Shearings Holidays Reviews 

Paul was very helpful and also Shims was too.

We did a 8 night stay with excursions to franscati,Pompeii,Herculaneum and Sorrento. The coach was very comfortable and the driver was great.But the 18hour drive to the hotel was very hard and I wouldn’t do that again.
The hotel we stayed in in fiuggi was very clean and the staff were nice but the rooms although functional were so outdated. No tea/coffee facilities and apart from breakfast times they charge you if you want a cuppa. The breakfast was what we expected for a continental one but sadly the evening meals were diabolical. I have never been served such bland and tasteless food before.Their choices were strange to. We were in the heart of Italy and not once did we see a Tomatoe, olives, pizza in fact nothing Italian in the hotel. We had to make sure we ate out everyday because of it. The hotel is so far out it made the excursions way too long a drive! Sorry to sound so negative but I’m being honest! I would never have booked this holiday if I’d have seen reviews like this so I’m hoping to save someone a lot of money by not booking it! There was a couple of people who couldn’t face the arduous journey so they actually booked flights home instead!

In summary the trip to Monets garden was:
Very very long 18 hours travel on first/final days. The feeder coach was a minibus, had travel 2 hours backwards facing to get to main coach. But the main coach was comfortable nice air con in heatwave. Driving was good but the knowledge of the drivers amounted to Google only. They were not familiar with the location of hotel. Confusion over whether food would be available for all passengers. Hotel- was not in a central location as Shearings had told me. It was in an industrial area. But it was a nice hotel. Drivers enjoyed their beers in the lovely hotel garden in the evenings.
The 2 days visits to Versailles and Monets Gardens were worth everything though I must say in a heatwave it would have been advisable for a Plan B for passengers struggling in heatwave- more research into alternatives needed from drivers. They were after all our eyes and ears on the ground on our trip. I had to book my own ticket into palace and glad I did this as queues were insane and if I had just turned up despite being told by driver that it would have been fine!l I would have queued hours!
I could go on but - would I do it again? Yes is the answer due to the company I met, the wonderful places I saw, hence my score but not with Shearings

The booking agent was friendly, helpful and efficient and answered all my questions.

The driver failed to pick us at our stop in Cardiff, I was unable to get through to the office on the emergency number, no one from Shearings rang to advise us. When I eventually spoke to someone they were not particularly helpful and not sensitive to my issue about travel sickness. I eventually got to the hotel which was dirty and had no effective window covering, the hotel was grubby and shabby . The driver was supposed to seek me out to advise me of the arrangements for the next day and I did not hear from anyone
I spent a lot of money on this holiday and it was absolutely shocking the service I had , I would never book with them again

Misrepresentation of hotel facilities in 2026-27 brochure. No pool, gym, leisure suite. Confirmed by Duty Manager Tony, when enquiring. Closed since Covid, yet still advertised in brochure! Signature holiday at The Imperial Hotel, Blackpool. “Hand picked hotels with extra special touches”. Not cheap!! Stair carpets dirty. Room dirty…carpet, skirting boards…could see grime without running finger along! Dusty. Bathroom …mould on tiles, old stains around toilet base. Shower curtain grime inside the seam. How can a bath and shower unit be signed off clean with all that? Poor toiletries for guests. Main entrance and adjoining areas, bars, dining room, clean. Food was very good with Chef Terry working hard. Felt, as a coach guest, we were given below standard rooms, as voiced by many of the group on the tour. July 6th - 10th 2026. Room overlooked the local car wash, even after asking for a “nice view” as was a Birthday treat! Room could not be changed as hotel was full. Informed Shearings of all the above. Will not be using your Company again. Photographs of cleanliness of the room, submitted to Melissa, Customer Services. A Petri Dish swab of bathroom and toilet area, would prove interesting!!

