Freelance Holidays Reviews 14

We had a 7day stay at the Villa Marianna in Kefalonia very recently. Our 2nd time back, last year being our first and very enjoyable.
Upon arrival we noticed that the pool had green algae on both the bottom and the sides, and the water was murky. It certainly wasn’t fit for use. Last year it was crystal clear. We approached Freelance who, in fairness, responded immediately and we had a visit from the lady of the couple who manage the villa /Owner? She said she would get her husband to clean it.,
He came as promised and cleared the algae, but unfortunately all it seemed to do was make the water even murkier. It was awful and totally unusable. He came back numerous times, also with other people over the next 2 days trying to solve the issue and although we appreciated that this was necessary and needed to be done it impacted massively on our privacy. It was 29/30 degrees every day, we weren’t able to lounge and sunbathe because of the intrusion throughout the days for access to the pool. On the 3rd day, it was decided to drain and re-fill the pool. This took from early morning to late evening. 3 ‘lost’ days on our part of not being able to use the pool or lounge around because we had no privacy during this time. These are the very reasons we go on holiday and had them taken away. during this time through no fault of our own. We were going home the following Monday morning, so only ended up having 4 days of the 7 we’d booked to ourselves.
We do want to stress that the couple who look after the villa (owners ?) are lovely and did everything they could to try and solve this and we have nothing but thanks to them for that.
However, in our experience, we found the person we were communicating with at Freelance not to be so understanding when it came to the discussion of compensation. She dismissed our proposed amount out of hand and gave the amount ‘they’ thought fair and were willing to pay. Therefore we had no choice but to accept it. However, we did ask for the amount in GBP rather than euros, this was a firm ‘NO’ to begin with, but we did pursue this as felt that they were being very unreasonable, and in the end they did pay us the amount in GBP, but we had to argue to get this. It just made what was already a bad experience worse. There seemed to be a lack of empathy /no consideration taken into account for the days we’d had majorly disrupted and lost and the impact that it had had, it was our annual holiday, but came across as ‘just another day at the office’ for them,and made us feel that way.
In summary, we feel that Freelance seemed, in our opinion, to completely dismiss the fundamental point we were trying to make, which is this: ‘The impact’ - We have just One holiday per year, a much longed for and awaited holiday of 7 days. We hired the villa because of the privacy we get and the exclusive pool that we can use.
Both of these things were taken away from us for 3 out of our 7 day break. No amount of compensation can give us those 3 days back. We effectively had only 4 days of our holiday uninterrupted. And when we made this point, we were told: ‘you still had use of the Villa’, which we did, but without ‘our privacy’, or use of the pool! The Two most fundamental things and the most important to us.
If they find it in themselves to give us back our 3 days, we’d welcome it.

Freelance always does an outstanding and high quality job, and its villas are always of an excellent standard.

Villa Galania in Crete was no exception. Location, cleanliness, facilities and overall experience are all excellent.

My recent stay at Villa Faye with my family was truly fantastic! The communication before our holiday was excellent. The accommodation lived up to its description—a charming Cretan house, renovated to offer tranquility in the Crete countryside.

The saltwater pool was a refreshing retreat after our explorations. We enjoyed a memorable evening using the BBQ and stargazing. It truly felt like a genuine Cretan experience, especially at the tavernas in Vrysses and the cozy cafe in Maza, a perfect spot to relax under the trees. The meatballs were absolutely delicious!

The digital guide provided invaluable information, and the reassurance of having support available in Crete added to our peace of mind, even though we didn't need it.
Thanks to the Freelance team for delivering a wonderful holiday filled with cherished memories!

Great little company who have amazing villas and are so helpfull both when booking and whilst away, Freelance are the first company we check before booking our villa in Kefalonia ( we have booked 10+ villas with them so far !)

Just returned from two fantastic weeks at Villa Penelope in Kefalonia, this is our 6th Villa booking with Freelance Villas and as always the villa, service from the team in the UK and Diane in Kefalonia top notch, that good we just booked again for 2023 ! thanks Freelance.
Simon & Family

I’m sorry to have to write this review. We rented Villa Atlantis in Kefalonia through Freelance villas.
As soon as we arrived at the property we were very disappointed with the exterior of the villa, there was mounds of rotting vegetation as well as dirty water tanks.

Once inside the villa and looking at the grounds it became clear that the villa was very very tired.
The advertising photos were obviously very old and not a true representative image of the property.

We complained through Booking.com and we were given the option from Freelance Villas of eviction immediately or to stop making any more complaints.
We paid nearly £5000 for this 2 week rental.

Their local representative Diane was condescending and rude.
Apparently it was our fault the cleaning was non existent and also that the place from top to bottom had a serious infestation.
I think you get the gist.

Really consider what you are doing before renting through Freelance villas and give them your hard earned money.

As per the most recent review I have also had the same experience with this company. My holiday was cancelled due to COVID but freelance seem to think they are entitled to keep my money. I was offered a voucher ONLY which was valid for a year but I can’t use it as I can’t travel now. They were rude dismissive and unprofessional when I tried to reason with them and tried to make it about me not paying my balance which they themselves had told me to delay paying! They have continued to stand their ground in not paying me back. I’d avoid this company at all costs. The upset and financial hardship they have put me through is disgusting and I want to make sure no one else has to go to through what I have. If I ever chose to holiday again I will be sticking to the big travel companies, I’ve lost my trust in small business which is sad during these times.

Booked through booking.com the trip was cancelled by Freelance Holidays due to Covid-19 but refused to refund. Offered voucher but refuse to refund. Unhelpful and avoidance tactics

Excellent customer journey from beginning to end, and our villa in Crete was absolutely gorgeous! We really couldn't fault the entire holiday and will definitely be back for more!

A great company to deal with. It's refreshing to get such good service, emails are answered quickly and the website is user friendly.
After the covid19 situation and the bad service from the larger villa companies will use smaller companies from now on as the service is much better and more flexible.

I used their services last summer and they're really great. Highly recommended.

We have been booking our villas in crete and villas in mallorca with Freelance Holidays for over 20 years now, never been disapointed, they know there stuff, simple.

Looking forward to our villa in Kefalonia next yaer !

Just got back from a weeks holiday in Villa Galania in Crete, we booked with freelance holidays and was very pleased with every aspect, my mother broke a toothe whilst there and the local rep could not have been more helpful , she magde the appointment, took us there and even translated, great service, we will be back !!