Review Time
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.
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 thenYour membership means nothing! Totally disappointed.
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.
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.
I have just returned from a group walking holiday to Abingworth Hall Hotel. I have never holidayed with HF Holidays before and found the accommodation, food and service was excellent. There was nothing that was too much trouble and the staff were helpful, efficient and friendly. The choice of food at breakfast, lunch and dinner was very good. Breakfast had all the usual choices plus healthy options such as natural yoghurt, fruit, prunes, avocado on toast with a poached egg if you want it. The packed lunch was very comprehensive. You are given a form to tick boxes with numerous sandwich options, or a salad box which was delicious (green leaves, beetroot, grated carrot, quinoa, chickpeas, a pot of very nice dressing plus various options to go with it such as chicken). Then you are allowed up to 5 snack options, some healthy (including fruit) some not. I couldn't eat all that food, so I ticked some options and took them home for family and friends. The 3-course evening meal had about 3 or 4 options for each course, with vegetarian and healthy options. All really good. I don't normally eat vegetarian meals but the two I tried; a vegetable curry and a roasted butternut squash meal were both delicious. My favourite dessert was the Tiramisu. Then coffee/tea (including fruit teas) was served in the lounge. Entertainment was provided on several evenings, either quizzes or the one time we had an excellent presentation by a local beekeeper. If you don't want to participate there is a separate drawing room to you can retire to in peace where there is also all the information about self-guided local walks. The bedrooms are very varied, from lovely spacious premium rooms with nice views over the garden, down to very basic small single rooms. Some rooms have walk in showers, some have baths with a handheld shower. All rooms have tea and coffee making facilities.The 3 walk leaders were very good. I particularly enjoyed the walks led by Chris; Pulborough Brooks and Parham Park, and the Seven Sisters. Chris is an excellent natural walk leader, giving all the relevant information needed for safety, without being over cautious. He has lots of local and wildlife knowledge and doesn't need to refer to notes. They were all also helpful and friendly at breakfast and dinner, and the evening entertainment was good fun.However, I did not enjoy the walk to the Knepp estate. It is a commendable rewilding project, but the scenery is quite boring. It is a very flat walk and yes there are birds to identify, a few wild ponies and cattle, a stork's nest and a lily pond, but if you want beautiful or dramatic scenery, it won't float your boat. The cafe at the end of the walk with rusted metal outside furniture was awful.Conversely, the Seven Sisters walk on the chalk cliffs of the South Coast is definitely not to be missed. Be aware, that regardless of which level walk of a guided walk that you do, either 6.5, 9 or 10 miles, it comprises of seven quite steep hills, so obviously there are seven ups and seven downs. You can do a shorter 4-mile self-guided walk. The views are spectacular and there are various birds of interest. All in all, a great holiday and I will definitely do another HF Holiday
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.
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 parkoutside 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.
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.
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An award-winning British heritage brand, HF Holidays has been leading the way for walking and special interest holidays since 1913.
Choose from over 260 thoughtfully-curated guided and self-guided tours and holidays in six continents, covering nearly 40 destinations in Europe and the rest of the world. We also own and manage 16 characterful UK country houses, all of which are just a skip away from some of the best-loved national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. See more
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