Harmonycoachholidays Arvostelua 

My wife and I recently returned from their Orkney Tour. Unfortunately, my wife took a D and V bug which meant that we had to forego the three nights in Orkney and replace them with three nights in Strathpeffer at our own expense.

We both tested positive for Covid within 2 days of returning to Glasgow on the Harmony Coach.

We had made a claim on our travel insurance and they asked us if there was any refund available for the unused nights on Orkney.

We phoned on Monday to ask that question and to mention the Covid because we thought we had a duty to do so.

We intended this call to be very positive about Harmony. However, the person we spoke to was so defensive and antagonistic. We were told that there was no refund and that the NHS would contact the company about Covid. This is no longer the case.

We have since discovered that one more of the coach party tested positive over the weekend.

We would have hoped that the company would have passed on the news about Covid to the other travellers while recognising that they have no legal requirement.

Tip for customer services - talking over customers when it wasn’t even a complaint is not helpful.

I previously reviewed Harmony to express my dismay at their complete lack of civility in terms of acknowledging or replying to legitimate concerns expressed by customers. I have not changed my mind on that and, indeed in terms of customer services, they would get a big zero. All I needed was a one-line response from this company to reassure me before going on a second pre-booked holiday with them- however they chose to ignore their paying customers- for what reason I know not. Anyway, the stars earned this time are very much down to the quality of the Bay coach provided- everything the Parks of Hamilton one provided for the Isle of Wight one was not- it had filtered air con, was a recent coach with an excellent driver in Mark who went above and beyond to ensure our holiday was a great one. Still no sign of the promised hand sanitiser on board in the letter from Harmony on board though. Jury's Inn was a quality hotel for such an inexpensive holiday. Nottingham and Lincoln were both fabulous in their own ways. Pity the itinerary hadn't excluded Melton Mowbray and allowed more time at Lincoln/ Nottingham though! No point in contacting Harmony themselves as they are clearly not interested in customer feedback. However much I enjoyed this one I will not be going on a coach tour in the future- too unpredictable!

Harmony Holidays Lancashire Tales 5 day tour stayed at the last drop hotel & spa in Bolton. Hotel was lovely and food nice good breakfast choice.
Trips included were good espeacily Salmesbury Hall & the guided tour and storys by the resident witch. The Kittywake Canal Cruise with Afternoon Tea was great.The weather was dry & sunny which was a bonus both myself & my partner enjoyed this tour and would recommend.

5 day tour to Whitby and North Yorkshire moors. Hotel was fine if a bit dated . Food was excellent. Driver was fine and day trips good. Maybe a bit longer in Pickering and a bit less time at the lavender farm would have been better. The big downer was the trip there and back. 9 hours going and ten coming back was far too long for a bunch of over 60s. Coach was from Parks of Hamilton which travelled over to Fife starting at Kirkcaldy then working its way west with final pick up at Hamilton!! Then down M74 and across the dreaded A66. Who organised that ! Why not start at Hamilton work your way East then down A1. Shorter ,quicker, and a lot less diesel for you.

My friend and I have just returned from a 5 day trip to Lancashire. We stayed at the The Last Drop Village Hotel which was a 4 star hotel. Staff could not have been more helpful. Food was all freshly cooked produce ( no frozen food) and a great choice. Rooms were large, modern and spotless. The first day trip to Oswaldthistle garden and shopping centre was not great at all - ok if you want to shop all day. On the 2nd day it was Southport which was a free day and there was plenty to do. 3rd day was the best. We visited Salmesbury Hall and given a guided tour around. It was excellent and our tour guide got people involved in different scenarios, she obviously was part of a drama group and was good at her job. The afternoon was spent on a 2 hour barge trip with afternoon tea - Kittywake Canal cruises. Sandy and the staff on board were very good, especially Sandy who kept us entertained with her quiz and information about the canal and surrounding area. And finally our coach driver James could not have been more helpful especially with all the banter he took from us.

Do not under any circumstances purchase travel insurance through Harmony Coach Holidays.
If you take unwell while on holiday with this company be prepared to receive absolutely no support from either the insurance company or Harmony.
They are long on promises but deliver nothing.
Harmony's response has been disappointing also and as a result I would not recommend travelling with this company in future.

Inclusive Ireland tour. Great driver, lovely hotel, but Harmony organisation atrocious. We were originally told our pick up would be between 6.30 am and 7.30 am. When we received our itinerary, a single piece of paper with a departure time of 11.15 am, we contacted them as we knew the approximate travel time would mean us arriving about 10.00 pm. In actual fact we arrived at 10.40 pm. They told us that they had to go with the ferry times they were given. In actual fact they were too late making the booking and therefore the earlier ferry was fully booked. We therefore lost the first night of a short 5 day break and evening meal. The hotel very kindly provided us with soup and sandwiches but who wants to eat at that time of night. We were booked for 4 nights dinner but I don’t consider soup and sandwiches as a dinner. No apologies from Harmony or refund for loss of meal or inconvenience caused. Once again I can only praise Steve our driver who tried his best to help a bus load of disgruntled passengers. I would advise anyone thinking of booking this holiday to think carefully before doing so.

