Tag: VENICE

Is this British Airways flight bad enough for you?

By Christopher Elliott |

britishArthur West’s 50th anniversary trip to Venice was “extremely enjoyable” — except for one little issue: the British Airways flights. All of them.

He’s so unhappy with the way he and his wife, Eileen, were treated that he’s written the airline several times with a long list of grievances. And he’s unimpressed with their response.

I’m writing about West’s case because I’m not sure if I should ask British Airways to review it. Some of the problems are minor and others are outside the control of the airline. Add it all up and they make for a very unpleasant trip, no question about it. But I’ll let you decide.
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Road trip update: All roads lead to Venice

By Christopher Elliott |

They saved the best for last.

Our Adventures by Disney tour of Italy ended today, but not before hitting several highlights, including:

• A bullet-train ride from Florence to Venice and an unforgettable gondola ride from the train station to the hotel Luna, just around the corner from St. Mark’s square.

• A mask-making class with the same Venetian artisans who created the famous “poker face” mask for Lady Gaga. They were extremely helpful, and the kids loved the masks they made.

• On our own, we had a memorable dinner at the Westin Europa. The canal views were astonishingly beautiful. I highly recommend the traditional Venetian dinner.
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“We have been ripped off”

By Christopher Elliott |

Kate Silver didn’t stay at the Hotel Arlecchino in Venice earlier this year, even though she had a confirmation from her online travel agency. Instead, she and her husband, Howard, were “walked” to the Hotel Continental when the Arlecchino was oversold.

Here’s the Arlecchino’s site and here’s the Continental’s site. And I’ll save you the trouble of checking TripAdvisor: 89 percent like Arlecchino; 73 percent recommend the Continental.

So although they aren’t quite the same, they seem to be close enough.

But Silver isn’t happy with her agency, Hotels.com, because for her, the trip was an unqualified disaster.

Question is, how does an online travel agency address a problem like this after the guest has stayed in a hotel?
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Overbilled for my Venice hotel — where’s my travel agent?

By Christopher Elliott |

Shannon Stark’s mother is about to leave for Venice, but there’s a little problem with her trip. Someone overcharged her by $400 for her accommodations, and she’d like to get that taken care of before her vacation begins.

Seems like a reasonable request. But finding the right person to talk to about the overbilling issue at her Northern California AAA office hasn’t been easy.
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