HF Holidays Omdömen 73

Considering this company is recommended by WHICH as the best one, after reading the negatives I wouldn’t want to deal with them.

I have had many good experiences since 1986 staying with HF Holidays both in the UK and abroad. However, I had a bad experience in October 2025 staying at the Peveril of the Peak (Dovedale). On arrival all the guests were told the hotel had to close the next morning due to a problem with a pipe that supplied calor gas needed for cooking, heating and hot water. So we all had to leave the next morning. I was dependent on rail transport. Mercifully the trains were running but the day I had to leave had been pencilled in as a strike day. Fortunately the strike threat was lifted. Had it not been I could not have got home. I would have had to book in somewhere else at short notice which could have been a problem given that many other guests from the hotel would have been doing likewise.

I have googled the question "how often do hotel guests have to leave a hotel because of problems with the power supply". The answer I got was that this does not happen because hotels have back up systems such as generators which can provide enough power to allow the hotel to remain open. This is not the case in respect of this hotel.

I spent Christmas at the Peveril of the Peak some years ago. If the same had happened then it would not have been possible to book in somewhere else at short notice and there would have been no trains on Christmas Day.

I got a full refund from HF in respect of this episode and £100 of my next HF Holiday, but my confidence in staying with HF has been shaken by this experience. Staying at a HF hotel is not cheap. I would have expected all HF hotels to have some sort of back up system in the event of power failures. I have never had an experience like this with any other hotel chain and I do not know anyone else who has.

Thank you everyone at HF Peveril for such a great holiday my first in 8 years. I’m so lucky I choose HF as you meet wonderful people including walk leaders. I can’t fault anything, my room, the food, courtesy just wow

I went on the Japan Walking and Sightseeing Trip in Oct/Nov 2025. Sadly this trip did not live up to expectations, varying from what was promised and feeling rushed and very over priced. On return I provided feedback directly to HF and it took them more than 2 months to respond. I was not the only participant on this trip to raise concerns. What should have been the trip of a lifetime was just so disappointing and I am deeply saddened I won't get that time back. Overall the customer care fell far short of the standard I would expect.

Tried to pay my balance on my holiday by phone on Saturday as the line closes at 1p.m.

This was very protracted.

I left a call back message over 30 minutes later still no response.

So I had to make a second call before the lines closed at 1pm

Finally got through before the deadline at 1pm to complete paying the balance.

Tried to explain my concerns to the operator but felt to little avail.

This is the first time I have booked with HF and I am a member but off putting experience for me to consider further bookings.

I have been an HF customer since the 1980's and have seen this travel organisation go downhill gradually. This December, we booked a holiday in Yorkshire in Newfield Hall amongst other things to celebrate my 70th birthday. The house was lovely and so were the staff and walks leaders. We booked the holiday well in advance and the trip information specified that HF offered a transfer from Skipton railway station for £15 per person. This was in fact more than the local taxi company charged for two people, i.e. £20. When we arrived we found out from the other guests that they had been offered free transfers, free alcohol from the bar and huge discounts on the price of the holiday. Apparently, HF management wanted the house full and therefore had offered cut price holidays (midweek and weekends) for late bookers. The amount some of the other guests had paid for a midweek or weekend stay was so much lower than our full week price that even when you added up a weekend and midweek stay the total price would have been lower. Incidentally, we were the only two guests that stayed the whole week. We were very disappointed that we had not been informed about the free transfer, and that we had not been offered the same discount on our holiday than the other guests. Moreover, because many guests were attracted by the free alcohol, the demographic was quite different and many people were not there for a walking break, but for a break with free alcohol and low prices. On my return on 16 December, I wrote a letter to HF complaining about this, but have not heard a thing. I am a member but am considering giving up my membership and most certainly, I will not be booking early for a trip with HF again, because the later you book, the lower the prices!

