WIBU to complain about this holiday?

[pyjamaramadrama]

I just want to know if I would be unreasonable to complain about this holiday/hotel and expect some kind of partial refund/compensation?

I booked a package holiday with a well known travel agent for ds age 5, dp and myself. It wasn't an expensive holiday but it also wasn't the cheapest, the hotel was supposed to be a 4 star.

The holiday was sold and recommended as a quiet family holiday. I was expecting the hotel to be basic but clean and safe.

First gripe with the travel agent was that I was sold a mosquito repellent band on the plane which I was assured was brilliant and 'absolutely worked' and essential. I came home with 13 mosquito bites.

When we arrived the room smelt horrible, dirty and musky. We must have been given the worst location in the hotel, ground floor directly opposite the communal toilets, pool tables and bar, with music blaring from 8am until the karaoke started which went on until 2am and could be heard even with the balcony doors closed. What made the noise worse was that there were literally only about 10 people outside at night for the 'entertainment', so I'm not sure whose benefit it was for.

Taps were all rusty wouldn't turn properly, 5 year old couldn't even turn them on they were so stiff and worn, and just felt mucky to touch, the water sprayed in every direction expect for downwards.

There was a stand up shower with a basin which stodd around 2 inches from the floor, and a shower curtain which was about 6 inches too short, the bathroom floor inevitebly flooded, but what made it worse was everytime you turned the shower on a horrible eggy stench came up from the plug hole and the water would not drain down so the little basin filled up within minutes and overflowed flooding the flood and even going under the door and flooding the room. It was impossible to mop it all up and on a tiled floor it was pretty hazardous so ds had to be supervised and I slipped and got a bruised bum.

There was no hot water after 8am or after 6pm in the evening and often there'd just be none at all.

Everything was grubby and mucky, I sat on a chair to find my legs got covered in sand from the previous guests which hadn't been cleaned off.

It was impossible to get a sunbed if you wern't outside at 8am as the sun workshippers were out catching the first rays. I'm not one for sitting out in the sun all day long as I stay out of the midday sunshine, but we just wanted somewhere to sit and plonk our towels and suncream while ds played in the pool but people just hogged all the spaces from first thing in the morning until the sun wernt down.

We spoke to the rep and reception staff who said that we could move rooms for the last two days of the holiday but that they couldn't promise any specific room, we were basically told tough luck about the shower as apparently 'Greek showers aren't ideal' and told to mop up the overflow with our towels. Funny I've never had this problem in Greece before in the many years I've been. I asked for perhaps a rubber bath matt but was told they 'don't do them'.

We did get to move to a quieter room for the last two days of the holiday which was bliss, but the new room stunk even worse than the last, we peeled back the sheets on dps side of the bed there was large yellow stains on the mattress protector, the bathroom was covered in mould, paintwork was patchy and socket covers were discoloured and not fixed to the wall properly. Taps were also all rusty in this room and mould around the kitchen sink. Drainage in the shower in this room was better but at night for some reason we got hot water out of the cold tap too and the shower would keep going from freezing cold to scalding hot.

We literally couldn't wait to get out of the place.

But on the way home just for good measure our flight was delayed by 9 hours. We were told that the reason was the cabin crew had gone out of hours and we had to wait for another cabin crew to be flown in. We were told we'd be given some food and drinks and we were. Ham sandwiches and bottle of coke, no other option just ham and coke.

It turned out once we boarded the plane that the reason for the delay was that there was a technical fault with our plane so we had to wait for the next flight to come in, we then took that flight back which was meant for another party, but they would then be delayed for a shorter time and have our original plane once it was fixed. Why we could not have just been told the truth in the first place as it would have saved a lot of upset for a lot of people who believed we couldn't go home simply because somebody hadn't organised the staff correctly.

Thank you if you're still with me. Dp is angry too but thinks we have to just make the best of it and doesn't think that there's any point complaining as they won't do anything.

