Andorra Snow Weekend - Ski Trip from Barcelona

Customer Reviews

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  Will

  · July 13th, 2020
  WARNING – Avoid this untrustworthy and unprofessional travel company who when pushed with adversity, act unprofessionally, do not care about their customers’, continuously shift blame and don’t take accountability for anything. I risk not receiving any sort of refund by writing this review however I feel that other would be travelers who want a pain free experience should know of my journey with Stoke travel before booking so they don’t go through the same pain my fiance and I went through. As a vivid traveler myself living and as an expat working in professional services in Europe for the last 4 years, I have to traveled to over 70 cities and also traveled with many ‘travel package’ companies including Busabout, Contiki, Topdeck, Sail Croatia and Turkey and have never had a negative review. My experience with Stoke Travel has been anything but positive. There are many facets to this review so I will try and summaries as best as possible however as it is having been quite a long journey it might quite lengthy (sorry in advance). The 4 month journey - My fiance and I booked a travel package with Stoke Travel to go to Andorra in March, 2020 albeit this was around the time where the pandemic was known however no countries made any sort of decisions to close borders and the seriousness of it wasn’t fully aware, in saying that concerns were raised to Stoke travel whether the tour was moving forward and they had confirmed it was. After travelling to Spain the night before, the morning of the tour came and everything seemed quite normal, similar to other tours I have been on however half way up to the Andorra mountain the tour was cancelled as Stoke personnel informed us this was due to the closure of Andorra borders, we were forced to turn around back to Barcelona however we were reassured that Stoke will do everything they can to take care of a refund and inform us of what the next steps would be. We were understanding to the unfortunate situation, trusted the word of Stoke and were happy to wait until the details on the refund were released. This is where the pain, stress, and unprofessional customer service of Stoke travel really begins. Weeks went on and I had personal issues of losing my job due to the pandemic and as an expat this means I also have to leave the country hence no sort of voucher is of any benefit to me so the request for a refund was vital however after weeks went on I had continued to actively follow up for a refund of our money due to the cancellation. When I first tried to tell them of my situation I was constantly informed of their Force Majure clause located in their T&Cs and this was constantly put in my face and only until I sought legal advice is when the CEO and co-founder of Stoke travel, Toby Paramor got in touch with me. When this happened I thought this was an admirable thing for Stoke travel to do so we engaged in a phone conversation where we mutually reinstated and agreed with what I was saying in terms of my situation, Stokes situation, redundancy, needing to leave the continent and how a voucher does not hold any weight for us and again Toby the co-founder agreed that a voucher makes no sense however due to the Covid-19 pandemic they needed some time to see if they would still be operational which I was totally reasonable and understanding towards and gave the benefit of the doubt as companies were feeling a deep burden hence I agreed to what he suggested in which to wait for his update which he promised to personally provide me with in a 3 week call that he would give me. 3 weeks went by and I had seen Stoke travel were still operational which I was happy for however I did not receive any call, message or email so I gave it a few more days then I had to contact Toby directly to which the blame game begun. Although our purchase was with Stoke travel who are a packaged travel company that make money in delivering bundled packages, the blame game of waiting for Andorra mountain to open up so they can return and process refunds begun. This was then the continuous response I got each time I had to actively follow up for an update. About a month went on and I still received the same update from the CEO, I went on to do my own research within the hotel site of Andorra which we were going to stay at, the site displayed they were working from home and were processing refunds and cancellations and I had sent screenshots to Toby to which he replied “If I would like to take over negotiations in trying to secure refunds back on behalf of the group you are more than welcomed, otherwise please sit tight” for a senior person, a co-founder and a CEO of a people based company to sarcastically suggest to a customer to take over negotiations for behalf of the group is super unprofessional and disappointing especially the matter is between Stoke and I. It has now been 4 months and up until this point I have tried to be understanding, patient and empathetic to the pandemic and issues businesses face however it does not seem like this is going in a positive direction. I have also seen many advertisements for all their new tours however for the tours that were cancelled like our one it seems these have been put on the back burner and placed to the side and a continuous story up until this point is the shifting of responsibility and dependency on other vendors, specifically that they are waiting for Andorra (mind you the country has been open for a while) to return any sort of refunds. Whenever I would mention that this is not a matter between Andorra and I, I would get the same response, whenever I proactively asked for an update or what the steps that were being taken to seek the refund back were, I would get back messages like ‘Extremely frustrating, Zilch progress’ again these are from the CEO and co-founder. Also, Stoke claimed they were going to go see them (Andorra vendors) in person which gave me a tad more confidence and then when the date came (Mid-June) and I asked for an update I was informed that they couldn’t confirm the meeting so they didn’t go. This has been the continuous battle I have been going through with the same shifting of blame, lack of accountability and the fact of the Force Majure clause that we are not entitled to anything. This is still an ongoing process for my partner and I however it doesn’t seem like it is going in any positive direction so I would just warn other would be travelers that everything may be fine when things are going good with Stoke travel however when pushed with hardship especially during this pandemic the true values and character of a company shows and their customer service has been unprofessional, they do not take any accountability or responsibility and care of their customers. Regards, Will
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  Stoke Travel commented on this review