We have now spent almost one month trying to contact HF to find out what happened to some items we very foolishly left in our room at Nythfa House in Brecon. We have left voicemails at Nythfa House (no response), emailed info@HF and reservations@HF (one reply from Rakhee stating that she would forward my email to NH), two further emails since then chasing this (no reply), and phoned HF (no answer). NH had all our contact details on the registration forms so it would have ben a simple enough task to contact us. We have also repeatedly left our details on voicemails and emails, and have offered to fully reimburse postage, send an additional tip for NH staff and/or donate to the Pathways Fund. We are getting nowhere with HF. It is the most appalling customer service we have ever encountered. Such a shame as we enjoyed our stay at NH and we are new HF members who are now going to cancel our memberships. It is the first time we have ever left anything in a hotel room in all the years we have travelled. It was a stupid thing to do, but mistakes happen. Obviously, HF's policy is that if you leave any items in your room, don't expect to see them again.
A member of staff did get in touch following this review, but after so many weeks our property has not been located. We assume it was disposed of when the room was serviced after our departure.

After a number of attempts to speak to HF I did eventually manage to speak to them and book my holiday ( yippee!). This conversation involved me asking for and receiving a guarantee I’d be allowed to join the land transfer if I booked my flights from Manchester. Weeks later I have received an email out of the blue saying… sorry, you can’t join the transfer! Hoping the recorded message when you phone them saying conversations are recorded is infact true as it will reflect this absolutely unacceptable behaviour. There is no way I can travel to the hotel in time for the holiday now my flights are booked. Unfair? Definitely. Unprofessional? Definitely. Chances of them ringing me and having the decency to explain.., extremely unlikely. Shambles.

The whole HF experience was fantastic, offering great value for money and brilliant organisation. Our guides were knowledgeable and the customer service was exceptional from start to finish

My wife and I have been using HF for over 20 years and have had many excellent holidays. As my wife is a coeliac we have welcomed the fact that HF are an accredited ceoliac partner. However, on our recent holiday with them at Church Stretton, my wife and another guest were served a scone that had been put on a separate table and marked gluten free but did in fact have gluten in. These . Both were very sick. This meant she missed her dinner that evening and spent the next day recovering. We were assured that head office would be in touch with us when we returned home. That was 2 weeks ago and we have heard nothing. We understand that mistakes can be made but this is the second time it has happened, as my wife was served gluten at Brecon a few years ago.
Yes mistakes can happen but their is no excuse for the lack of follow up. A chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so 1 star is fully justified despite all the other positives.

Unfortunate a 1. Just read a review from Simi, recently published here and agree entirely. I’m a long time and usually very happy customer, but the online booking system and trying to get through when that doesn’t work has become a nightmare.

I’ve twice recently booked a solo trip online, then gone through the whole online booking and payment process to be told at the last minute that ‘something has gone wrong’. Which means that they don’t now have the room that they allocated to you.

Then spend a long time getting through on the phone, just tone told it’s ’hard luck’

Advertise themselves as dog friendly, but in only four of their UK hotels. In these hotels you cannot take your dog into indoor communal areas i.e. restaurant and bar you can only leave your dog in the room for dinner and any after dinner activities but they also say that cannot leave your dog in the room for extended periods.

So in conclusion, I would say that they are misleading people in suggesting that they are dog friendly, more like dog unfriendly to me. I certainly wouldn't stay in these conditions with my dog and can't believe that anybody would given the stated restrictions and at the same have an enjoyable and relaxing holiday.

My first attempt to call them, phone rang and rang, someone answered and hung up. Next attempt I waited on the phone for over 30 minutes, before my call was answered, which is also a pretty poor customer service.

No reply to emails.

Based on my own experience, and looking at their overall ratings, I'm glad I haven't ventured any further to try and book something.

What is happening to hfholidays?
You can't get through to them.
You don't get any reply to the messages left
Their forms will not take your mobile number.
Trying to book is a nightmare.
Not the same as the old days, no issues then
Your membership means nothing!
Totally disappointed.

Treat their staff like slaves making them work extremely long hours for low pay . Considering the price of the holidays there is no reason for this

Peveril of the Peak-disaster, avoid! Visited Peveril of the Peak last weekend, never again. We were met at reception by 2 very rude, miserable men. They had zero customer service or even social skills. The place itself is a shambles, the decor is shabby to say the least, the rooms miserable like the men on reception. No hot water, poor water pressure poor quality bedding, dirty rooms & no cared when this was mentioned at reception. When I dared to enter the dining area to merely have a look at "god forbid" 6.55pm, I literally got screamed at to leave the area by one of these men as it was not 7pm!Truly awful. HF you need to teach your staff some customer service skills as they have zero. I don't think I saw one of them even smile once the whole weekend, they made me feel most unwelcome. I have been holidaying with HF for some years now but this was probably my last.

