Golf Abroad - advice please

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

Looking for some advice into booking a golf holiday and figured NSC would be a good place to ask.

Myself and two others have identified a place we want to go (Meliá Villaitana, if any of you have been there?), we're now in the process of finding the best deal and where to book it. Asked for quotes from a variety of golf package sites - Golf Escapes, Golf Breaks, Your Golf Travel and was wondering if anyone has experience of dealing with these companies. They offer to sort out the hotel and the golf, so we make a direct payment to them and they sort it all (the golf course and the hotel are next to each other fortunately). Alternatively we could book the hotel direct through the hotel companies site, and then book the tee times through another site which is a third party (justteetimes or golf-service if anyone's dealt with them before?), as the the golf course itself doesn't have its own site.

Waiting for quotes from the various companies but I don't expect there to be much difference in price between doing it all through one site (i.e. Golf Breaks) or booking the hotel and golf separately; so in your experience what would you find to be a more reliable way of booking something like this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

That takes me back. I used to work on the specialist golf brochure for British Airways Holidays back in the day.

I don't see there's much of an issue with booking a package through the operator- you usually get to specify preferred tee times when you make the initial booking and they'll do the work for you. You might find it works out slightly cheaper that way in terms of the golf, as the resorts tend to offer discounted round rates to the operators for getting people to stay in the hotel.

Not sure whether any saving from booking the flight/hotel independently would negate that though. A little homework required I guess Are you dead set on Spain? The Algarve always used to offer really good value for golf too.

 

[Springal]

Golf Breaks are part of Spa Breaks and a reasonably sizeable operation, so legit. Not used them under their Golf Breaks banner though

 

[cardboard]

We have done our own tours before and also used golf breaks. Using the company was definitely better and takes all the hassle out.
We have done the Vilamoura area, vale du lobo etc and also the costa del sol area. Both very good.

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

That takes me back. I used to work on the specialist golf brochure for British Airways Holidays back in the day.

I don't see there's much of an issue with booking a package through the operator- you usually get to specify preferred tee times when you make the initial booking and they'll do the work for you. You might find it works out slightly cheaper that way in terms of the golf, as the resorts tend to offer discounted round rates to the operators for getting people to stay in the hotel.

Not sure whether any saving from booking the flight/hotel independently would negate that though. A little homework required I guess Are you dead set on Spain? The Algarve always used to offer really good value for golf too.

Flights are already booked because we had do it ASAP before the prices started getting too high. We're going in 2 months so need to get the rest of the holiday booked quite quickly now! (and yes we did check whether there was availability at the resort before booking the flights!).

Thanks for advice so far.

 

[backson]

Don't know about abroad, about 15 of used Golf Breaks for my 40th a couple of years back in UK, and it was definitely cheaper and more convenient going through them than going direct to the hotel/golf course.

 

[Keeping The Dream Alive.]

Those of you who used Golf Breaks - did you do it through the site and or did you ring them up? Tempted to phone them up for some direct interaction and to speed up the process a bit.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Phone the hotel and ask them to give a best price for sorting it all out.

 

[Ding Dong !]

That takes me back. I used to work on the specialist golf brochure for British Airways Holidays back in the day.

I don't see there's much of an issue with booking a package through the operator- you usually get to specify preferred tee times when you make the initial booking and they'll do the work for you. You might find it works out slightly cheaper that way in terms of the golf, as the resorts tend to offer discounted round rates to the operators for getting people to stay in the hotel.

Not sure whether any saving from booking the flight/hotel independently would negate that though. A little homework required I guess Are you dead set on Spain? The Algarve always used to offer really good value for golf too.

Blimey, I probably know you. I used to work on the BAH golf programme to as a Product Exec. Was at BAH ( Astral Towers ) 1992 -2003.
Miss all the golf trips. Ah just twigged who you might be.......you in the Police now

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Blimey, I probably know you. I used to work on the BAH golf programme to as a Product Exec. Was at BAH ( Astral Towers ) 1992 -2003.
Miss all the golf trips. Ah just twigged who you might be.......you in the Police now

Yep...remember enjoying a rather pleasant stay at the Vila Vita Parc in the Algarve off the back of that programme, & touring the other hotels out there.

That and the chaos caused by the Ryder Cup being played at Valderrama & several of the hotels cancelling our bookings in order to flog our contracted rooms to other operators

Golfers were always the most picky of holidaymakers weren't they?