tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post6574963716625615315..comments2023-06-13T08:29:39.914+00:00Comments on MAKING A MARK: A checklist for painting holiday hostsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-8487650043260373632013-09-24T23:26:07.048+00:002013-09-24T23:26:07.048+00:00I should maybe update my advice to also say never ...I should maybe update my advice to also say never ever book a holiday with people who have absolutely no comments on their Facebook Page. Looks like you were not alone in your views!<br /><br />I'm certainly very firmly of the view that you should never book a painting holiday with a tutor who doesn't show any of his work on the website advertising the holiday. No work = no good.Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-47427936939230885532013-09-24T13:43:31.542+00:002013-09-24T13:43:31.542+00:00Dear Katherine,
I wish I had read your post befo...Dear Katherine, <br /><br />I wish I had read your post before I booked to go on a weeks painting course in lagrasse, South France this year. <br /><br />I couldn't find any negative reviews before I booked and I was totally taken in by their website. Nothing had been planned on my arrival, the house was filthy, they were heavy smokers and never opened a window, even the guest room sheets stank. I was told the art course would conducted inside, when all I wanted to do was to escape the squalid environment they lived in. <br /><br />How do I make sure that no falls into the same trap, couple such as Henry and Sheila Blackmore should not be allowed to advertise or be registered. <br /><br />PhilipPhilip Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12987758169383830034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-66587153782375455382008-05-31T16:13:00.000+00:002008-05-31T16:13:00.000+00:00Jana - that is really horrendous! Sounds to me ve...Jana - that is really horrendous! Sounds to me very much like somebody who was trying to do it on the cheap and who had really not done their homework properly.<BR/><BR/>Aren't we polite not to name names! People who behave like that really do not deserve to get any more business. <BR/><BR/>I hope anybody reading this who is thinking about delivering workshops or holidays will realise that while dissatisfied customers might not name names in public on the internet, such restraint is frequently not observed between friends - and horror stories about venues/organisers/tutors have a habit of being repeated - orally or via e-mail! <BR/><BR/>The answer of course is to do the reverse and to provide a really excellent experience which people are proud to boast about to all their friends - and people they meet on painting holidays. <BR/><BR/>Holiday hosts who deliver a good deal and a good time get named and recommended in various places on the Internet - as well as orally at arty get-togethers and on subsequent painting holidays where such matters are a frequent topic of conversation.<BR/><BR/>Jana - I hope that my next post in this series - <A HREF="http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-find-painting-holiday-website.html" REL="nofollow">how to find a painting holiday website</A> is of some help to you and you find some possible future options for future holidaysMaking A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-19607877969750829332008-05-31T05:05:00.000+00:002008-05-31T05:05:00.000+00:00You are so right about all you said. I went on my ...You are so right about all you said. I went on my first one a year ago and had I seen your post first, their sloppy, cheaply printed, vague flyer would have gone in the trash and my money would have been better spent elsewhere. <BR/><BR/>The haughty owner of the traveling workshop company was poorly organized and the class not at all as described. Instead of watercolor plein air painting around Puerto Vallarta we were supposed to sit inside a classroom from 9 a.m. to 3 with no break for lunch and only cookies and coffee provided.<BR/><BR/>Dinners had to be eaten with the group and we were taken to a Morrocan themed restaurant and a Japanese "chop and grill it at the table" type places (in MEXICO!) that were ill-prepared for 20+ people arriving at the same time. <BR/><BR/>Most of the participants were wealthy workshop junkies who seem to travel from one to another around the world, rather than serious artists. It was horrible from arrival to departure. <BR/><BR/>I hope your post will save others the wasted time, money and frustration!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com