A holidaymaker claims her £2,000 getaway was ruined after she arrived at a flat that looked nothing like its glossy online pictures – with bunk beds, ants crawling up the walls and a room smaller than a “prison cell”.
Jessica de Caso, 21, booked a four-night break through Loveholidays with her sister Amelia, 18, and their mum Vicky, 54.
The family stayed at Gavimar Ariel Chico Club & Resort in Majorca, Spain, last week to celebrate Jessica finishing university and Amelia completing her A levels.
READ MORE: Mum cheers stranger for clearing towels off sunbeds at 11pm – then comes the RAIN
- Advertisement -
They forked out around £400 extra for a two-bedroom space, so all three adults would have proper sleeping arrangements – but were stunned to discover a cramped room with bunk beds.
Jessica claims one of them had to sleep on a sofa bed in the living area and that ants were crawling up the walls and covering the balcony.
“When we first walked into the apartment, we were shocked by how different it was from what we had expected from the photographs,” Jessica, from Cheadle, Staffordshire, told What’s The Jam.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it.
“I remember thinking, ‘Is this actually what we paid for?’.
- Advertisement -
“The room reminded me of a prison cell but smaller.
“We had really been looking forward to the holiday.
“It was meant to be a relaxing four-night break to celebrate me finishing university, my sister finishing her A levels, and my mum, who suffers from MS, wanted a nice break.
- Advertisement -
“We specifically paid extra for a two-bedroom apartment so that three adults could have proper sleeping arrangements and everyone could be comfortable.
“We obviously weren’t expecting anything extravagant, but we did expect the accommodation we had paid for to be suitable for three adults and to resemble what we’d booked.
“On the website, the accommodation looked bright and spacious.
“There was nothing from the photographs that made us expect bunk beds, such cramped accommodation or the sleeping arrangements we eventually experienced.
“One person had to sleep on a sofa bed in the living area instead.
“The balcony was covered in ants and was dirty, and there were also ants in the room climbing up the walls.
“I was shocked.”
Jessica, who works as a lifeguard, also claims the flat overlooked a busy street packed with bars and shops.
The family could hear partying and shouting until the early hours before noise from shops setting up began again in the morning.
She said: “We experienced loud parties, shouting and screaming at around 2 am, followed by scraping and banging noises early in the morning when the shops below were being set up.
“This made it extremely difficult to sleep.”
Jessica immediately complained to reception but claims she was initially told there were no alternative rooms available.
The family were asked to return the following morning to speak to a manager and were eventually shown another flat.
Despite accepting the offer, she claims the replacement was a one-bedroom apartment – once again leaving one person sleeping on a sofa bed.
She said: “We were told that we needed to make the decision immediately because the room had been booked by other guests who were due to arrive and check in, and they would be given our existing room instead.
“We therefore didn’t have a proper opportunity to thoroughly inspect the replacement room before making the decision.
“The replacement room was a one-bedroom apartment, meaning that one person again had to sleep on a sofa bed in the living area, despite us having specifically paid for a two-bedroom apartment.
“The bathroom was also located inside the bedroom.
“This meant that the person sleeping on the sofa bed had to walk into the bedroom, in the dark, while the other people were sleeping whenever they needed to use the toilet.
“We’d hoped that moving rooms would solve the problem, but the replacement accommodation was also unsuitable.
“It was incredibly frustrating because we’d paid extra specifically so that three adults could have comfortable accommodation.”
The family paid £996 for the hotel and £1,032 for their flights.
Jessica claims the hotel logged their concerns but told them any refund or compensation would need to be handled by Loveholidays.
The complaint remains ongoing.
Jessica said: “Instead of being able to relax and enjoy ourselves, we spent a significant amount of time dealing with problems with the accommodation and trying to get a decent night’s sleep.
“We were also told that the refund or compensation side of the complaint would need to be dealt with through Loveholidays.
“The hotel offered us a boat trip, but we were only there for four days and didn’t want to spend a day on a boat trip.
“We wanted to relax.
“We didn’t want to spend part of our very short holiday going on a boat trip as a replacement for proper financial compensation.
“They said that any cash refund would have to go through LoveHolidays.”
A LoveHolidays spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that Ms de Caso and her family’s hotel did not meet expectations on this occasion.
“Ms de Caso raised a post-travel complaint upon returning from holiday, but did not respond to our requests for further information about the issues raised, preventing us from offering a resolution.
“We have contacted Ms de Caso again to request this information so we can fully review her concerns and work towards resolving her complaint.”
Gavimar Ariel Chico Club & Resort has been contacted for comment.
READ MORE: Holiday hotspot has been ‘destroyed’ as thousands of tourists swarm stunning lagoon