back from llandudno 12th aug.Had a great time in llandudnu due a lot to the driver Chic..(brilliant}. trips included were better than expected .plenty of time on each trip.hotel could do with a little update ( Marine Hotel) but our room was massive,clean and with a view to die for. Meals in hotel were first class and service was the quickest i have ever had friendly staff as well..The only bad point was the lack of communication regarding the pick-ups etc.if only you tell clients in brochure first..BUT having driven to devon every year before I for one sat back and enjoyed the scenery and Chic's commentory plenty of time for tea /coffee/loo etc All in all not a bad experience for our first coach trip..Thanks Harmony would go again

We were so looking forward to our trip to Bletchley Park and the National Arboretum. Both trips were great.
Journey took 10 1/2 hours! Not acceptable!
Hotel was clean but the food at dinner for a 4* hotel was shocking! Jury’s Inn Hinckley Island was well named. An hotel in the middle of nowhere. Just not suitable for a coach party.
The trip to Tamworth Castle was very good but only suitable for about half of the tour party. Did no one check if this was an appropriate tour for pensioners. A note in the brochure would have been helpful.
Please note drivers are employed by Parks of Hamilton and NOT by the tour company.

Harmony Coach Holidays.
My husband and I have just returned from a five day tour based at Jury's Inn Hinckley Island and wish to draw your attention to several points.
To begin on a positive note, the visits to Bletchley Park, The National Arboretum and Coventry Cathedral were most enjoyable and informative and the coach driver, Patrick, was most courteous and helpful throughout the tour.
Unfortunately that is where the positivity ends.
We are aware that, as stated in your terms and conditions, routes may be altered for operational reasons; but it also states that inconvenience will be kept to a minimum.
Our route was altered to such a degree that in order to pick up a dozen clients from Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, fully three hours was added to our journey time - with no prior warning given. We do not consider that to be inconvenience at a minimum. A stop-off at a suitable location nearby to collect these clients from a feeder vehicle would have been far less inconvenient for us and them - a point we made by telephone on Tuesday 2nd as a suggestion for the return journey. It was of course ignored.
Then there's the hotel!! Not much positivity there either I'm afraid. Surroundings and facilities modern, bright and clean.
Our party was of course served in our very own dining area. Obviously a ploy to ensure that no other guests were aware of the swill that was served to us under the guise of dinner. Disgusting and inedible to put it mildly.
This was the first time we had used your company and I'm sure you will have guessed by now that it will most certainly be the last.

A. bus tour to Derby 25th -29th July. Overall the holiday was very good. We stayed in Jury’s hotel which lived up to its 4stars. The visit to Chatsworth House was wonderful. The other trips to Matlock, Buxton and Bakewell were enjoyable but the time in each place could be juggled a bit to provide more time in Bakewell. My only complaint was the blaring pop music played on our journey down from 8am to 4.30. We did ask for it to be turned down. I’m not sure if it company policy to have music played. Also on the way back we were subjected to an Irish stand- up comedian being played loudly again. Then there was a singer performing live with all the background noise of a live concert. It didn’t make for a relaxing journey.
Ann Reynolds

the overall holiday on the 10/07/22 going to Chester and Whales was very good one complaint was the waiting for the bus at Bucanan st bus station was to pick us up at 9.30 which turned in to nearly 1.30 late but the journey was pleasant and the driver was very sorry about the time to many pickups points the Queens hotel was lovely but need to be tweaked need more staff room was very nice only the toilet didn't flush very well the food was excellent for the money we paid the excursion to see Conwy Llandudno ladies shops galore then the beautiful Llangollen stunning could not fault this holiday Chester was fabulous plenty shops and walk round the city wall

Just returned from Torquay. Driver Glenn was fabulous - very customer orientated and great sense of humour! Just what a tour needs and an asset to the company!
Stayed in Carlton Hotel. Thanks to the hotel for providing what I had asked for prior to our stay. The only thing I would say about the hotel is its position - a bit of a way from the centre and too long a walk for those customers who are elderly or have mobility issues. You can get a taxi around £6 each way. There is also a "train" that takes you to the sea front but not the most comfortable of journeys and was also very busy.
Excursions were enjoyable and Glenn went out of his way to make it easy and enjoyable for all.
This is the second trip we have done with Harmony and would definitely go with them again!

Harmony to Isle of Wight
9thJuly, 2022
We have just returned from our visit to Isle of Wight-
breaking our journey both ways at Jury’s Inn, Hinckley
Island. Excellent journeys with our driver, Billy, who was
so caring and informative. Ocean View Hotel in Shanklin
was comfortable, good food with very helpful and friendly staff. We had 3 days touring the Island with our
Guide, Paul who gave us so much information in such a
friendly and amusing way.
Thank you- we so enjoyed our holiday.