Booking a holiday has not been straightforward or easy. HF have made many mistakes and response from manager was not satisfactory. A 25 minute wait to get through on the phone (online chat was not available during working day) together with agreed booking times being ignored and messages being left on incorrect numbers are some examples.
I have given 2 stars because in the end I did manage to make the booking. I hope the holiday is better organised than the booking process.

My experiences with HF in the UK have been great. First trip abroad with HF to Albania, which was a new addition to the 2025 HF brochure. (3-10 June)
Every day was so challenging - very hot weather, limited or no shade and always being careful with your water supply. Several of the walks were not suitable for all the group. There should have been Plan A or Plan B walks.
I was counting the days to go home!
Challenges at several of the hotels, including the location - noisy, poor air conditioning, accessibility and very limited breakfast selection. Hence, a reassessment of the hotels and location is needed.
No lunches and minimal time/help to find where to get food and clean drinking water. Certainly encouraged to take something from breakfast! And you needed to, as lunch maybe very late in the afternoon.
A couple of the walks need to be changed. They were not interesting. Walking along tarmac in the very hot sunshine does not appeal with not much to look at either.
The late afternoon walks of 2-3 hours around the city or large town with temps close to 30C (and sometimes after a days walk) need to be thought thorough.
The guide did his absolute best given the agenda he had to follow. Full credit to the guide!
Best time was in Northern Macedonia - scenery and walks in the National Parks was fantastic.
To be honest, if this has been my first experience with HF I would not have used this company again.

Fabulous holiday based in Matera, Italy. Hotel was good and we ate dinner at a local restaurant with choices from a set menu. Our local walking guide Filipo was excellent. The walks were mostly in the Altamura national park. In May the grasses and wildflowers were spectacular. I would certainly recommend visiting at this time of year. The walks were enjoyable, not challenging with gentle ascents and descents and less than a couple of hours walking at a time. Filipo gave us information of the local history and wildlife and went out of his way to make our experience special with extra tastings of olive oil and coffee. We enjoyed visits to wine, cheese and olive producers, sampling locally grown produce and a visit to a bakery and a restaurant in Matera where we had demonstrations of bread and pasta making. Everywhere the hospitality we enjoyed was warm and welcoming. Included was a guided tour of the Sassi UNESCO site in Matera. On our free day we organised a trip to visit the Trulli houses in Alberobello, a taxi ride away. Thank you to Karen our HF leader and to Filipo who went ‘over and above’ to make our week special.

This June was our third HF holiday . Ones in Scotland and Ireland were very good indeed. However, there were problems with the accommodation in Alnmouth: we were woken at 4 am every morning by a delivery man with a trolley wheeled outside our room ( a premium room). This must have been a practice for some time and known about. It took HF managers 5 days to respond and act. This totally impacted on our expensive holiday due to poor sleep.
There are also main issues with parking which are unacceptable. Now we are back and we have been waiting for Guest Relations at HF holidays for over a week to respond. Despite emails and messages left and to the CEO they do not respond . Please be aware of how poorly complaints are dealt with by HF holidays.
It is very disappointing as the guides and walks are excellent.
HF holidays have now been in touch, apologised and offered compensation which we have accepted.
With regards to the parking, which we knew about, we were told you can park
outside to unload. This was not the case as so busy. There is also no dedicated person helping take luggage up many flights of stairs which needs addressing.

Thoroughly enjoyed this very varied and comprehensive tour of Vietnam. Well organised trip, with various transport. The walks in the countryside, meeting local people and learning about their culture was one of my highlights. Our tour leader Hung Do was excellent, very helpful and made the trip for me. He was very knowledgeable, i had great fun and made many happy memories on this trip.
Date of trip Jan 2024. Unable to put date in appropriate box