Name: Secret Escapes
Rating: 1.28

“I have been emailing Secret Escapes since lockdown to get a refund for a closed hotel. Last response, on 15th July, was 'We kindly ask for your patience whilst we liaise with the hotel, as replies from the supplier are slower than usual due to the current global situation'. Same response on 15th June, 15th May, 30th April, and 6th April. Avoid this company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I booked a holiday on 23rd December… I booked a holiday on 23rd December 2019 to take my wife to a luxurious all inclusive hotel in Cyprus for a week in June 2020, through Secret Escapes which was paid in full at the time of booking.This was a surprise Christmas gift for my wife who has breast cancer and has been receiving treatment for the last four years. Secret Escapes cancelled the holiday on 20th May 2020. I have since phoned 4 times on : - 22nd May 2020 - 8th June 2020 - 30th June 2020 - 31st July 2020 Each time I have phoned I have been told that my request is being dealt with then nothing happens. I have also explained again and again that my wife has Cancer and this was a treat for her. Furthermore this is my money, £2000 plus which is being withheld from me. To add insult to injury, I have not worked since March 2020 and because I receive a small pension, less than £800 per month I did not qualify for any support from the government, this has also been explained to each operator but again, nothing happens. Today I asked the operator if he would speak to my wife which he did, he advised her that Secret Escapes could not afford to refund everyone and we may have to wait for a year before receiving the refund. The operator says that Secret Escapes has to recoup the money paid directly from the hotel and airline before I can be refunded, this seems strange as I paid extra money directly to the airline to select seats which had already been refunded to me from the airline. The operator then asked his colleague if I could be refunded today, his colleague said no that has to be agreed from head office and that was that. Neither my wife nor I were put through to head office to discuss directly with them. We have tried to locate the number for Secret Escapes head office but this is the same number as general enquiries. The service from Secret Escapes is atrocious, they have a duty of care to their customers which clearly is not being followed. Martin Lewis from the Money Programme has said on TV and documented on his web site that money from holidays cancelled by the operator should be refunded within 14 days, well, 11 weeks have passed by and still nothing. Suffice to say, I will never book a holiday through them again, furthermore I would not recommend them to anyone”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I booked a holiday on 23rd December… I booked a holiday on 23rd December 2019 to take my wife to a luxurious all inclusive hotel in Cyprus for a week in June 2020, through Secret Escapes which was paid in full at the time of booking.This was a surprise Christmas gift for my wife who has breast cancer and has been receiving treatment for the last four years. Secret Escapes cancelled the holiday on 20th May 2020. I have since phoned 4 times on : - 22nd May 2020 - 8th June 2020 - 30th June 2020 - 31st July 2020 Each time I have phoned I have been told that my request is being dealt with then nothing happens. I have also explained again and again that my wife has Cancer and this was a treat for her. Furthermore this is my money, £2000 plus which is being withheld from me. To add insult to injury, I have not worked since March 2020 and because I receive a small pension, less than £800 per month I did not qualify for any support from the government, this has also been explained to each operator but again, nothing happens. Today I asked the operator if he would speak to my wife which he did, he advised her that Secret Escapes could not afford to refund everyone and we may have to wait for a year before receiving the refund. The operator says that Secret Escapes has to recoup the money paid directly from the hotel and airline before I can be refunded, this seems strange as I paid extra money directly to the airline to select seats which had already been refunded to me from the airline. The operator then asked his colleague if I could be refunded today, his colleague said no that has to be agreed from head office and that was that. Neither my wife nor I were put through to head office to discuss directly with them. We have tried to locate the number for Secret Escapes head office but this is the same number as general enquiries. The service from Secret Escapes is atrocious, they have a duty of care to their customers which clearly is not being followed. Martin Lewis from the Money Programme has said on TV and documented on his web site that money from holidays cancelled by the operator should be refunded within 14 days, well, 11 weeks have passed by and still nothing. Suffice to say, I will never book a holiday through them again, furthermore I would not recommend them to anyone”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I am having a terrible experience with this company! The problems have started immediately and they aren't looking like it is going to end (this for just 1 reservation!). 