Drivalia UK - BRISTOL AIRPORT Reviews 

Quick, helpful, and a free upgrade because I was early!
A scratch on the car was clearly visible in the report I received up-front, so no worries I would be held accountable for that. Honest and transparent, really appreciated that service!

What a distressing experience, first time renting a car from this company, never again!
Plane landed 20 minutes late, and I walk quite slow due to heart issues, it was pouring with rain and when I arrived I was told by a male member of staff I was late, by the way I had uploaded required flight times and flight numbers thinking they could track the flight!!
I was told that due to being late my car was no longer available and at a cost of £288 I could upgrade, I was already upset and there was absolutely no understanding at all, I had no choice as I couldn’t walk any further, complete scam
I also tried calling twice, no response !!!!

Just returned the car at Bristol Airport.Excellent service highly recommended!

As many have pointed out, the offices are located in a shack about 15 min walk away from the airport and the airport pick-up is not always available. I arrived a couple of hours later than the start of the rental contract and was told the car I booked was no longer available so I had to be given an upgraded model for a fee! In my long history of car rentals I had never encountered such a policy. On the good side, the staff was amazing at all times! At the front desk, Amir managed to waive this fee within the full protection insurance I contracted where he did include as well a booster seat for my son for no fee. He was helpful, competent and courteous all along. Mila, the employee taking care of the cars was very helpful and super-friendly.

I rented with them, 1 year,it said ring a number, it was not answered.I had to walk in the rain with a case. You cannot cross the very busy road, to their site. The area is all muddy and dirty.I was 79 years old and it is a long way to walk, Not helpful when I got there. They said they would hold my credit card
details until my card expired. Not geniune branch
Just looking at their advert, it says shuttle bus, have rung and asked why they advertised a shuttle bus.
They say it is courtesy for disabled, They put the phone down on me, dont use, scam artist

Upon collection if my prebooked car, the man at the counter of Drivalia said I had been scammed by Booking.com and that, even though I had taken out extra cover with Booking.com I was not comprehensively insured. He said I needed to pay an extra 250
Pounds to be comprehensively insured. This does not make a customer feel good or relaxed renting a car. Turns out Booking.com said I was comprehensively insured, the man was trying to sell insurance. He was so rude, when I returned the car he was splayed out across the desk sleeping. When I collected the car he was crunching crisps in my face and telling me to figure out my insurance. Really shocking

The first thing to say is the lady who works there Mila is absolutely fantastic she was so kind to our children giving them snacks and toys to play with she was fantastic! Unfortunately the man who worked there was responsible for opening up the shop and was an hour late so we waited an hour from 8-9am to get the car. He was perfectly pleasant to deal with and helpful once he arrived but not ideal waiting outside for an an hour with the children lucky the weather was nice.

Offices are a 10 minute walk but directions were good and collection and drop off were quick and easy. Would have been 5 stars but when i filled up prior to return i realised that the tank was about 2 gallons light of full when i had collected it.

The staff at the Bristol Drivalia are very helpful, very friendly and go out of their way to facilitate the best car for you aswell as helping with onward journeys. We use them everytime we go through Bristol.

Be aware of extra costs that aren’t mentioned before you picking up your car. We rented a car from Drivalia at Bristol airport for three days on 14/8. Our reservation was made on March 25. The confirmation email states that only the fee for an additional driver needs to be paid later. Nothing else.
When we picked up the car, they told me I had to pay an additional fee of 159 pounds because I had a debit card and not a credit card. There was no mention of this in the confirmation email. I asked if they would accept a deposit, and they said no. I signed because we needed the car. The receipt we received stated: “Charges, Super peace of mind 159 pounds”.

Todo muy rápido y bien. Mila nos atendió de forma excelente.

Very helpful and patient couldn't fault our experience

Amir is great, he gave me an apple

Great customer experience !
We received a warm welcome from Amir. I strongly recommend.

Thank you Simon! You saved the day! 💕

When picking my hire car up at Bristol airport , the place was in utter chaos and so many people were complaining.
I was NEVER ONCE offered to pay the £1500 deposit, which was refundable!!!
I was given the card terminal machine and £460 was on the screen, so I assumed it was cheaper because of the size of car that I had been given. Nothing was explained to me at all !!!
Yes I signed the machine, but amid the chaos and confusion I didn’t read it !! Actually how many of us do read everything??
On returning the car I find that my £460 was not refundable!!!!
I have put in 2 emails of complaint to Drivalia and all I get is basically….. well you signed it!!!!
I’m a single mum and was down South looking after my ill Dad for 3 weeks and can not afford to lose this kind of money.
I WILL NEVER BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY AGAIN!!!
They don’t care about their customers just the money!!

After seeing the reply below from Drivalia, they obviously didn’t read my experience above, as I've already sent 2 emails of complaint to their head office!!!
I have had no apology for not being offered to pay the refundable amount and they have said “Case Closed”
Unless this company REFUND me and show a bit of customer care, I will still stick by my honest REVIEW ABOVE !!!

Update: Don't be fooled by the reply from Drivalia posted below, I wrote my original review after contacting the Drivalia customer service and they confirmed that they work on a first-come-first-served basis and after one hour they will rent your prepaid car to someone else and not issue any refund.
Original review: If you prepay, 90% chance they will not have your car and refuse to give you a refund. They will use any excuse, like you got here too late even if you tried to let them know of the delay and even if you paid extra for cancellation protection. In the hours I spent there trying to get a car or at least my money back, other three clients arrived, all three had prepaid their rental and all three had to walk away with no car and no refund. They say it is all written in their policies, so they are thieves according to their policies.

Terribile experience! A scam! Our flight was 2 hours late at Bristol airport and when we got there the guy at Drivalia said that we were late, he was about to close, our car had been given away, he did not have our money to give it back. He was very rude. And while we were there other people came to get their car and the same happened to them! We all had to go rent something else from other rental companies last minute paying quite a bit more or risk having the holiday ruined

Drivalia Car Rental Bristol Airport - Poor Experience

I recently rented a car from Drivalia for the first time and had a disappointing experience from start to finish.

The process began poorly with a significant wait to collect the vehicle. I did not receive any pre-check-in information via email, which led to a long delay at the rental desk. The customer service from the desk staff was also a major issue; the employee I dealt with had a tough and unhelpful attitude.

The car I received was not the one I booked. I had reserved a VW Polo, but was instead given a much smaller MG3.

My biggest concern, however, was the condition of the car itself. When I turned it on, the tire pressure warning light was illuminated on the dashboard. I immediately returned to the desk to point this out, but the staff member was dismissive and told me to simply "ignore the warning light" and use the car. This response was completely unacceptable and left me feeling unsafe throughout my entire three-day journey.

Overall, the combination of poor customer service, a downgraded vehicle, and a serious lack of concern for my safety made this a very bad experience.

Not at all happy and cannot recommend this company.

I was meant to pick up my car at 10am. I arrived at 11:20 due to a mistake I made with the one hour time difference and the much longer than anticipated walk to their offices. They had given my car away and said that the only other option was to pay an extra £18 per day. They were rude, unhelpful, disrespectful and belligerent. Customer Service Representatives should not poke their fingers at you and argue with each other in front of you. Horrible people who shouldn’t be allowed to serve anyone. I went next door to @Greenmotion and they said that car companies usually have a 4 hour hold on cars and one hour was simply ridiculous. The staff at Green Motion, just 5 more steps down the road, were kind, courteous, professional and found me a car even though they were exceptionally busy and short of cars. I will never use Drivalia again and will ensure that no one else I know does. Disgraceful service, utterly awful people.