offered a downgraded villa which came with a child advisory regarding steep location and this was not a like for like or suitable alternative. They refunded the cost of the villa however no other accommodation was available within our budget at such short notice. Consequently we lost all our flight and transfer money. I wouldn't put my trust in this company again and would advice others to apply caution if booking with this company!”
“I'm assuming that this review will be taken down, just as all the others I have posted have. However I will continue to post on every site I can until people get the message not to give up fighting for their right to a refund!
Solmar argued that as the Villa I had booked was still available. (April 2020) I would not be entitled to a refund. (Despite the entire planet grinding to a halt due to Covid) There was also a Force Majeure written into their contract.
I attempted to claim a chargeback from my credit card company, which was rejected. A further Section 75 was also rejected. It was only when I researched the Unfair Terms Act (which ultimately means neither side can uphold the contract,) and the fact that the Force Majeure made no mention of a pandemic that the Credit Card Company reversed the decision in my favour.
Unfortunately whilst this seems like good news, I am still awaiting payment. I am currently in the process of taking this to the Financial Ombudsman. I count myself lucky that I was not owed thousands of pounds like many others were.
The fact that Solmar Villas have a shiny new, all singing and dancing Website does not tell me they are in Financial Difficulty, they would no doubt have insurances in place for protection too.
There should only ever have been two questions. "Would you like to rebook your holiday?, or would you like a refund" Instead these parasites have kept the money of the Customer going nowhere!”
“Similar situation with other reviews, just a terrible company that won't give credit/ return deposit and try to bully you into full payment when travel advisory says not to travel. I tried to reinstate our villa as the advisory is lifting but they apparently rented our villa to someone else but still feel no requirement to refund our deposit. We are in our 30s and they've lost us as customers for life. I hope others remember how some firms act in these times (another holiday company was very flexible and allowed us at least use your lost deposit as credit for a future trip.”
“I would strongly advise anyone who is thinking of booking a holiday as and when the pandemic subsides to avoid Solmar Villas at all costs. We have paid Solmar £3,500 for a holiday we are enable to fulfil as the government will not allow non-essential travel. Similarly, EasyJet has cancelled the flights so we simply can't get to Cyprus. As has been well documented reputable companies like Airbnb are giving their customers full refunds whilst these sharks are refusing to give refunds and are using restrictive and frankly unreasonable t&c's to screw the customer they plead they want to serve.
I would love to test their restrictive t&c's in a court of law however I have recently been laid off due to the Coronavirus. I hope that someone in a similar situation will be able to test their sharp practises through legal remedies. The only option I have is to write to my local MP and Trading Standards to canvass their support and I implore similar members of this forum who too have been ripped off by these scammers to do likewise.
What should have been a holiday of lifetime before our children go off to University has turned into a total nightmare. Can you please remind friends and colleagues in your circle about the appalling manner in which Solmar treats it's customers and remind them that their are some reputable
travel companies like Airbnb who deeds are comparable to their words.”
“We booked with solimar villas and initially great to deal with until it comes to getting a refund due to a global pandemic that your country state not to travel and the country you are going to states they don’t want travellers (Spain) at the moment we are due to travel Saturday 30th of May and clearly we can’t for weeks now we have tried for a refund only to be told claim travel insurance we owe you nothing as villa is available on contacting visa, ombudsman, CAB, and my travel insurance all say that solimar are being unlawful in not offering a refund which under government health act and advise we are entitled too. This to me is a company who are trying and hoping people give up the fight and they keep the customers money!!! The ombudsman has advised should I not get the outcome I’m looking for to contact them to raise a formal complaint to solmar regarding there dealings with this during what is a testing time for everyone. The cheek of them to ask us to claim through holiday insurer when they should be insured themselves for this type of thing and also When I asked where my money I paid them was the reply was people have mortgages to pay!! Yes we do!!!! DO NOT BOOK THROUGH THIS COMPANY!!!!!!”
“Stayed for a week in Kassiopi, Corfu, Villa Athina back in June 2019. The location of the villa and the views are fantastic. The harbour itself is beautiful and has a great range of bars and restaurants.
Unfortunately the villa itself is far from luxury despite the hefty price tag that it demands. It is tired and needs updating. Broken sun loungers, broken sun umbrellas, broken pool table, broken cues, broken table tennis bats, dirty underwear from previous occupiers left in the drawers, horribly uncomfortable mattresses, thick dust in some places, flooded bathrooms which were not attended to during our stay.
Security seriously lacking; found a couple had wandered in and were watching us in the pool, we then later found them actually in the villa having a wander around so we felt we had to keep the place locked up even when we were just sunbathing in the grounds. CCTV was not even connected or wired in (cut wire), doors difficult to lock. Got back to the villa one day to find a masseuse had let herself in to try and sell us massages, she had the code to get in the gate presumably from Solmar Villas.
Could have done with the cleaner coming more than once during our stay even just to empty bins.
Found it impossible to get hold of Solmar Villas using all number provided, and the supposed rep didn’t visit us not even once during our whole stay.
We made the most of the great location and restaurants but ultimately the whole holiday was spoilt but Solmar Villas and their appalling customer service.
I would strongly recommend you do NOT book with Solmar Villas.”
“Solmar quoted us a price for a 'heated pool' when we booked a villa in Portugal with them. We then noticed they hadn't included the 'heating' in our booking so we asked them to do so, and the price was increased from that quoted! Then when we arrived in the resort they forgot to turn on the heating (which was finally turned on 3 days later). However the heating made no difference to the temperature of the pool, yet Solmar would only compensate for the time the pool had been 'off'.
Incidentally when we paid for the 'heating' extra on their website, the site took multiple payments from my credit card, finally maxing it out and incurring charges.
This company is unreasonable, amateurish and their systems are useless.”