I really don't know what to think but I just feel as though we've been completely shafted.

Let the mossie band go. Complain to the manufacturer if you must, but LET IT GO. You're giving it brain space it doesn't deserve.

We did mention the lack of sun loungers but were just told that noone is allowed to reserve one before 10am. Little help when they are full by 8am anyway of people catching the first rays. Little help either when people take them down to the beach or stick them on their balconys to save them for the next morning.

The way it seemed at the hotel and what aia got by speaking to a few people was that most of the guests return year after year and are cliquey with the hotel staff so basically do what they like.

I forgot to mention also that when we asked about moving rooms we were told to go to reception at 10am the morning we were allowed to move with the room keys and and our cases packed having vacated the room and they would try to accommodate us, but that they couldn't 100% guarantee any particular room or even a quiet room or a move.

We did this and were told that we could have a room at the other side of the block but that it wouldn't be ready until later in the day so had to wait until 1pm with our cases for the new room. I know that this is because of check in and out times. But we went to see our new room and it was still not ready after 1pm as the maids were still busy, the maids had finished by say 1.30pm, but when we went to get the keys they guy on reception was realy funny with dp and said 'you're late' and said we might not be able to have a room now. Dp explained that the maids hadn't finished cleaning the room and we did get the keys but he was really funny about it.

If you booked at Thomas Cook then you complain to them in the shop in the first instance. They will deal with your complaint for you. I used to be a manager in there.
Did you fill out a complaints form with the rep in resort? Because that would help a great deal in your case. Your complaint will be logged in resort and the rep has to write a report once a week.

The shop will ensure your complaint would get forwarded to customer relations who would ask the rep to complete yet another report and they reply to thomas cook within 28 days.

Good luck...they will fob you off!

You booked through an agent so take the letter of complaint to the travel agent to forward to the tour operator, you might get discount vouchers back? The delay won't be compensated as you went delayed 12 hours.

Was this hotel listed on the thomas cook website as a four star hotel?

What hotel was it?

Here is what I would do (sorry it's a bit long).

Complain to whoever you made the booking with - whether online or in a shop.

Focus on the fact that you were sold a stay in a 4star hotel and this was not it. Concentrate on the hotel - standard of cleanliness, etc. Emphasise that you reported your concerns to the rep on day one. Tell them you have travelled in Greece before and you weren't expecting the Hilton, but you were expecting basic cleanliness and helpfulness. Be polite and succinct (bullet points may help). Attach photos.

If (or, more likely, when) TC fail to reply for 28 days and then come back with a patronising 'sorry you were disappointed', say that different countries have different standards for 4star, and add that they will pass on your concerns to the hotel - do not accept this as the final word.

Write again, either to the same person or - better - to the head of Customer Services or someone appropriately senior (make sure you use their name). Say this isn't good enough, underline your chief concerns, emphasise the lack of helpfulness even though you raised the problem immediately, and (assuming this is true; it was for me) stress your disappointment with a company that's a household name but with whom you'll never travel again because of their current poor handling of your case. Ask for whatever recompense you think would be acceptable (e.g. half your accommodation costs? or something else?).

If TC still fail to deal satisfactorily with your concerns (perhaps they'll just offer you a £20 voucher off another holiday), contact the press. Write separately to several travel complaints journos (don't just do one email and cc it to them - make it look as if you're contacting just one journo each time). But for each email you send, do cc the TC senior person who you dealt with previously and who refused to help with your complaint. Keep email fairly brief and offer to send photos that will show what you mean (don't attach the photos straight away, as people don't like opening attachments from complete strangers).

With a bit of luck, one of the travel journalists will pick up your case, contact TC and they will offer you appropriate redress (this happened to me quite recently, though it was a different agent and a different country).

Or even if no journalist contacts TC on your behalf, just seeing that you have contacted the press may make TC rethink (this happened to me a couple of years ago, though again it involved a different country).

Good luck!