  Hey Will Thanks for taking the time to leave this feedback. Your tour happened on the 14/03/20 at the very start of the Coronavirus pandemic, this was also the day that Spain announced that it would go into a national lockdown. Stoke Travel was not... Show more
  Trip date: March 2020
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  Alex

  · February 18th, 2019
  It was a great experience, the guides(Michael, Chantel & Yentle) were awesome and very Welcoming, I would definitely recommend Stoke Travel.
  Trip date: February 2019
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  Shay

  · February 20th, 2018
  Had an amazing time on our recent trip to Andorra for my first time skiing! Our tour leaders Erin & Casey were really helpful and easy going. First timers- I would definitely recommend lessons, but suss out your options if you are there for a short trip!
  Trip date: February 2018
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  Holly

  · February 16th, 2018
  Had an absolute ball on the weekend trip to Andorra! The tour leaders Casey and Erin were great and happy to help out whenever we needed it :) didn’t want to leave, had so much fun!!
  

  Stoke Travel commented on this review

  Thanks Holly! Glad you had a great time :)
  Trip date: February 2018
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  Kirsten

  · February 16th, 2018
  I had an absolute blast on my trip to Andorra. It was well organised, the tour leaders Casey and Erin were lovely and very helpful. And of course got two great days of skiing!
  
  Trip date: February 2018
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  Tessa

  · March 10th, 2017
  I went to Andorra a couple of weeks ago, this was my second trip with Stoke Travel and it was a lot of fun. The guides from stoke where really nice and helpful. I went with a couple of friend from Barcelona, I study here, so it was perfect that it was just a weekend, in that way i didn't have to skip school or anything. We had really good weather, just don't forget your suncream.I did and I got burned pretty bad, but it was definitely worth it.
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  Trip date: February 2017
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  James

  · January 20th, 2017
  I went on the Andorra weekender and had an absolute ball! I really liked the atmosphere and the old school ski outfits that some of the staff were wearing! I snowboarded all day on Saturday and then got to know everyone and had some beer and Sangria in the evening. Then back on the slopes on Sunday! All in all a great trip.
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  Trip date: January 2017
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  Olivia

  · January 4th, 2017
  Last year I went on the Andorra Snow weekend with Stoke Travel and had the best time! I bused from Barcelona with the group. We had hotel accommodation in a gorgeous little town not far from the mountain. It was all so easy! The cost of the trip included all the food at the hotel, transfers to the mountain and back, ski gear and bar crawl on the last night! There was such a good group of us and considering I didn't know how to Ski I still had the best time! Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a cheap, stress-free, ski weekend in Europe.
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  Trip date: January 2016
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  Henrike

  · January 3rd, 2017
  Ohh wauw, I don't know were to start. the pup crawls were the the most fun I have ever had! The skiing was great, laughed a lot and made great friends. Dinner and accommodation are the best. Bus rides are never fun, but Stoke works with what they got and made the bus ride bearable.
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  Trip date: February 2016