The Student Room Group
You can view some Summer Takeover reviews here. Or have you checked their Facebook page they have 50,000 people there so maybe contact them direct. You might also want to check our Playaway Abroad or Air Pro who are similar companies offering summer jobs in Europe. Good luck!!
*I went to Zante through Summer Takeover in summer 2016 for a month and the experience was interesting... i feel like you have to be a certain someone and have a particular mindset or you'll only last a week and you'll see why when i explain below 😂

Accomodation
Ok so in terms of accomodation we stayed in "paradise apartments" and you get told on the site that the rooms come with aircon and wifi which are both NOT TRUE.
My friend and I who went out together were told beforehand we were going to be in a room with 2 other girls so spoke to them before the trip and made friends. When we got there we were told we werent with the 2 girls we got told we were with but someone else.
To top that off we werent even stay in paradise apartments! We were shipped off across the road to what can only be described as 4 randomly assorted huts in the middle of a dry field im not even joking you when we got out the car we were greeted by other summer takeover people who said "welcome to the farm"

So the "farm" was where we stayed for a month. We had 3 people squished in a tiny room, gor told air con was 40 euros a week, no wifi unless you did the 5 minute walk back to paradise apartments and get it round the pool, oh and that was 15 euros a week too if you wanted it at the pool! The room got ant infested twice, the beds were only changed once a week and to top it all off every time i cooked i would be electrocuted by the hob because the electrics were so dodgy!
The accomodation really was the only major issue but it was a big enough issue which caused a few people to leave. The walk to the beach was a good 45 mins from the accom.

Getting a job out there is easy literally just ask at any bar however i did not get any help from the reps and pay is appauling you earn like 4 euros an hour. There was a 50 euro rep fee when we got thwre too which we didnt know about and i have no idea what that was for bc our rep did **** all whilst we were there idk whether it was to help us find a job or host event or what but she didnt do anything, lovely person but i honestly think the 50 euros went towards her drinks fund probably!

Saying all this i wouldnt go back in time and decide not to go, i met some amazing people and had an amazing experience being in Zante, full of laughter, tears and the occasional break down. If you want a month you wont forget go for it but i honestly think just go for a week with your mates and get ****ed up because you realiae how corrupt the island is staying any longer and its not an entirely safe environment to be in. I had a fire extinguisher set off in my face on the strip and people poured liquid at me and my friends out of car windows whilst walking down the strip.
Amazing/horrific/definitely a ONCE in a life time experience but unless you realise youre basically signing up for bear grylls the island zante special -id say its not for you
I would not recommend using these. Once you've paid your £1 to get more information, they deduct another £49 automatically if you try and cancel. My son is in Ibiza now and is sharing a 1 bed apartment with 3 other people hes never met before. Luckily they are all decent . He is living out of a suitcase and the apartment is too small to swing a cat.I am furious about it as he has paid £800 for this apartment and so have the other 3. £3200 for 1 month. DONT USE THEM.Ive been trying to ring them since Friday to ask why he hasn't got work as promised but you cant get through on any of the numbers. Useless agency. Go through someone else but read all the reviews first. Good luck.Alyson
Reply 4
Don't go to Ayia Napa. its worse. Pambos Rocks Hotel takes you for 50 euro deposit which you will never get back. You pay the rep 50 euros and the PR rep 8o euros as well. Then you are put in a room in the basement with no windows. There are at least 25 other rooms crammed in the basement all with 4 bunk beds. No means of escape if there is a fire. Its hell on earth if you dont pay the extortionate rate for air conditioning. There is loud music all night long from the revellers. You are considered a worker so you stay in the basement as the lowest form of life. The 3 other strangers you are sharing the room with are also trying to get the promised work which with most places its a 'trial period' so you dont get paid. As there is one key to the room between the 4 of you. you will have to pay 5 euros if you dont have the key to get in. This is a money spinner for the hotel in itself. imagine 100 workers all living in the basement with no windows paying 50 euros deposit that 5000 euros held as a deposit never to be seen again. these people are out to make money and they do. They do not care about your well-being and thats just the hotel. summer takeover has already got your money, they are just delivering you as lambs to the slaughter.
I can't believe they are allowed to get away with this. Trading standards would have a field day.