1) the gift voucher provided me in December 2019 could not be open and checked so I had to contact their support which gave me a dedicated code to use. 2) the code provided could not be added to my account online or added to the reservation I wanted to make. 3) The reservation made (without the code as it wasn't working) was a 24h free cancellation one BUT they decided to charge the entire stay on my CC without advising me during the reservation process!!! 4) I emailed their customer support twice prior to my check-in 1 about the voucher which I could not redeem but I did not get any response. 5) Within that week I had to call twice to get information about my situation (also because no-one from the company has reached out to me!!!). However, the customer service could not help me as it was up to the finance department in the head office (London) to review and reply to my problem. 6) To my frustration the London office never got in touch. I had to call the customer service AGAIN one week after my check out and 1 1/2 week after my last call with them. Once more I was told that they could not help me out, that the problem was still with their finance department in London! 7) After me complaining again (we are talking about nearly 1 month from the first contact and problem), the person on the phone told me that actually the team in London reply negatively to the ticket they opened for me. Which means no refund of any sort for the voucher I could not use. So to sum up, Secret Escapes is holding 250€ of gift voucher which I am entitled to used anytime I want through their portal BUT they don't allow me to use it, they don't allow me to add it to a reservation made through them and they refuse to refund it to me. The money is mine technically but they keep it hostage. They lack of response, poor timing and horrible customer experience will definitely keep me away from booking with them again. Furthermore, I will ensure I will pass the same experience with all my fellow colleagues who work in luxury hospitality around the globe and my friends and family. They really screwed up! Pierre P.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We have a holiday booked to Bali on the 31st August, we have paid the deposit for 5 people and 2 people have paid their full payment, we are to pay the other £3000 on the 3rd August but the government say not to go and it looks like indonesia are not letting people in and there is 14 day quarantine when back in the Uk. Secret escapes are saying as we don't want to hand over another £3000 to be told a week later it is cancelled, and we have to take a credit voucher to keep for a year and then ask for a refund, or we can't go due the quarantine rule, we will lose the whole amount that has already been paid including the extra on top of the deposit. Spent over an hour yesterday trying to get answers from them but they will not answer questions they skirt round any issue. Most company's keep the deposit and refund the rest, they won't be getting anymore of our money. Unhappy customer”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“NEVER IN YOUR LIFE BOOK WITH SECRET ESCAPES ! ESPECIALLY IF YOU SEE THEIR DEALS ON WOWCHER ! They are the worst! We booked our Eurostar in May to DISNEYLAND PARIS! And when it came to rebooking they rebooked us for Paris gare du nord ! Yet puts the title of there emails as DISNEYLAND PARIS! The COMMUNICATION IS SO BAD ! I would never GO BACK TO THEM EVER! This is my first experience and simply the worst ! TRAVEL AGENT Howard, Kevin, Henry do not know what they are doing! They booked us for the wrong station after our first booking was for Disneyland Paris.... where’s the common sense! On the phone I clearly said Disneyland Paris station but somehow I still got booked for Paris station and I had to pay £80 on top of my trip ! THE DEALS YOU SEE ON WOWCHER ARE A LIE ! Do not make this mistake please! YOU DO NOT GET ANY DEALS! Their suppliers is exactly Eurostar and the hotels! BOOK IT YOURSELF! Save yourself the stress! PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE SECRET ESCAPES FOR A TRIP ! They are so bad they was shouting at me on the phone! They even said that they booked Paris because there was no available trains for Disneyland station but when calling them today there was a train ... and trying to make us pay £350 to change it! They have simply ruined my holiday especially during covid-19 I understand they are going through stress but they have lost a Customer here! I am going to be telling everyone on Instagram as I am influencer and on my YouTube to never book through this company! Because ridiculous! The manager was literally shouting at me over the phone, after admitting it was their fault that they booked our tickets wrongs! And yet we couldn’t get a refund or revoke the amendment charges! SAVE YOURSELF MONEY AND DO NOT BOOK!