Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: Can I get a holiday cheaper than in a brochure?

Here is a sample taken entirely at random. One week staying in a double room at La Fuente de La Higuera near Ronda from 15 September 2008 will cost £788 per person through Simpson Travel, including daytime scheduled flights and a Group B hire car, ie £1576 per couple. That compares with Little Hotels:

Accommodation:	£821	(Using the exchange rate on 25 Jan 2008)
Car Hire:	£91	(A Ford Fiesta or similar, with aircon, from the car hire available on our website)
Flights:	£206	(If you had booked exactly the same Monarch flight from Gatwick)
Total cost:	£1118	(For 2 people, remember!)
SAVING	£458

To put it another way, Little Hotels is 29% cheaper than the brochure price.

So over the 4 years we have been checking our prices against the brochures we have come up with savings of 36% (2004), 50% (2005), 38% (2006), 42% (2007) and now 29%. Don't read too much into the variation from one year to another. These are just random examples so there is bound to be some variation. The main thing is that they are really substantial savings to be made by booking through Little Hotels.

Any snags? Well, you have to book your flights separately, so you have to go to just a little bit more trouble. On the other hand, you are free to choose any airline, any dates, any UK airport (with flights to Malaga) so Little Hotels gives you flexibility and a big cost-saving.

Q: What does it cost to use your service?

Nothing! Your payment goes directly to the hotel so you know you are not paying out for tour operators, expensive glossy brochures and high-street travel agents (see above).

Q: How long will it take to get an answer to my enquiry?

We aim to send you a response within a few hours. However, Little Hotels deals with little hotels (surprise!) and they generally have a small staff who have various demands on their time. Please bear with us if just occasionally it may take a little longer.

Q: You've confirmed availability, how do I make my booking?

We will need a credit card number to confirm the reservation, so we think it is best to use our Booking Form which will take you into our secure server. You can click into it straight from the hotel page. Alternatively you can telephone us if you prefer. (We don't recommend sending your credit card details by e-mail as that is considered to be less secure for confidential information.) State your requirements clearly, in line with the availability information we will have sent you. If you have any special requests, include them too, and we will do our best to accommodate them. Don't make any irreversible travel plans until you receive a confirmation from us (probably about 24 hours).

Q: What sort of confirmation will I receive?

We will send you a confirmation e-mail with full details of your reservation. Just print that off and take it with you. Of course the hotel will have full details of the booking anyway, but the piece of paper will give you the warm feeling that everything is in order. At the same time we will send you detailed directions to the hotel.

Q: Who do I pay?

Payment is made directly to the hotel on departure. Credit and debit cards are usually accepted but a very small minority of hotels are not able to take card payments. Please check the hotel page for which cards are accepted.

Q: Does the hotel require a deposit?

All of our hotels are individual, and they each have their own policy on deposits. Some of them do require a deposit, and you will find the details on each hotel page. If a deposit is required, this will be charged to your card by the hotel. Remember that whatever deposit you pay, this will almost certainly be kinder on your pocket than paying the full amount of a package holiday 8-10 weeks before you travel.

Q: What if I need to cancel?

Once again, each hotel has its own policy on cancellations. If you need to cancel, contact the hotel in writing, with a copy to us so that we can follow it up for you. Make sure you receive an acknowledgement back. Within the chargeable cancellation period, it is up to the hotel whether they charge you the cancellation amount. We do recommend that you have travel insurance which may cover this eventuality, among various other things that you would probably rather not think about. Unlike some other companies, Little Hotels does not charge you an administration fee if you have to cancel.

Q: How do I find the hotel, when I get there?

It's true that many of our hotels are a little out-of-the-way. That's probably why you chose the hotel you did. When we send you your confirmation, we will also include directions, and the telephone number and address of the hotel. We try to give you real directions that work on the ground, and not just something taken from a map. Nevertheless, the minor roads of Spain are numerous and complex so a good map will be helpful when you're out and about. Watch out too, for variations in the spelling of place names: there are often small differences between the Castilian Spanish and the local (Catalan, Basque, or whatever) versions of a name.

Q: I have some mobility difficulties? How do I know if the hotel will be suitable for me?

There are many variations of "disabled" and some hotels will be suitable for some and not for others. Tell us your situation and we will do our best to recommend which hotels to go for and which to avoid.

Q: Do you have "no smoking" rooms available?

The majority of hotels we list are totally or partly non-smoking. As our hotels generally take a much greater interest than average in quality of life, clean air, organic food and so on, they are naturally more disposed to providing guests with a smoke-free environment. Look at the notes in the tariff box for the no smoking policy of each hotel.

Q: Do "double rooms" have a double bed or twin beds?

Some have double, some have twin, and some offer the choice. We try to provide the best information available on each hotel page but sometimes furniture arrrangements change at short notice. If the choice of one or the other is important to you, please tell us when you make your enquiry or booking.

Q: Do all your hotels take children?

Not all. Some hotels offer a romantic or tranquil ambience which is not compatible with young children. It's "horses for courses". The hotel pages on our website will tell you if children are not accepted, or if they are specifically catered for.

Q: Do all the hotels have parking?

Country and village hotels generally have easy parking. City-centre hotels are sometimes not quite so easy. Some have their own garage parking (there will be a nightly charge) and others will guide you to a public car park or suitable on-street parking.

Q: How can I find out what the weather might be like for our holiday?

Each of our hotel pages has a link to show you the weather statistics in that area. Also, you can go to our weather page to get a quick comparison of different parts of the country

Q: Do I need travel insurance?

We strongly advise you to take out insurance suitable for your needs before you travel. Make sure that the insurance policy covers you if you have to cancel your flight or other holiday arrangements and for any emergencies which arise while you are away. It's not expensive if you buy it from the right place (try the Post Office, your insurance broker or our own travel insurance page), and it gives you peace of mind.

Q: How do I know my personal information is safe?

Little Hotels complies with the Data Protection Act scrupulously. More importantly, we actually care about protecting your privacy. We don't pass any client information to any third party, except to pass the necessary information through to the hotel where you are staying. We have a secure server built in to this website to ensure your credit card details are safe.

Q: Why don't you use a star rating or something similar?

How do you distill all the qualities of a hotel into a single number from one to five? The hotels here are as individual as you are, so we think you will probably glean much more meaningful information from "What We Say", "A Word From The Owner" and our Feedback section.

Q: Why don't you have an automatic online reservation system?

Big impersonal hotels have big online systems. Little hotels have human beings. Put simply, those systems do not have the flexibility to accommodate small hotels and their clients. Little Hotels is here to bridge that gap.