Original post by Laura007
Don't go to Ayia Napa. its worse. Pambos Rocks Hotel takes you for 50 euro deposit which you will never get back. You pay the rep 50 euros and the PR rep 8o euros as well. Then you are put in a room in the basement with no windows. There are at least 25 other rooms crammed in the basement all with 4 bunk beds. No means of escape if there is a fire. Its hell on earth if you dont pay the extortionate rate for air conditioning. There is loud music all night long from the revellers. You are considered a worker so you stay in the basement as the lowest form of life. The 3 other strangers you are sharing the room with are also trying to get the promised work which with most places its a 'trial period' so you dont get paid. As there is one key to the room between the 4 of you. you will have to pay 5 euros if you dont have the key to get in. This is a money spinner for the hotel in itself. imagine 100 workers all living in the basement with no windows paying 50 euros deposit that 5000 euros held as a deposit never to be seen again. these people are out to make money and they do. They do not care about your well-being and thats just the hotel. summer takeover has already got your money, they are just delivering you as lambs to the slaughter.
This is definitely true! Ive experienced it myself!
I have just returned from aiya napa with summer takeover after not being able to complete the month due to these reasons, do not trust or use this company. Me and two friends arrived at pambos napa rocks to not be greeted by the reps and having to wait around for a couple of hours for them to decide to show themselves for a group meeting. We were then made to pay a €50 rep fee €50 room deposit and €80 for a party package that included events for the first week. You only receive the workers wristband you’re promised if you pay for the party package. We were told that we had to keep a receipt that was given to us when paying the €50 euro room deposit otherwise we would not be able to get our money back. This wasn’t the case it was a lie and we were told by hotel staff we cant get it back and the reps told us due to incidents that were made by other people no one was allowed it back. We had caused no damage and we weren’t involved in any incidents due to having to leave the accommodation provided due to it being so bad and fork out our own money for it. Basically everyone is told different lies so the hotel can keep all the deposits. We were taken down to a basement, no windows in our room, no plug sockets in our room, no option for air con because there was no air conditioning installed in our part of the room or wifi because there is no reception in the basement. Air conditioning its €120 for the month and wifi is €60 a week. Sewage flooded our room, mould was growing up the walls and a broken room door that didn’t lock and we had to wait a day for it to be fixed. Further more we were given one key to share between 7 girls and we were told to secretly cut another key if it was going to a problem. If you locked yourself out your room you had to pay the hotel €5 each time to be let back in your room. Every time we left our room for the day to go to events we would come back to see our room had been broken into and our suitcases had been tampered with. This is due to there being no actual security anyone even locals, hotel guests and anyone who felt like it could come into the basement. This is because the hotel doors are always open so revellers can travel through to get to aqua or to the pool events at pambos. This lead to girls being assaulted and even worse but it was all covered up by the hotel and reps. Multiple guys who lived in the basement had been beaten up by the pambos hotel staff to the point they had broken bones. You’re kept up all night due to random people who socialise in the common room of the basement. There were no fire extinguishers, or fire exits as the only one was chained up. Old beds and fridges piled up blocking the walk ways. You couldn’t flush toilet roll down the toilet as that caused sewage to flood the basement and the rooms closest. Only two showers worked in the whole basement. New arrivals were made to sleep in the hallways because there wasn’t enough rooms. We were told the hotel had over booked its self thats why we had to be put in the basement. One communal kitchen was provided, that was filthy due to how many people were using it and not once did a cleaner come down to clean, the floor was constantly dirty with sewage residue. It was all false advertisement not one thing stated on the website is true, no room with a balcony? I paid £450 for that and when taking it further we only managed to get a refund of £140 and a 2 nights of accommodation we paid for refunded as well as the rep fee but we were told we couldn’t have a full refund because we received our rep fee back, however this was never part of the original price. We were basically laughed at and at no point were we helped to find jobs. Moral of the story is don’t use summer takeover, you will just be lied to over and over again. The website in itself is false advertisement because not a word of it is true.
