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Original poster

Have you ever left a holiday early?

323 replies

LudoBear · 04/05/2021 12:02

We were booked into a caravan in Cornwall for 7 nights but came home after 3 nights as the caravan was dreadful at the site owners (independent place, not a company like Parkdean) wouldn't move us as they disagreed anything was wrong. The mattresses were about 1 inch thick and you could feel the frame underneath, the window in the lounge didn't shut properly and let the cold air in (it was October), the shower didn't get hot and at best was tepid, toilet didn't flush properly, the carpets were absolutely filthy.

Came home on day 5 of a 2 week holiday in Orlando due to my uncle being in a serious car accident and we didn't think he'd survive (he did).

OP posts:

Sparklingbrook · 08/05/2021 20:04

@poundoflard

Why does everyone leave the packing to the morning you leave and have to dash about trying to find everything and then rather chose to leave the evening before? I pack the evening before, have a chilled relaxing night and get up with kids in tow having a nice leisurely breakfast, pack a picnic and plan stuff to do en route home. We make the most of every second we are on holiday. I live for my holidays. Not UK though. Devon and Cornwall have such shitty weather I don't know why so many people traipse down, the roads are full of tourists and often minor roads so very narrow. In nice weather its great but its such a gamble. Ditto Lake District, Wales, Scotland Ireland. In fact much of the UK , we even had snow in Jersey!

Because once I’m packed I want to be home. I don’t want to get up on the last day to be out for ten. Also means I can get the cat back from the cattery ASAP. It’s fine. It not for ‘everyone’ just a few of us have said we prefer to do it that way.

singsingbluesilver · 08/05/2021 20:15

Booked five days i a farm cottage in the Peak District in October. Freezing cold and hardly any local attractions open. The kids found a dead newborn calf in the farm yard. I stuck it out for 2 nights.

Gladimnotcampinginthisweather · 08/05/2021 20:29

I'd forgotten the time when there were extremely high winds and one of the poles on our tent snapped and went through the canvas. We had no choice but to pack up and head home. We weren't the only ones. As we drove past the rubbish skips on the way out it looked like a tent graveyard.😕

MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig · 09/05/2021 22:41

We stayed somewhere we had stayed before last year and they were asking us to leave at 9 am and not arrive till 5pm for all the cleaning they had to do. I fail to see why it takes a full day to clean a house.

Those cleaners will have half a dozen houses to clean in that time. Much easier for them if they’re all empty when they get there.

Melitza · 10/05/2021 08:06

@MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig

Those cleaners will have half a dozen houses to clean in that time. Much easier for them if they’re all empty when they get there.

I think in those circumstances I would offer to pay a bit more for a later checkout.

mermaidsariel · 10/05/2021 08:07

They claim it’s because of Covid so that wouldn’t work unfortunately.

Chemenger · 10/05/2021 08:23

Last year the we were told that there had to be two hours between the occupiers leaving the house and the cleaners coming in and then another two hours after the cleaners leaving before the next people could arrive for Covid safety. All windows had to be open to air out the property in that time. Hence the early checkout and late check in.

mermaidsariel · 10/05/2021 08:55

Well that makes more sense.

OhGiveUp · 10/05/2021 10:24

A few years ago we booked what looked to be a lovely hotel in Tenerife.
Got off the plane at almost midnight and went for our transfer bus, to be told that our hotel had closed down but they had booked us into another hotel ( hovel ) for that night and we could move elsewhere in the morning if we wanted.
Eventually got to the hovel, the bus driver had never heard of the hotel and spent forever trying to find it.
Eventually we got to the hovel at around 3a.m and Jesus Christ, what a dump!!!
Carpets in the room which was a patchwork of different carpets, shower head suspended from the ceiling by a bit of old rope, smashed furniture and a disgusting old blanket on the bed as a cover.
We were all inclusive, but the food looked like pig swill, so we didn't touch it, despite being very hungry.
The next day was spent on the phone begging for a transfer.
Eventually, a company rep got us moved late that afternoon, just as we were contemplating going back to the airport to see if we could get a flight home.
Nightmare.
Funnily enough, each time I posted a review on Tripadvisor about the hotel, it was removed. Strange that hey!

