Ocean Florida - Romford

hajrah malik

So I went and surprised my husband, there was a slight issue with the tickets and Ocean Holidays were super accommodating and supportive in sorting it out quick for us, they stayed late for us to ensure it was okay and we could enjoy our holiday!

They were so lovely and inviting and customer service was amazing!

So really appreciate the effort and communication that was given considering we were abroad at the time- so would like to thank them for everything, they made the experience worth worthwhile! Highly recommend!!!

NP

If you pay a huge amount to travel agents who are experts on Florida holidays, would you expect to be in a good location for restaurants and attractions?
When we got to Miami, we realised South Beach was buzzing with hotels surrounded by lots of places to eat and most tours left from that area. But Ocean Florida put us in North beach - miles away in a quiet hotel which didn’t even have its own restaurant open at night, requiring us to spend $100 a day on taxis and waste lots of time daily. Staff at the hotel did suggest we order pizza to be delivered! ?

What response did we get from Ocean Florida when we said we hadn’t asked for the very quiet north beach location and were disappointed with it and the extra costs and time wasted in taxis etc?
1) first, they said the feedback was “invaluable” and will help them with future clients… I thought they were specialists on Florida;
2) they then generously offered zero and suggested we accept the loss of the money spent on the north beach hotel and pay a huge amount on top for a south beach hotel ?
3) then we were offered $100 which is about 0% of what we spent with Ocean Florida and didn’t cover the cost (even for one day m) of our time and money to get to where the tourist fun was;
4) then we were told the hotel location was great and OF send loads of people there … contradicting what their first response above. (We didn’t see any other Brits staying there)

Did we ask for a quiet hotel miles away from the buzzing bits of Miami? No

Were we told that’s Ocean Florida were booking a quiet north beach location?
No

Were we given a choice? No

Did we expect a better response from ocean Florida? Definitely

Gail

Review of Ocean Holidays: A Disastrous Stay
Ocean Holidays/Ocean Florida failed to deliver on their promises during our recent stay at the Solterra Resort in Florida. The property was in a deplorable state, with a dirty green pool, malfunctioning air conditioning, and unsanitary communal areas. The service we received was equally disappointing, with unhelpful and rude staff and a lack of urgency in addressing our concerns. Despite the substantial cost for 16 guests, our experience was far below our expectations, and we are extremely disappointed with the Ocean Holidays team's handling of our concerns and the unsatisfactory resolution provided.
After many visits to different Orlando holiday homes Our experience was far below the standards we expected. Firstly, the conditions of the property were far below acceptable standards, and the level of service we received was wholly inadequate.Upon arrival, we were met with a number of issues that significantly impacted our enjoyment of the vacation. The pool was a particular cause for concern. It was visibly dirty, with debris floating on the surface (floating false eyelashes and clumps of red hair). This was not only unhygienic but also made swimming unpleasant. Additionally, The water turned green during our stay, and the pool lights did not function until the final night, creating a safety hazard and diminishing the overall experience. Even then, we discovered that the lights were simply obscured by an excessive amount of grime after the pool maintenance vacuumed the pool on the last night.Secondly, To compound the problem, the air conditioning unit in the upstairs failed to function correctly throughout our stay. This resulted in uncomfortable and sleepless nights, particularly given the hot and humid Florida climate.When we attempted to seek assistance through the out-of-hours emergency helpline, we were met with a lack of urgency and unhelpful responses, telling our party of 16 guests to sleep downstairs. The information provided was misleading, and the promises of resolution were not fulfilled. This lack of support exacerbated our frustration and disappointment.The games room was poorly equipped with worn and broken equipment. The kitchen lacked essential cooking utensils, making meal preparation difficult. The community pool area was also unsanitary with evidence of human waste around the walkway.
Our car hire experience through Thrifty was equally disappointing. We encountered rudeness from staff and were given a different vehicle to the ones we had booked. The cars were dirty, with one containing a cup of urine in the boot and bread stuffed down the seats. Additionally, the cars were not filled with petrol, and the collection process was disorganized with cars located in different areas without clear instructions. Due to Thrifty’s inefficiency, our departure from the airport was delayed by three hours.We are appalled by the substandard conditions and service we experienced during our stay.
We strongly recommend that future travelers avoid Ocean Holidays. Their failure to provide a satisfactory experience has left us extremely disappointed and dissatisfied.

