Has anyone ever had any experience with American Airlines vacation packages to Europe? Airfare and hotels are included and extras can be added on. Travellers are quoted rates based on the level of hotel selected. We have reservations on hold with them right now (Paris) but would love to know details from anyone who has been on one of their trips.

On the surface, this appears to be a relatively painless way to book everything in one spot for a first trip to Paris. We are not interested in a tour group so booking airline tickets and a hotel only from a reputable compamy may work well for us. They also offer a cancelation option at appx. $50 p.p. although they would not guarantee in writing that the airline tickets are refundable (the operator said that "it is written into the computer record but would not be mailed in the confirmation&quot

Thank you.

AA, BA, United, Virgin and most major airlines offer these types of packages. The big difference between them are the specific hotels each uses. Since you choose the hotel from a list - it is really inportant that you do research on the options.

Marsha
I know you specifically asked about AA packages to Europe. I haven't done that, but we did book an AA package to St. Lucia last year and were quite pleased. I had researched the hotel prior to booking so I knew that they were offering a good price. We booked our flight and hotel package. That also included transfers to and from the airport. If you have airmiles, you can also use them to upgrade the room, as we did. All in all, I was pleased and thought it was good value.

Hi Marsha - quite a few years ago I took an AA package to Brussels and Paris. We had a great hotel in Brussels; the one in Paris was pitiful beyond belief. The only time I've stayed in Paris that I didn't like the hotel. But using AA's package made it simple and easy for my friend to handle. We purchased the airport transfers and they went off without a hitch but didn't use any other services from AA. I've found on my first time to a new country, I like to have the hotel and transfers in place. Then when I go back I feel more comfortable making my own arrangments. And oftentimes it's just a really good value. One better thing about using vacation packages these days is that you can research the hotel on the internet in advance of booking and not get a real lemon. Have fun in Paris.

Hi marshal,

The important thing is to research the hotels.

I have found that one very rarely gets a better price from a package than can be obtained by doing it yourself.

I've used AA vacations a few times and they do usually have a good price on the packages but double check. Try to see how much just the air is and then how much the hotel is through a different source. Sometimes its cheaper to do it piece meal and sometimes its better to do the package. I will warn you however, that they are not easy to deal with if you have to change any dates. Also, they do not give cash refunds. They issue refunds in the form of travel vouchers that are only good for airfare on AA.