internet

http://www.lastminute.com

One of the first of the 'DotComs', LastMinute began by specialising in just holidays but how is it faring some nine years later?

It began in 1998 and was one of the icons of the new internet age in the UK although it will, perhaps, be remembered also as one of the firms that caused people to lose a lot of money when the 'DotCom' bubble burst.

The main page is unspectacular but very easy to use and the tabs in the top navigation confirm that it still specialises in holidays although when we looked Christmas gifts and tickets for dining and eating out were also on offer.  In fact, the site sees itself more as a 'lifestyle' website than just a travel site so these fit in well.  Popups are also much in evidence.
 
Choosing a category takes you to the sort of booking screen you'd expect which seemed easy to complete and allows you to choose and book a holiday without too much fuss.  On an older machine, pages took a little time to load but the result is a pleasant and easy-on-the-eye page from which to choose.  Thereafter, the procedure is what you would expect when you arrange a holiday.

The range and type of holidays on offer was good

The range and type of holidays on offer was good while the suggested tickets for evenings out, although covering the whole of the country, seemed biased towards the capital.  However, the restaurant menu gave a good selection of local restaurants for most areas as did the Theatre selection.  Worth a look was the little 'Spa' menu tucked away between the longer menu items.

Information is to be found under 'Customer support, in the top menu while other essential terms are at the bottom along with the accessibility information (the site has still to become more accessible).  If you want to work for them then there is a useful 'job' section at the bottom of the page.

Holidays looked inviting and there were a good selection of offers and (as you would expect) last minute flights including some very reasonably priced ones. 

For quality, as always, we suggest you put the name of the site and the word 'review' into a search engine to see what experiences others have had.

Overall, this is still a good site that has remained faithful to its roots and seems to specialise in providing a good product at a reasonable price.  The holidays looked good and inviting and so too did the nights out.

Tags: gifts, holidays, review, shopping