We have just returned from Harmony Holidays tour ref H106854 to Llandudno which departed 4th July. We were left exhausted as the journeys were a nightmare which could have been avoided entirely should the trip have been better organised and better communication between the driver and the customers.
The pickup coach was over 30 mins late arriving at a very cold and windy bus station in East Kilbride, no apology or explanation was given
The driver proceeded to put our cases in the boot, did not ask our names or seat number, which it turned out this coach did not have.
The driver then drove of while we were still trying to find our seats meaning we were both thrown onto other passengers laps. This is a serious safety breach, which is totally unacceptable and is made worse given your company aims its business model at more senior customers who naturally need slightly longer to access their seats.
The new driver who took over at Hamilton was pleasant but failed to give us any safety arrangements on the coach, in fact when asked for any information about our trip all his only response was that he did not work for harmony and did not know. He clearly made no attempt to find out the information. This is not acceptable.
The stops on on route were very short ie 1/2 an hour or 1 hour which did not allow sufficient time to have any thing to eat given how busy the service areas were. As a tour company you must be fully aware of how busy these places are and should allow sufficient time for stops.
On arrival at the hotel the driver dumped our cases on the pavement leaving passengers to carry their own cases into the hotel. This is not the level of service we expected from your company.
The hotel was clean, however the bedroom was very small and the bathroom ridiculously small making using it very difficult.
The hotel was also very busy and we had to queue for meals.
Our return journey was an equally as bad with 1 hour break at Tebay service station, plus 30min stop at Gretna, which again was not long enough to use facilities, purchase tea or food as both these stops were at very busy service stations.
During the return journey the driver refused to contact Harmony to find out if taxis had been organised, for the final leg of our journey which caused unnecessary anxiety.

I cannot say that I would be able to recommend your company to anyone and having now read the other reviews on Trustpilot it is clear we are not the only customers who feel this way, which is a great pity as your company has the potential to provide excellent holidays should the customer service improve.

My parents (87 years old) have just returned from a trip to Llandudno. When making the booking the pick up points were given as Glasgow, East Kilbride and Hamilton. As it turned out the journey to Llandudno and the return journey home took nearly 11 hours each way due to additional pick ups in Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sunderland. At no time was this mentioned by Harmony, had my parents known they would not have booked. As it turned out the journey back home took so long they missed their last ferry and might well have been stranded on the mainland. They left Llandudno about 9.30am and did not arrive back until 8.30pm. Fortunately I live close by and they stayed with me. However Harmony staff made no effort to speak to my parents at any time to check if they would be able to get home or to ask if they needed help with accommodation. Surely a company such as Harmony should have processes in place to ensure customers, particularly elderly or vulnerable ones, are safeguarded when delays occur. My parents do not have internet on their mobile phone and did not have their car with them. I dread to think what could have happened to them or for that matter to any other vulnerable or elderly customers in a situation such as this if they do not have family or friends close to hand. I contacted Harmony today with a very polite request to discuss some serious concerns about customer service to be told they couldn’t speak to me due to GDPR and to get my dad, who is quite frankly exhausted by the whole episode, to email or write to them so they can investigate. While I can appreciate the need for privacy it would surely have been good customer service, and recognition of the impact of an 11 hour bus journey on elderly people, to arrange to call me to apologise for the delays and enquire if my parents were alright. I gave them my mobile and house number. I then tried to contact other passengers on the tour to find out exactly what had happened and was promptly blocked from the Harmony face book page. I feel very strongly that Harmony have a duty of care to elderly customers and that extends to ensuring they are not left in a situation where they are simply dropped at a bus station unable to get home due to delays of any nature let alone additional pick ups which they were not informed of at the time of booking or in the run up to the holiday.

Just back from a Harmony coach holiday to Llandudno. Quite enjoyed the holiday and the hotel we stayed in was excellent. My only complaint is with the time taken to get there and back from East Kilbride in Scotland, which was over 10 hours. Picking up passengers in Hamilton, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sunderland spoiled the holiday and should never have happened. If I had known that at the outset I would never had booked the trip.

13th June 2022
We are just back from this enjoyable trip based in
Stratford. Our hotel was very close to town- it was clean and comfortable with excellent service and
friendly staff. The daily tours were very good and well
organised and our driver, Billy was most helpful and
informative throughout our 5 day trip.

Totally disorganised.Just arrived back from a 5 day tour to Llandudno with this company.Coach driver and hotel very good, holiday not off to a good start due to total lack of organisation by the staff of Harmony Holidays,pre-booked seats not available when tickets eventually arrived, departure point changed without any warning which involved a second taxi from the original departure point. Having spoken to Harmony only days before to confirm previously booked arrangements regarding seats and pickup point.Then to cap it all on arrival back at pickup point(Durham services) left standing for an hour although coach driver had contacted Harmony to advise time of arrival 90 minutes before Harmony office staff had failed to order taxi,when contacted only response was its only a small mistake.They would not authorise a taxi direct to home so had to pay yet again for a second taxi.This attitude will not encourage me to book any further holidays with Harmony but I doubt given the attitude when my partner telephoned the office from the Motorway Servicesthey will be particularly bothered.
Booking No H105770 Mrs D Leech & RJ Hounslow

Enjoyed our journey with Martin who was professional informative and a helpful driver,The Queen Hotel Chester was easy accessible into town it was a very comfortable and clean hotel with good Quality and choice of food with excellent service from all the staff it also had beautiful displays of historical people and events throughout the hotel .