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“NEVER IN YOUR LIFE BOOK WITH SECRET ESCAPES ! ESPECIALLY IF YOU SEE THEIR DEALS ON WOWCHER ! They are the worst! We booked our Eurostar in May to DISNEYLAND PARIS! And when it came to rebooking they rebooked us for Paris gare du nord ! Yet puts the title of there emails as DISNEYLAND PARIS! The COMMUNICATION IS SO BAD ! I would never GO BACK TO THEM EVER! This is my first experience and simply the worst ! TRAVEL AGENT Howard, Kevin, Henry do not know what they are doing! They booked us for the wrong station after our first booking was for Disneyland Paris.... where’s the common sense! On the phone I clearly said Disneyland Paris station but somehow I still got booked for Paris station and I had to pay £80 on top of my trip ! THE DEALS YOU SEE ON WOWCHER ARE A LIE ! Do not make this mistake please! YOU DO NOT GET ANY DEALS! Their suppliers is exactly Eurostar and the hotels! BOOK IT YOURSELF! Save yourself the stress! PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE SECRET ESCAPES FOR A TRIP ! They are so bad they was shouting at me on the phone! They even said that they booked Paris because there was no available trains for Disneyland station but when calling them today there was a train ... and trying to make us pay £350 to change it! They have simply ruined my holiday especially during covid-19 I understand they are going through stress but they have lost a Customer here! I am going to be telling everyone on Instagram as I am influencer and on my YouTube to never book through this company! Because ridiculous! The manager was literally shouting at me over the phone, after admitting it was their fault that they booked our tickets wrongs! And yet we couldn’t get a refund or revoke the amendment charges! SAVE YOURSELF MONEY AND DO NOT BOOK!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Do not book with secret escapes, they cancelled our holiday on may21st 2020 and are still refusing full refund”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“We booked a holiday to krakow to leave on June 15th 2020, secret escapes cancelled the holiday on may 21st, they offered me a credit note to which I immediately refused, I emailed them times and phoned them twice asking for a full refund to which I’m entitled to within 14 days by law, they refused a full refund and still offered me a credit note despite being constantly told it was totally unacceptable, I have instructed my bank to do a section 75 on them, please what ever you do never use this company they are an absolute disgrace”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Please do not book with Secret Escapes. I had a short break booked for May, it was cancelled due to covid 19. I have sent several emails, made several phone calls, I have even sent a recorded delivery letter to their Head Office. Secret Escape's customer service is appalling. They seem ablivious to the Government Legislation regarding refunds. I am still waiting for a refund, which I requested in back in March, when it was obvious that I would not be able to go ahead with my short break. I have been given the run around, with SE blaming the Hotel, then asking me to contact Roomer. I had a email back from Roomer saying that SE never paid the fee, therefore they could not responsible for refunding my holiday. SE have my insurance money and I am still waiting for a full refund for the hotel. Terrible service. Do not book with Secret Escapes.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“AVOID COMPLETELY Have given one star as that is the lowest possible rating , should read at least minus five . Dreadful experience , first and last time we will book through this company - that's presuming they somehow manage to stay in business . Our experience very similar to all other poor reviews and just leaves us feeling thoroughly ripped off. When telephoning calls were directed to a call centre in Portugal so not surprising that some had language barrier problems.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Had a UK Hotel cancelled in May. They sent me an email to say whether I wanted to rebook or postpone, no refund! I said I would rebook for August but heard no more from them except generic email to say they were dealing with cancellations in date order. When May came and went and no response from them I contacted the Hotel myself who said they would rebook me for August and that Secret Escapes still had my money. I begged Secret Escapes to send me a new confirmation voucher, but, of course no reply! I then asked the Hotel to send me a confirmation of my new reservation only to be told they would most probably not reopen until next Spring. I then emailed Secret Escapes for a refund as who knows if we will be around then as we are elderly. I was told they would pass on my request to the relevant department, but, of course, no more communication with me. I have phoned, emailed and even written to their CEOs, but again zilch. The new fully refundable deals + £50 off next booking has added insult to injury as they are using our money to finance new bookings! Still trying for refund but have contacted my credit card company to initiate a transaction dispute in desperation. Would much prefer immediate refund as the process is very long.