Our river cruise to Switzerland was first class,
Everything was just what we wanted, good coach trip
Lovely crew on board , always smiling and there to help. Annemarie our on board rep. is awlays fun to be with.
Ready to book for next years adventure

We travelled to Andorra with five friends and, unfortunately, it was one of the worst holidays we've experienced.
The coach journey from Paris to Andorra took around 12 hours in temperatures of 38°C. The coach air conditioning was not working properly, and the rushed stops at service stations made the journey exhausting and very uncomfortable.
When we arrived at the Hotel President, we were given rooms with no air conditioning. Reception initially told us the hotel was full and said they would see what they could do the following morning. However, when our Shearings representative became involved, three of our rooms with air conditioning suddenly became available.
Dinner wasn't served until 8.30 pm each evening. The lady in the kitchen was rude, and the food was disappointing. There was nowhere in the hotel to buy a drink outside of the drinks package hours, which only ran from 9 pm until 11 pm. There was only one person serving, so the queues were ridiculous, and there was no air conditioning in the bar area, making it unbearably hot.
The staff were generally not very friendly, and the whole holiday felt poorly organised and extremely tiring rather than relaxing. Sadly, we will not be travelling with Shearings again or returning to this hotel.

First-time customer with Shearings.
The member of staff was excellent, friendly and knowledgeable.
Thank you

Booking our trips was so easy.
We enjoyed our last coach holiday so much we booked again.
The I booked the trips with was so very friendly and helpful. Catherine was was her name.

John was very helpful and informative. Sorted us a holiday and give us all the information we needed. Now off to the Isle of Wight in October

I booked a coach holiday to Wye Valley staying at Warners Holme Lacy and had home collection.
A taxi arrived to take me to the tour coach with my mobility scooter and case. After picking me up it then went to pick up 2 more with luggage before taking us to the coach. SShearings had failed to notify the Taxi Company about our luggage so I had an uncomfortable trip with a case on my lap.
Then I got on the Tour Coach and the air conditioning did not work, the net storage on back of seat in front was torn off so I had nowhere to store water bottle or book except hold it on my lap .I think the coach suspension was defective as I felt every bump in the road.
Shearings advertise a comfortable journey but mine was anything but especially with temperatures of high 30 degrees.
I did not go on the two day trips as I just could not stand the coach without air conditioning.
The other passengers on the taxi notified Shearings to notify the taxi company to send a larger vehicle on the homeward trip,this did not happen an I had another uncomfortable experience.
The only thing about the holiday that was pleasant was the Driver who was brilliant and could only apologise for the poor coach.

