British woman goes on holiday to Spain and moans about 'too many Spaniards in here hotel'.

[ManicUnicorn]

I saw this on Facebook this morning and thought it was a joke, but apparently not. The Daily Fail have now picked it up.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6055135/British-grandmother-81-claims-trip-Benidorm-ruined-rude-locals.html

I mean whatever next? French people in France? Italians in Italy? Greeks in Greece? How dare they holiday in their own countries....
This is one of those moments when I feel throughly ashamed to be British. What is it with a certain type of British tourist who goes abroad and expects everyone to speak English, never tries any local food and spends all their time sat in British pubs? I can't thinking of anything worse.

I should add Ive been to Benidorm and the old town is lovely with some gorgeous restaurants. What a treat this narrow minded women missed out on.

I read this earlier and she had some genuine complaints about the fact she booked low-mobility friendly accommodation and was given a room on the 14th floor, in a hotel on a hill. With 40 odd steps down to the pool or something.

But she genuinely was outraged that the resort was full of Spanish people and thinks she should get a complete refund. As this brought her to tears. Gobsmacked.

Why the fuck do people like this go on holiday?

That's a bit like German people travelling to Italy (which is where I personally experienced it very explicitly) and expecting the hotel staff, waiters etc to speak excellent German...

Spanish people in Spain. The horror

I think there is more to it? She has mobility issues and asked for a specific type of hotel which she didn’t get, she got a busy hotel on a slope with loads of steps and entertainment aimed at locals.
Plus she had her flights changed and wasn’t notified by the tour operator.
I think the “Spanish people in Spain shocker” is a bit of a tabloid spin.
I feel a bit sorry for her as I don’t think this is at all the article she thought she was being interviewed for - I think she’s probably been encouraged to say this as well.

It's because she was sold a disability friendly holiday that she believed would have English speakers in it. Instead she had a room she couldn't access in a hotel with facilities she couldn't access and staff and residents she couldn't communicate with so felt isolated.

She was told on booking the holiday would meet her needs and it failed miserably.

TheCrow read the article she actually, she actually complained about the entertainment being geared towards the Spanish guests and asked why couldn't they holiday somewhere else. She also moaned they were rude, which has never been my experience of the Spaniards. Although I have on many occasions witnessed Brits being rude to them.

I live abroad and constantly hear British expats complaining about the 'language barrier' English is widely spoken here, not just in tourist areas but banks, government departments and hospitals. Many most don't bother to learn a few words of the local language or take an evening class but complain bitterly when the guy who came to fix the air conditioning/dishwasher couldn't understand them

But that’s isn’t what she thought she was buying Manic - I can read and have read this story in different reports, thanks very much for the tip though

Well, you know there was always Blackpool or Butlins. No horrible Spaniards there....

Plus we haven’t seen the transcript of the interview.
I bet she was asked a fair few leading questions to get those quotes.

It's a very disjointed account.

No reps and complained on return.
Yet Thomas Cook arranged for them to move room 2 days into holiday?

They were informed of flight changes - ok, short notice but they didn't turn up at airport to be told.

Every time I book a hotel it says clearly in the blurb what type of entertainment it will be. Generally unless it's exclusive to tour operator I'd expect to to be multi lingual or native.

I think the article is very sensationalist (daily fail shock ) and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

There's so much to do in Benidorm, if the entertainment in your hotel is shit then there's loads of places you can go to instead. Actual proper cabaret bars in fact. The reason so many older and disabled people flock there is because it's mostly flat and everything is easily accessed.

Also wherever Ive been in Spain the entertainment has been multi lingual. When I was in Torremolinos last year they said everything in Spanish, English and then German. Possibly French as well.

I assume she didn't check TripAdvisor before she travelled as there are many reviews mentioning that the hotel is geared up for Spanish guests and not for those with mobility issues, however, (apologies for the ageism) I assume at her age she used a travel agent in which case perhaps she was missold the holiday as being suitable for her needs. That said, the comment about 'why can't the Spanish go elsewhere' is completely ridiculous but I also suspect a few leading questions may have been asked.

Reminds me of this....

"On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food at all."

and other other stupid complaints.... www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/astonishing-holiday-complaints/

There's plenty of mobility scooters available for hire according to that quite entertaining documentary about the place.

There's a resort in Mallorca that DP and I really like, but most of the other tourists are German. It's quite amusing reading the few English language reviews of the hotels and restaurants etc about how the place 'isn't suitable for English people' and how the tour operator shouldn't have taken them there.

She also moaned they were rude, which has never been my experience of the Spaniards. Although I have on many occasions witnessed Brits being rude to them

Gosh what a sweeping generalisation! No Spaniard has been rude ever! You sound as biased as she is op

Maybe she had seen the TV programme and thought it was an advert?

My view is that she meets the criteria of a vulnerable adult taking account of her age, apparent low income and mobility issues. I think the paper therefore owed her a duty of care, but instead she’s been left open to mickey taking.

Was listening to the radio yesterday and apparently there was a complaint about a Cornish beach because the sand “was too damp”. .

Some people should just stay at home......

Honestly I thought there was more to this story and it's been the reporter leading questions to make her look stupid. Yes she made a ridiculous comment but I think she probably meant it a little differently, like the fact her disability wasn't helped by the Spaniards she did encounter being rude and I think she even said she was shoved by one? Reading between the lines, she was missold a holiday, had a shit time and wants her money back, NOT that she want her money because because there were Spanish people in Spain.

MilkybarGrownup she was quoted as saying "The entertainment in the hotel was all focused and catered for the Spanish - why can't the Spanish go somewhere else for their holidays?"

Though not a one off for ' Brits abroad'. At an urbanization committee meeting in Spain I was shocked to hear the expat community complaining in sheer disgust that 'a Spanish family have bought a house here in this development'.(shock horror) I was ashamed of my fellow countryman too.

Dear god. I really hope this is fake news.

Not fake. There's an article front page of a newspaper (think sun or mirror?) with her showing a letter and her being paid substantial compensation.

I only walked past it in corner shop today so don't have full information.