Secret Escapes Reviews 

I contacted SE on 12/06/26 about a refund of a cancelled holiday (cancelled by them due to Middle East situation). On 14/06 I got an email from them stating that both initial payment and balance payment had been refunded. Now I have a thread of 14 emails and only one of the two payments has been refunded. I cannot get to the truth of where the money is. We've used SE several times for hotels and one holiday and they've been fine but, when things go wrong their Customer Services will not own the issue. They make excuses and are very apologetic but don't resolve the issue. BACS payments should not take 17+ days and still waiting!
Update: After submitting this review I got a reply from 'Steven' including the phrase 'I'd like to let you know I've escalated your case to a senior member of our Customer Services team, who will be in touch shortly.' I was promised action and nothing has happened. In desperation I've just made a phone call where I was told that I couldn't speak to a supervisor since there's no-one in the office (same response as I got on my first call in mid June). The refund has still not been processed. To Secret escapes - Please confirm a payment date. Surely this is harming your reputation as this is such a simple issue to resolve.

Booked on the secret escapes site for a 10 day trip 29/07 - 08/08 and was told the actual travel agent would contact us within 72 hours which they did.
It then transpired that there is or possibly was any availability for the dates we asked for so our trip has now had to be cancelled.
They did offer an alternative location etc. which we declined.
Seems strange as looked today on your website and this holiday is still being advertised yet the travel company said the only availability was for Rhodes??
Not happy as wasted 5 days trying to get answers and now have to look again for a holiday .

The booking system is easy to use and easy to navigate.
Unfortunately on the particular booking I was looking at it only offered 1 room and not 2 despite saying 10 rooms were available. In fairness the SE agent did contact the hotel on our behalf so thanks for that. My only issue is the locations advertised always show lowest price which is often for some obscure date which takes some searching anyway overall a good site

We booked a trip to Iceland from the weekly deals email received. I explored other companies and booking independently and everything was more expensive and hotels weren’t as good.
Booking was quick and easy offering options for trips and flights. Email confirmation received with all details quickly.

Another excellent trip booked through Secret Escapes, this time a small luxury yacht cruise along the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Included flights, transfers, excursions, resident tour manager (who was brilliant) and great food. Easy booking process, kept up to date throughout, all details taken care of. Well done to all involved 👏

We booked a few days away with SE at a hotel in Devon. Everything went perfectly from check in to check out. I hadn’t used SE for a while and I was impressed with the service and the savings compared to the hotels own website. I would happily recommend using SE.

Very easy to book with Secret Escapes. Lovely choices.

I am extremely disappointed with the level of customer service I have received from Secret Escapes.

I booked a hotel in Salzburg for 5–7 July and immediately received a booking voucher. A payment authorisation also appeared on my bank account. However, I never received a confirmation email.

When I contacted customer services, I spent over an hour on live chat, only to be told they could not find my booking and that I should contact the hotel myself. I emailed and telephoned the hotel, who advised that they had no reservation in my name and no availability for my dates.

After numerous emails and phone calls, Secret Escapes eventually informed me that my booking was in fact confirmed and held with the hotel. However, despite repeatedly requesting written confirmation that the hotel had acknowledged my reservation, I have not received the evidence I asked for. Instead, I have received several generic responses stating that my case has been escalated.

The most frustrating part has been the lack of clear communication and the amount of time I have had to spend trying to establish whether I actually have accommodation for my family. I have been passed between different agents, received conflicting information, and had to act as the intermediary between Secret Escapes and the hotel.

I hope this issue is ultimately resolved, but the experience so far has been incredibly stressful and has left me with very little confidence in the booking process or the customer service provided.

I will update this review once the matter has been fully resolved.

Booked the black swan in Kendal. Very personal service and excellent communication from Jerry throughout. Paying in installments suited our group and made the experience far more affordable.. a brilliant venue for any occasion, beautifully presented and very helpful guidebook ahead of the stay

Just booked a package holiday yesterday with secret escapes today I found the exact identical holiday with Jet2 Holidays for £200 cheaper. Secret escapes will not price match the holiday as they don't apparently on package holidays, only Hotel only deals. Very annoying as that is a lot of difference £200. I have been a very good customer over the decades to Secret Escapes, and the company really is not interested at all about my loyalty as a customer. I would suggest to anyone booking a package deal with Secret Escapes to check with other holiday companies as you will probably get a much better deal, silly me for assuming that Secret Escapes were always giving me the best deal, I think the whole situation is very unfair, as other holiday companies price match. Will not be using Secret Escapes ever again, my loyalty means nothing to them. Secret Escapes have said they are looking into this for me, but still have not got back to me.

Been using them for 15 years, my first point of call. Great prices and choices. I've just booked a fab 4 star hotel, deluxe room and spa and breakfast, in Stratford, London for less than £150.

Friendly, excellent service ...

We bought a package deal through Secret Escapes. The outward flight was changed by the airline and unbeknowst to us, Secret Escapes did not confirm the change. Consequently we could not check in online 24 hours before. Many emails and calls later, Secret Escapes finally did it only 15 minutes before the online check-in deadline. We were travelling to the airport and got the email too late to complete the check-in online. Checkin at the airport cost us an additional £140. Secret Escapes' Customer Service is off-shore, is slow to reply or doesn't reply at all. Unless you phone them (premium number), no action happens.

Very easy booking experience, will definitely use the service again

Booking worked smoothly as always, but on arrival we were informed that dinner service stopped at 7pm and the only available slot was 6:15, the included cream tea was not available after 5pm, so we missed that, no alternative offered (bar credit etc)

Wow! What a wonderful couple of days away. The hotel was fantastic, the staff were amazing and it was an amazing deal!

Too early to tell. I’ll come back after my stay

Easy to use website and find deal I was looking for. Excellent value against prices advertised directly on hotel website. Clear communication once booking confirmed. Have used numerous times and likely in future.

Absolutely terrible company - do not use - I am sure it is fine if everything goes well but the partners they use, specifically car hire with us just appaulling and no hlp from them at all. Stranded at an airport at midnight with no car to our destination, paying for a taxi to find out our car hire was cancelled as the flight was delayed. Just appaulling, they're comment nothing they can do go and get yourself other car hire, will never use again