Jannetra17 · 10/05/2021 11:28

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Egghead81 · 10/05/2021 11:32

* Got off the plane at almost midnight and went for our transfer bus, *

I will always always pay extra to avoid this start to the holiday.

I will always pay extra to arrive at destination during the day. Lovely arriving at hotel with sun streaming.

I haven’t got a transfer bus since was single and in my twenties and holidaying on a shoe string! Taxis all the way. You’re out the supper and on your way whilst the transfer bus is still loading. And you get to check in before the arrivals so that much quicker too.

FizzyPink · 10/05/2021 11:37

I’ve had that as well @OhGiveUp with TripAdvisor. Stayed in an all inclusive in Turkey and didn’t eat out anywhere else. Ended up in hospital with campylobacter. (Different hotel and food poisoning incident in Turkey to my story from earlier in the thread. No I will not return to Turkey!) A friend who stayed at the same hotel the weekend before also got food poisoning.

I tried to write about it on Tripadvisor twice but my reviews never appeared. Makes you wonder what else they’re deleting.

Egghead81 · 10/05/2021 11:38

@FizzyPink

I’ve had that as well *@OhGiveUp* with TripAdvisor. Stayed in an all inclusive in Turkey and didn’t eat out anywhere else. Ended up in hospital with campylobacter. (Different hotel and food poisoning incident in Turkey to my story from earlier in the thread. No I will not return to Turkey!) A friend who stayed at the same hotel the weekend before also got food poisoning.

I tried to write about it on Tripadvisor twice but my reviews never appeared. Makes you wonder what else they’re deleting.

Have you been in TA recently?

Loads and loads and loads of negative reviews! Many i read mention food poisoning

OhGiveUp · 10/05/2021 11:48

@Egghead81 I don't mind the transfer bus, I quite enjoy looking at the scenery out of the window.....well when it's not the middle of the night.

Egghead81 · 10/05/2021 11:50

[quote OhGiveUp]@Egghead81 I don't mind the transfer bus, I quite enjoy looking at the scenery out of the window.....well when it's not the middle of the night.[/quote]
You can do that in a taxi though.

And don’t have to make stops before you arrive at your destination
And don’t have to wait around for everyone to get their luggage, go to the toilet, change a nappy etc

My memory of transfer buses is.... waiting!

OhGiveUp · 10/05/2021 11:51

@FizzyPink
I tried a couple of times to leave a review, the second time it actually got put up, but was removed again within a couple of hours.
That is the only negative review I've ever written about anywhere.
Strangely, all my positive reviews have been put up and remained.

OhGiveUp · 10/05/2021 11:53

@Egghead81
I don't mind all that 🙂

FizzyPink · 10/05/2021 11:54

@Egghead81 yes of course I know there are negative reviews on TripAdvisor but it’s strange that twice I submitted mine and had email confirmation of them but they never appeared

Egghead81 · 10/05/2021 11:57

[quote OhGiveUp]@Egghead81
I don't mind all that 🙂[/quote]
I’m in awe!

In ordinary life I don’t want to sit on a coach waiting for strangers to get their luggage / go to the loo etc

So on holiday... I’d be stewing (in the heat) and just desperate to get going and begin my holiday!

Workinghardeveryday · 10/05/2021 12:07

Yep, Butlins. What awful, never again

looptheloopinahulahoop · 10/05/2021 12:34

I haven't ever left a holiday early but about 15 years ago we were in Northern Ireland for a week and the weather was awful. It rained hard every day. But we'd flown over, so we couldn't just get in the car and drive home. We wanted to though.

The last two days were amazing weather.

So in the end it was ok. But we absolutely would have given up on day 5 if we'd been driving. The last two days changed our whole view of the trip.

We had another trip about a year before when our son was very small, we were self-catering in Herefordshire and we all got a stomach bug. We didn't bother leaving early because we didn't want to drive home feeling ill, but I think that trip can be safely described as our least successful holiday.

looptheloopinahulahoop · 10/05/2021 12:35

I'm usually fairly positive with my TA reviews but the one time I was scathing about a restaurant in London they did publish it, so I don't think they censor reviews.

Ollinisca · 11/05/2021 02:29

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