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Booked a trip to Teneriffa back in May (!). Fighting ever since for at least a feedback about re-booking or cancellation options. No reaction at all, no way of getthing though on the phone, no anwer to e-mail, nothing. Instead recieving marketing e-mails every other day. Hotel was the only one coming back to me to confirm, that they only received partial payment and therefore cannot refund my whole expenses. I understand, that travel branch is fighting hard, but bad customer relation is a) not necessary and b) does not help to create trust for further/new bookings which would help getting cash flow.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Booked a holiday to Greece - Secret Escapes cancelled 20 May- they TOLD me i had a voucher good for one year. Law states they needed to communicate with me - offering me a full refund within 14 days of cancellation or a voucher - no phone call / no offer to refund my money, just a voucher. I've been fighting ever since - for my money. They have an interest free loan, which i didn't agree to. I paid Secret Escapes, yet I have to wait for the funds returned to them, before they can pay me!!!! I call / I email - only told the relevant department is working on the claim. Can't get the name of the relevant department nor a telephone number. Last communication from them 3oth May - a month ago. Asked to speak to a manager - service representative is NOT allowed to provide their manager name or contact telephone number. Disgraceful. What service - I have used this company for years, who are quick to take your money. The way they are managing this pandemic has caused me to now seek alternative destinations via a different holiday provider. They offered me a further 20% discount voucher if i kept the voucher. Why would i want to every use their service again? I will be logging a complaint with the financial ombudsman - name and shame their organisation. I doubt they will be in business for much longer.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Numerous emails and phone calls, buck passing to the hotels to 'WAIT FOR THE HOTEL TO APPROVE THE REFUND' more lies and avoidance. No replies to emails. Cut off on the phone many times. The hotels are not paid until after the holiday so it is up to Secret Escapes to make refunds. First offer 100% credit note. Appalling service and now the latest 'offer' is an 80% refund and a 20% credit note for the future. Will Secret escapes still be around in the future for people to use their credit notes? I doubt it. We have been advised that only legal action will get a cash refund. DO NOT USE SECRET ESCAPES”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Terrible company generic communication to which you cannot respond to cannot get through on their number basically take your money and leave you high and dry will never book with them again”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Refund requested several times and they don't even have the courtesy to respond. Will never use them again and advise others to be aware!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I am so frustrated with this awful company after the cancellation of my package holiday to Greece & absolutely agree with all these terrible reviews. I know that I am legally entitled to a full refund yet after 2 phone calls (to someone who barely spoke English & couldn’t care less), 2 emails & 2 contact forms nobody has had the courtesy to reply. I have refused the credit voucher on every occasion yet that is the only communication I have had from them. I am now going down the chargeback route & they can be assured that this once loyal customer will never be using that voucher or their company again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“This company seems to worryingly be unaware of their basic legal obligations - or even to have heard about the Package Travel rules. They have told me that they are waiting for the hotel to refund 'my' money which they will then pass back to me. This is the refund I have been waiting 3 months for. Definitely won't be using them again or recommending them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I wish I had read these reviews before I booked with Secret Escapes as I am now having the same trouble getting a refund for our ‘cancelled’ holiday to Iceland on March 17th.... the day the government announced travel restrictions. I have found it extremely difficult to get to speak to anyone with any authority to make decisions. Seems to be like they have telephone operators with limited English who say they’ll ring you back when they’ve spoken to a manager, then don’t! They have £1400 belonging to us and so far we have no idea when or if we will get this back. Stay clear of this company.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.1 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult

Secret Escapes Reviews