Suzanne Evans

Here I write the most genuine heart felt review.
Initially when booking Florida with OF the staff were absolutely fantastic, however on arrival at our villa on Bella Vista we were faced with the most disgusting run down villa.
On complaining to ocean Florida team a manager came out to investigate - he told us that he agreed he would not be happy in that villa, although they didn't have another available to relocate us so offered us a deep clean and arranged for the maintenance manager to come and fix several broken items in the villa.
The maintenance guy came 3 times to fix things and informed us that the villa shouldn't be on the rental market in it's current condition.
Here's a few issues we were faced with - urine stained mattresses, dirty stained furniture (blood stained dining chairs)
Dirty pool full of balls of hair and full strips of used eye lashes on the side of the pool, moss, mould and dirt all round the pool, broken stairs, broken shower cubicle (so bad my mother in law got stuck in the shower as the door wouldn't open - albeit the maintenance guy did replace this) broken/ faulty locks on the doors to the pool, all games equipment broken and out of action - BBQ broken and out of action... No cleaning equipment ( no dish cloth, washing up liquid, t towels, kitchen spray)- E cigs under the sofa, someones steroid cream left in bedside cabinet,there wasn't enough crockery or cutlery for the size of the party, holes in the walls where the towel rail had come off and balls of hair in the shower... The list goes on, it was simply appalling.
We cleaned the villa after buying all the cleaning equipment - the deep clean offered did not go ahead because they couldn't accommodate it - they were too busy!
The Florida team initially offered us a refund of $300 - the villa cost £3400 so respectfully declined and stated we wanted to address the complaints when returning to the UK to try and enjoy days out - sadly the Florida team continues to ring us ruining days out despite asking them not to, putting pressure on us to accept an offer which they increased.
On return to the UK, our complaint was submitted and investigated quickly.
We were offered a refund of 22% of the cost of the villa and ocean state that despite our unpleasant experience and being informed by professionals that the villa is not suitable for rental, they feel this is a fair offer.
They state that £2650 is a suitable price to have paid for the villa implying that this is the general standard of accommodation.
I absolutely would NOT recommend them as a company.
Last time we visited Florida 6 years ago, we paid less for our villa booking through virgin (I appreciate the inflation over this time) and it was exquisite.
Ever ounce of magic was sucked from our Florida visit due to the lack of regard for simple cleanliness, comfort and meeting expectations of a very expensive holiday and constant interruption via phone, email and staff coming to view or repair the villa.
So disappointed with the standards set by Ocean Florida - I advise you research before booking.

Edit as the only way I can respond

As you mentioned below we were informed there would not be an increase in offer of a 22% cost of the villa, stating £2650 was a reasonable price to pay. The offer we have reluctantly accepted as we're informed categorically the offer will not be reviewed or increased so the increased offer you refer to that was accepted - was only increased from the $300 initial offer and we're given no choice but to accept..... But I do appreciate your response. Many thanks

Theresa Tidmarsh

Will write a full review later but just to put some minds at rest as there are some negative reviews. Our experience has been great so far..

Flights went well, really comfortable, own screen and a good selection of films etc..

Only one issue the layover in NY (Newark) was 2hrs, everyone will tell you it will be enough, it's not, the immigration queue took 1hr 40 mins and then you need to get your bags, re-check your bags, jump on a tram to the next terminal, clear security and get to the gate.. Fortunately we were one of 3 families doing the mad dash, we managed to clear immigration at around the same time, and hit the re-check bagged just as they were closing (2 mins later and they'd have gone) thankfully he accepted ours bags and waiting for the other 2 families that were running behind us.

We ran in a group like crazy, all red faced and feeling pretty glum as we hit another queue at security...then one of the families check the united app as we were sure the gate would have closed.... we had a message saying.. "we want to make your day, we're holding you flight" happy days... we still ran to the gate and received a very warm welcome and cold drink...and not too many groans from the other flyers who had been waiting 20 mins...

If you have kids (we have 3) and lots of bags then it's a mad dash across terminals.. if you have the choice then give yourself an extra hour. In our haste we left a bag behind, United were fab and delivered it to us the next day.. The flight and baggage tracking APP is excellent. I was worried about stretching out our journey but it's just not worth it, 3 hrs is about the right time to comfortably do it.

Car - we opted for a Van as there are 5 of us, it's amazing, very big and nice to drive - No complaints.

Our accommodation was named and details were shared ahead of time, the villa and pool are lovely, clean and big. Air con is working and all is perfect. It smelt very clean on arrival, it's a little tired around the edges, skirting boards etc could do with a lick of paint but that being really picky. The beds & bedding are comfortable and we have everything we need.

Disney is amazing, we're having a lovely time, expect to pay for everything, it's hard to do it in this heat without genie passes and lighting lanes - we're spending money at a rate we've never experienced before but it's what we expected to do...

Food outside the park is much nicer and better value - the Lazy Dog in Kissimmee is excellent. Best ride so far Guardians of the Galaxy - Epcot... So so good...Also.. storms/rain are over quickly and much needed!

We're only 6 days in and we have another week..but thought the above may help some peps who are planning or have a trip planned.

Chloe Cobb

We booked our holiday last year for November 2021 in the hope the world would be a little more ‘normal’. 9 of us booked for a Villa for 2 weeks.

Our flight was for the 9th November and America opened up to the world on the 8th November. We decided not to change our booking and hold off and see.

Throughout the process Ocean Florida were truly helpful. Being able to pay in instalments helped too.
We were given additional freebies throughout and no questions I asked were seen as being a pain in the bum.

However, due to the uncertainty of America opening it’s boarders, flights were changed about 4 times and our actual addressed Villa also changed.
The team talked us through our options. The villa was very nice inside (could have done with a different option on their cream carpet choice on the stairs and to the bedrooms because it was looking rather used but it didn’t change anything about the experience).

I also had an issue with my drivers licence not being sent back from the DVLA in time and having to change the details on the hire car (we needed a big car as only 1 driver left). Turns out it’s not as simple as swapping a name over. Lauren went above and beyond taking her 3 days and push back from the hire company but managed to get it changed, get the same car and at no extra charge. We also phoned the hire company and hit the same brick walls.

Would recommend this company and will use them again without a doubt in the future.

Hayley Gray

We booked a beautiful villa, car hire and basketball tickets with them. Enya was really helpful. Never felt pressured. Helpfully and friendly. And has the best holiday. Everything went great.

We've booked with ocean florida again for next year too ? xx

Tony McAlpine

Had an absolutely brilliant holiday for my 30th birthday in September 2023.

Absolutely no issues at all and will definitely be contacting them again at some point to book another trip.

Danielle Fidge was absolutely fantastic.

Highly recommend.