(edited 4 years ago)
This is terrible. I am going out to Ibiza on Wednesday to meet up with friends and see my son and will be having a word with the 'reps' if that's what you can call them. I will also be ringing Trading Standards in the Council and I think you should too.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Alyson
Xx
Original post by Bubbybonnie
This is definitely true! Ive experienced it myself!
I have just returned from aiya napa with summer takeover after not being able to compete the month due to these reasons, do not trust or use this company. Me and two friends arrived at pambos napa rocks to not be greeted by the reps and having to wait around for a couple of hours for them to decide to show themselves for a group meeting. We were then made to pay a €50 rep fee €50 room deposit and €80 for a party package that included events for the first week. You only receive the workers wristband you’re promised if you pay for the party package. We were told that we had to keep a receipt that was given to us when paying the €50 euro room deposit otherwise we would not be able to get our money back. This wasn’t the case it was a lie and we were told by hotel staff we cant get it back and the reps told us due to incidents that were made by other people no one was allowed it back. We had caused no damage and we weren’t involved in any incidents due to having to leave the accommodation provided due to it being so bad and fork out our own money for it. Basically everyone is told different lies so the hotel can keep all the deposits. We were taken down to a basement, no windows in our room, no plug sockets in our room, no option for air con because there was no air conditioning installed in our part of the room or wifi because there is no reception in the basement. Air conditioning its €120 for the month and wifi is €60 a week. Sewage flooded our room, mould was growing up the walls and a broken room door that didn’t lock and we had to wait a day for it to be fixed. Further more we were given one key to share between 7 girls and we were told to secretly cut another key if it was going to a problem. If you locked yourself out your room you had to pay the hotel €5 each time to be let back in your room. Every time we left our room for the day to go to events we would come back to see our room had been broken into and our suitcases had been tampered with. This is due to there being no actual security anyone even locals, hotel guests and anyone who felt like it could come into the basement. This is because the hotel doors are always open so revellers can travel through to get to aqua or to the pool events at pambos. This lead to girls being assaulted and even worse but it was all covered up by the hotel and reps. Multiple guys who lived in the basement had been beaten up by the pambos hotel staff to the point they had broken bones. You’re kept up all night due to random people who socialise in the common room of the basement. There were no fire extinguishers, or fire exits as the only one was chained up. Old beds and fridges piled up blocking the walk ways. You couldn’t flush toilet roll down the toilet as that caused sewage to flood the basement and the rooms closest. Only two showers worked in the whole basement. New arrivals were made to sleep in the hallways because there wasn’t enough rooms. We were told the hotel had over booked its self thats why we had to be put in the basement. One communal kitchen was provided, that was filthy due to how many people were using it and not once did a cleaner come down to clean, the floor was constantly dirty with sewage residue. It was all false advertisement not one thing stated on the website is true, no room with a balcony? I paid £450 for that and when taking it further we only managed to get a refund of £140 and a 2 nights of accommodation we paid for refunded as well as the rep fee but we were told we couldn’t have a full refund because we received our rep fee back, however this was never part of the original price. We were basically laughed at and at no point were we helped to find jobs. Moral of the story is don’t use summer takeover, you will just be lied to over and over again. The website in itself is false advertisement because not a word of it is true.
Thank you! Please let me know how it goes and i am looking to get in contact with them too!
Xx
Original post by Allycat1806
This is terrible. I am going out to Ibiza on Wednesday to meet up with friends and see my son and will be having a word with the 'reps' if that's what you can call them. I will also be ringing Trading Standards in the Council and I think you should too.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Alyson
Xx
Original post by Bubbybonnie
Thank you! Please let me know how it goes and i am looking to get in contact with them too!
Xx