We have just been on the 7 day trip to Andorra and would like to provide feedback on our holiday:
• Pros
○ The drivers (Chris & Graziella Coach 026) were really good and informative, looking after their guests. They were upbeat even when it was hot and they had worked long days. They were very approachable and helpful if needed. They catered for everyone depending on their needs and would definitely go on another tour with them and I know they are very popular. They always checked if you were enjoying your holiday and if you were ok.
○ The drinks at the Hotel President on the all-inclusive were very good. It was great that you had wine and water to drink with your meal. The drinks that were available were branded.
○ The rooms at all the 3 hotels we stayed at, were very good and very clean. They had hot showers, clean towels and comfy beds. They had air conditioning that worked and kept the room cool.
○ The tours that were included were good, very informative and showed different aspects of Andorra and the surrounding area. The tour guides were good and told us all about the history of Andorra.
○ The coach that took us on holiday was new and very comfortable with air conditioning. There were charging points in the seats on the coach and there was a toilet if needed.
○ The location of the hotel in Andorra la Vella was very central and was within walking distance of everything.
• Cons
○ You should book the hotel when other coach operators (Just Go) are not staying there as the meal times were badly affected by this, as well as the bar with long queues and overcrowding for the all-inclusive. There were 2 coffee machines for 2 coach loads of people in the hotel so you had to queue a lot and it didn't work. As a result the staff could not cope at meal times and were incredibly rude.
○ None of the food in any of the hotels were labelled so didn't know what it was and there were no list of allergens or ingredients of the food in the buffet. The food and hot drinks were not hot.
○ The time given to eat breakfast before going out or leaving for your next hotel was not enough and not enjoyable. It was very rushed and with all the people in the hotel you could not relax.
○ At the last hotel of the holiday, breakfast was meant to start at 6am but it didn't open until 6:30am and we were on the coach for 7am. We asked the staff what was happening and they were very rude. Nothing was ready and there was only cereal available to eat when we got in at 6:30am. There were no tea bags apart from fruit infusion.
○ The holiday was over 7 days and should have been 9 or 10 days depending on express or overnight stay. It was too much for the 3 full days we were in Andorra. As a result of this when going on the tours all day you were very tired when you got back to the hotel. I felt the tours could be half days over a longer period of time. On the two days we went on a tour we left the hotel at 9am and got back at 6:30pm which was too long.
○ At every hotel there was only one receptionist checking people in which caused queues and delays when everyone was tired and wanted to get in.
○ When we went on a trip to Lake Engolasters the tour guide stated that the Lake was only 200 metres from where we were parked and warned people that they needed suitable footwear when we were on the coach on our way to the destination. The lake was about a mile from where we parked and customers were not warned about the terrain before they went on the trip so weren't wearing adequate shoes. This resulted in people falling and being injured.
○ On the feeder coach (Coach 028) going home we felt the drivers were not very good at all. They did not provide rubbish bags and told us to keep hold of the rubbish. I asked for toilet roll for the toilet and the drivers said they would get some but they didn't so people couldn't use the toilet or had to use their own. When they dropped people off at the last stop they drove away before all the customers were picked up by their taxis which I thought wasn't good customer service. One customer said she was deaf and required assistance with her taxi and he literally said I need to learn some sign language and then started laughing. He was called Marco but didn't catch the other drivers name. The drivers also stopped at Chorley for 30 minutes before getting to Preston which didn't make sense as we were so close to Preston.

Could have been so much better …

Wanted to give 5 stars for the two fantastic drivers/guides and the places visited, but the hotel was very disappointing (food atrocious) and there were 3 back to back days of 6 hours on the coach. A second hotel elsewhere would have made a huge difference.
With the single supplement, the holiday was almost £1000, which is a lot to pay for a crummy hotel and awful food.

Very helpful person that helped us with the booking
Tolerated our questions!
Made it so much easier

Hotel was not for disable people,too many steps on main entrance. At Breakfast the bacon was over cooked/hard every day. The evening meals were awful every day . a couple even left there's one evening and went out to eat it was that bad. Must say the driver was very good and the trips out were good. Had the same problem again at Rugby Services, had to be there 75 minutes before departure for some reason. Only live 5-10 minutes away. I have reported our complaints about our last 2 Holidays to Shearings head office but no one as ever called me back. That's why I have have completed these reviews.

Durham and Holy Island 5-day trip.

Our first and last Shearings holiday...

With all the pick ups en-route, our coach travel took from 6.15am (started Cleethorpes) to 3.30pm (our Newcastle hotel) which we didn't bargain for. A very long and tiring day travelling for the relatively short distance you would normally travel if going by car.

Hotel disappointing (budget hotel close to city centre). Room very tired. Windows dirty, dust on kettle, stains on carpet, blue toothpaste up the back of bathroom door that hadn't been cleaned off. Only 1 chair for 3 sharing room. Noisy on opening window because of heat - main road outside and regular sirens, as near to police station and hospital route. Food unappetising and at times inedible. Watery soups, tasteless desserts. Dinner at 7pm and only when all present. No coffee offered afterwards. Bar food no better and overpriced. Despite this, the staff were all very hardworking and friendly - it's a shame they are being let down by their hotel group.

Booked for an accessible/adapted room but none available on our arrival - disappointing.

