Hi - we think thisis a scam! This is just to let you know what Newmarket Holidays are up to! Just two days prior to our departure to the carefully chosen and much looked forward to Holiday At The Hotel Splendid in Limone, Newmarket rang us and informed us that the hotel had been ovberlooked and NO newmarket customers were staying at that hotel. We were very upset and had read with dismay the reports on here of the hotel Le Palme which they had decided to put us in. However, we were told by NM that we had no choice but to go or loose 60% of our monies paid! So we went and hoped for the best. It was just awful. The hotel had NOTHING at all by way of amenities, contrasting immensly with the fantastic lounges, bars and restaurant of the Splendid, and the food was fould and innedible. Breakfast was oput out the night before, and was crawling with flies (I have many photos to prove this). The yogurt was bad and fermenting! The rolls were stale and dry, the fruit juice watered down, and all staff (with the exception of Vittorio) were extremely rude and unhelpful ie: on the 1st morning, there were no cleared tables for breakfast despite 3 members of staff hovering around. Afte ten minutes of waiting, it became apparent that they were not going to clear one, so my husband and I cleared our own table with the hread waiter watching on smiling!! NOT 4 Star treatment! Also, the menu was very limited and just not pleasant - we didn't eat in the hotel as it was totally unacceptable so had to pay to eat and drink out every night. We certainly didn't class a cheese omelette as fayre for a 4 star Italian Hotel dinner! Also, as hotel guests paying for 1/2 board, we were not allowed to eat in the only decent dining area which was a lakeside terrace (that was reserved for the non existent outside diners!) but had to put up with the dark dreary inside didning room. In addition to this, all the lovely refrigerated sweets on display in the cabinet were also NOT for guests - we had a very small choice of deserts which often ran out too early. As 1/2 board guests we were REALLY treated as 2nd class citizens. Instead, we had paid a fortune AND a supplement for lake view and balcony at the nearby Splendid Palace which had fantastic food and the staff were just 2nd to none. We have tried appealing to the better nature of Newmarket Holidays, and it appears they do not have one. Despite two letters to them and numerous telephone calls, we STILL have not received our refund of our balcony supplement promised to us by them prior to departure. The very worst thing, was that Newmarket lied to us all from the owrd go. At the time of booking in January of this year, they checked availablity for the Hotel Splendid and confirmed to us that it was all booked and arranged. They then took our money and put us into a vastly INFERIOR hotel, and LIED to us all saying that NO newmarket customers had been allocated a room ther. There were in fact, at LEAST 14 Newmarket customers in the Splendid staying at our week, and many of those had booked much later in the year than us. The hotel Le Palme, had we paid 1/2 of what we had paid, would have ben an adequate base for a holiday, but was not worth well over £1,000 for what we got from it! Newmarket are clearly running a scam, and they don't care whose long saved for holidays they ruin in the process. We have video and photographic evidence to back all this up, and Newmarket are unwilling to help. We are now pursuing other channels. The Newmarket rep whilst in Limone was incredibly rude and offhand, insisting that our problem had 'nothing to do with her' and that we muct take it up with Newmarket on return to the UK. She then made herself scarce for the remainder of the holiday! Has anyone les had similar problems with Newmarket pulling this stunt? We think they are acting in a fraudulent manner to dangle the bset hotel in front of customers, getting and banking our hard earned cash, and then giving us a very sub standard hotel for the price paid. We are aware that Newmarket claim that Le Palm is 4 star hotel but in no way can it be compared to The Splendid which IS truly a 4 star. Also, reputable companies such as Fist Choice Holidays only grade Le Palme as a 2 star plus. It is also interesting to note that if Newmarket think it is a good hotel, how come it doesnt ever appear in ANY of their brochures? They are taking money on false pretences and have done so with at least 18 other people just on this holiday alone! They are making a fortune out of selling holidays which basically don't exist! BEWARE OF NEWMARKET HOLIDAYS! and book wisely! Happy holidays....