We should try and urge everyone who's had as bad experience to do the same. Appalling say to treat young people.
I'll let you know as soon I hear anything..

Alyson
This was in ayia Napa 2019. Firstly, being promised employment is a lien the reps don't even help you get a job interview either, they seriously do f all and just go out partying all the time, we waited almost a week to be moved to another room after having no electricity and constant floods, which ruined pretty much everything I owned. The floods happened regularly in our basement, which was filled with sewage and was making people become very ill. The reps would say
I went with them in 2017 worst decision ever reps were just getting drunk all the time go no job trial as guaranteed all the reviews on trust pilot seem to all come at once and a majority of them are summer takeover staff and reps. I’m now considering setting up my own working holiday company as part of my a level Business Studies. I could run a company better than them
Looking at these comments, I can understand the frustration for people. I signed up for this company to do summertime workers next Summer. When I signed up it was abit of a subscription to advertisements until I received a phone call from a “claimed member of the company” advising that I had been given a place. When discussing this on the phone with their colleague, I was informed all there was to pay was a £1.00 deposit, that everything would be included in your stay apart from food and drink although you would get vouchers for these to deduct the cost. When I questioned the person on the phone about any cancellation fees/ other payments upon arrival, the person on the phone advised that there would be no additional charges other than the £1.00 deposit. The only thing that was advised was that you would need to make your own way too and from the airport to the hotel/apartment. However, upon circumstances, I had to cancel which I did not think would be a problem considering there was a failure of mentioning any additional charges. When I emailed the company to state I had to cancel, they automatically took £50 from my bank account which was not what was stated over the phone. Furthermore, when aiming to speak to the company, I was advised all issues would be dealt with email, to be told if I contacted my bank about the concept that it was a dispute, I would be charged an additional £549 for the full fee. What full fee? When you’re on the phone claiming that this is a free holiday apart from your essentials when you get there and is an offer for young people to enjoy a summer abroad whilst earning money. This company is outrageous and I would avoid it as much as possible! Book yourself and go travelling or if you want bar work, ask when you get there! It is beyond a joke and the best part is that apparently the services are extremely busy but the second I emailed to cancel they charged my card before reading what the email said. Therefore, this suggests the company should be avoided. What if I was emailing to query something and then they’ve just taken the money anyway? It is beyond a joke. I hope anyone with the same issues with this company have not been treated so poorly.
Original post by studentehu_1
Looking at these comments, I can understand the frustration for people. I signed up for this company to do summertime workers next Summer. When I signed up it was abit of a subscription to advertisements until I received a phone call from a “claimed member of the company” advising that I had been given a place. When discussing this on the phone with their colleague, I was informed all there was to pay was a £1.00 deposit, that everything would be included in your stay apart from food and drink although you would get vouchers for these to deduct the cost. When I questioned the person on the phone about any cancellation fees/ other payments upon arrival, the person on the phone advised that there would be no additional charges other than the £1.00 deposit. The only thing that was advised was that you would need to make your own way too and from the airport to the hotel/apartment. However, upon circumstances, I had to cancel which I did not think would be a problem considering there was a failure of mentioning any additional charges. When I emailed the company to state I had to cancel, they automatically took £50 from my bank account which was not what was stated over the phone. Furthermore, when aiming to speak to the company, I was advised all issues would be dealt with email, to be told if I contacted my bank about the concept that it was a dispute, I would be charged an additional £549 for the full fee. What full fee? When you’re on the phone claiming that this is a free holiday apart from your essentials when you get there and is an offer for young people to enjoy a summer abroad whilst earning money. This company is outrageous and I would avoid it as much as possible! Book yourself and go travelling or if you want bar work, ask when you get there! It is beyond a joke and the best part is that apparently the services are extremely busy but the second I emailed to cancel they charged my card before reading what the email said. Therefore, this suggests the company is a scam and should be avoided. What if I was emailing to query something and then they’ve just taken the money anyway? It is beyond a joke. I hope anyone with the same issues with this company have not been treated so poorly.

That’s summer takeover all over and flag all 1* reviews and give them selves 5* reviews there refund policy is illegal
So I signed up a couple of days ago and after paying the £1 deposit read that they're awful so tried cancelling but got told it's a £29 admin fee? And then like an hour ago they tried taking the £49 like you said. Did your son get any money back?
Original post by Baileywilton
So I signed up a couple of days ago and after paying the £1 deposit read that they're awful so tried cancelling but got told it's a £29 admin fee? And then like an hour ago they tried taking the £49 like you said. Did your son get any money back?

Hi,
They were very reluctant to give a refund at all. They gave a partial refund of £160 and that was only because i had to use my own money for safer accommodation. If i were you I would try and get your bank to block them taking funds
Do not apply for summer takeover, my and my friend deposited £2 each for positions to only then be told the fee of going would be just over £1000 , this was not told presented when reading up about taking the job opportunity otherwise we wouldn't of signed up or made an account as you can imagine we are only young and only wanting to have the summer of a lifetime working abroad making new friends and memories. we then went to cancel our booking only to then find that we have to pay an extortionate amount of £29! this was not made clear anywhere when signing up as you can gather they are a money grabbing business and I wish we read the reviews on this company before we decided to book our place i am only thankful that we didn't go any further within actually arriving into the job as all if these reviews seem very true. I have contacted them to get a refund as the total of £31 automatically came straight out of both of our bank accounts and wish to fully get that money back!
Original post by lydiainsley123
Do not apply for summer takeover, my and my friend deposited £2 each for positions to only then be told the fee of going would be just over £1000 , this was not told presented when reading up about taking the job opportunity otherwise we wouldn't of signed up or made an account as you can imagine we are only young and only wanting to have the summer of a lifetime working abroad making new friends and memories. we then went to cancel our booking only to then find that we have to pay an extortionate amount of £29! this was not made clear anywhere when signing up as you can gather they are a money grabbing business and I wish we read the reviews on this company before we decided to book our place i am only thankful that we didn't go any further within actually arriving into the job as all if these reviews seem very true. I have contacted them to get a refund as the total of £31 automatically came straight out of both of our bank accounts and wish to fully get that money back!

Definitely avoid them at all costs. Nothing they advertise is true. They also pay people to leave good reviews. You’re probably best booking a villa or renting a house privately abroad or try a different company if you want to work. Thats worked for others that were ripped off by summer takeover. The jobs i had I found myself, most clubs and bars advertise for workers. Definitely don’t get involved with summer takeover. :smile:

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