Only did 1 day visit to Holy Island, which was lovely (because 1 of our party developed cellulitis). Missed 2 days' trips but we ventured into Newcastle city centre to the shops. Good variety. Lots of eateries. Lovely old buildings. Quayside is nothing spectacular but a nice walk by the river (whilst our poorly member was resting legs back at hotel).

Day of travel home also very long and draining, however short stop off at Hexham was very pleasant.

If you like being on a coach travelling lots and lots, sitting all day, okay. But not for us... we will go by car on any future holidays and stay in a much nicer hotel with food we can eat.

Loved Newcastle though and the lovely locals ❤️.

I have just returned from the "Royal Palaces Tour" which I booked in June 2025 (twenty-five). I chose the hotel in Canary Wharf because it was easy for me to travel to as I would arrive independently. I feel that Shearings were DECEPTIVE in not notifying that this hotel was no longer available until just before final balance was due in April 2026, when the Government contract had been known about since July 2025: "The UK Home Office secured the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf as an overflow contingency site for asylum seekers in July 2025. Following protests and community pushback, the first arrivals were moved in at the start of August 2025". Shearings re-booked in was is said to be a 4-Star hotel, The Aubrey Park Hotel Hemel Hempstead. The planned trips each day were to the City of London and the West End. This resulted in journeys of between 1.5 hours and 2 hours each way every day due to the traffic. This is not in any way an acceptable replacement for the location, and resulted in the visits being much shorter than they would have been if Shearings had taken the trouble (In July 2025) to find a suitable replacement hotel. So all the passengers have been short-changed in this trip. It has completely spoiled the trip. The hotel itself fell short in several ways (carpets not clean; draw curtains shabby and torn; only ice-cold water in the wash basin despite mentioning it 3 times; no Wi Fi of any use anywhere other than in reception), but it is the choice of this hotel which Shearings needs to address. CM *** I want to add that all the problems in my review stem directly from the very badly-researched hotel replacement. The Government contract which necessitated the change of hotel began in autumn 2025, making plenty of time for proper inspections. However, we customers were only notified 1 week before the final balance was due. No-one from Shearings can possible have visited it, or checked just how much the daily dense traffic would severely decrease the time at the promised excursions. Being late for our visit to Buckingham Palace after 1.5 hours in traffic, followed by more traffic to reach Windsor with no time to see much. Whilst I appreciate the generic apologies, these do not go far enough in compensating us for not being able to have the time to see what we paid for. I knew I would be travelling independently, but was not prepared for the blunt refusal to compensate the extra milage and time taken. Because it was Shearings who chose this totally inappropriate hotel I strongly feel that, on this occasion, the company should pay compensation. The company choice of replacement hotel severely reduce the time and enjoyment at the lovely Royal Palaces. Please make an individual rather than generic response. Caroline Miller

This holiday was awful and definitely not worth In excess of £5k. First impressions of drivers was poor…looked like they needed a good wash! They were uncommunicative so we received little information on what to expect during our cruise. Coach air con at the back was poor, verging on non existent. Our itinerary was dramatically cut and we never got to do Switzerland, which was our reason for booking this cruise. The Rhine level was very low. Replacement itinerary was poor…basically time fillers via coach! Must mention the crew onboard MS Seranade 1, they were fabulous and worked so hard to make our onboard experience a good one. Thank you one and all onboard!!
Then there is Florin! Rarely have I met a more rude and unhelpful person. He is totally unsuited to his job role. All passengers I spoke to felt the same way and I feel Shearings must be aware of this fact. They must also have been aware the level of the Rhine was so low that the itinerary promised was not going to be met, yet they chose not to tell passengers or give them the opportunity to rebook. Thinking they were far more concerned with taking the money than they were for passengers satisfaction. Many on the cruise were elderly and were saying this was what they were hoping would be their cruise of a lifetime…what a disappointment. I have provided a review directly to Shearings…guess what? No response…aaaah well…

Graziella and Chris were a great team when we went to Switzerland treated everyone like family