To be so upset about hot tub not working

[LookWhosInsideAgain]

I booked, fairly last minute, away for half term with DC as we’ve all had a bit of a rough time lately. Staying in a lodge with a hot tub and it was £1,500 for Mon-Fri in a 2 bedroom lodge 😱. It’s really expensive but there’s loads of free, outside stuff to do around here and loads of cycling/ walking routes which dc actually love plus whenever we’re back at the lodge I knew they’d be in the hot tub as they have been when we’ve previously stayed at places with hot tubs. There were loads of AirBnBs around that were around £800-£1000 for a full week rather than Mon-fri but none had a hot tub so, after discussing with dc, we decided to stay at the hot tub lodge.

Arrive on Monday (having paid an extra £30 for hour earlier check in) to be told hot tub is cold at the moment but will be warming up throughout today so will be ready to use Tuesday morning. Really disappointed as so looking forward to getting in it but suck it up as everyone in the ale boat apparently. Stick my hand in it Tuesday morning and it’s tepid, clearly been warming up but not warm enough to sit on. DC too excited so get in it anyway and get out after 10 minutes shivering and needing hot showers. I ask at reception and they claim it takes until midday on Tuesday to reach full temperature but it will now take longer as we’ve taken the cover off. We go out for the day, back in the evening. Hot tub then feels fairly warm and we manage 15 minutes before shivering, dc2’s lips turned blue 🥶. Reception is closed by this point so I can’t do anything.

This morning I go up as soon as reception is open as tell them hot tub is still not hot. She says she’ll send someone round. We go out for the morning. Come back at lunchtime and it’s still not hot. Go to reception again. She says that someone has been round and confirmed that it’s been checked, there’s nothing wrong with it, that it’s at the maximum temperature of 38.9. I don’t know what hot tub temperatures normally are but it simply isn’t warm enough to sit in. Reception has just sent another person round who has looked at it and said that it’s set to 38.9, can’t do it any higher, it probably just feels cold because of the outside temperature (it’s overcast but not cold here today). No one has an external thermometer to check it’s the temperature that the hot tub claims it is. Last hot tub person put their hand in and said that it definitely wasn’t cold but it didn’t feel like it was as hot as it should be, probably because I kept lifting the lid to feel it and letting the heat out 🤔

There’s nothing they can do, as far as they are concerned the hot tub is working fine. I had envisioned evenings sitting reading in the tub once dc were in bed with a glass of wine and instead I’m having to sit in the tiny bath doing it, which would be more comfortable at home. I’m so upset that I’ve spent this money on this holiday and that I’m being told that there’s nothing wrong with it. I know the hot tub is only a small part of most people’s holidays but it’s the sole reason I spent this amount of money on a shorter holiday.

AIBU? Should I continue to complain or will I seem like I’m overreacting?

Yanbu if you paid for a hot tub it should be warm enough to sit in.

There is no way a hot tub can’t get to 39 degrees in 24 hours
when I drain my tub it takes around 12 -15 hours to get to 39 degrees and this is a pro hard shell tub

when mine is at 39 degrees even sat in for an hour it only drops by around 2 degrees in the winter and not at all in the summer

cheap ones from the range should get there just as quickly although they may not hold the temperature as well

The hot tub “team” (2 teenagers) had their thermometer with them yesterday but it wasn’t working and they claimed they don’t have another. They just kept saying that it says 38 on the settings, which it does, that’s the temperature it’s aiming to get to, it just isn’t doing it.

The pharmacy only had an electric ear thermometer that was £38 and I’m pretty sure wouldn’t work in water. I’m going to try a building supplies shop - is that likely to have thermometers? I thought maybe for plumbers or something?

Go to a supermarket, see if they have a meat thermometer or maybe a digital meat probe in the cooking section.
This happened to us once. I wish we had pushed it further at the time as like you we couldn’t sit in it for more than 5 minutes. The kids called it ‘the Warm Tub’ 🙄

You'd probably have more luck going to a supermarket or a shop like Wilko or Poundland to be honest.

At this stage though you may have to accept that the hot tub won't be usable for the entirety of your stay and I'd be pushing for a refund for the difference between a lodge without and a lodge with a tub.

You don't need to do that OP. Just ask your neighbours if you can dip your fingers in theirs - even better if you get them to experience the difference between the two.
That should be enough for even inexperienced teens to feel the difference, and shouldn't there always be a working thermometer from a safety perspective?

They fix it or refund you a percentage you both agree is fair. If not you can say you’ll leave a review warning that the hot tub doesn’t work and documenting how you tried to get it sorted. Most people read reviews and will avoid such a place.

Don't be a pushover. Get a thermometer from Asda. The builders merchants won't have one.

Our hot tub is really hot at 40 degrees and takes about 8 hours to achieve that. Taking the lid off isn't why it's not heating, the hot tub is faulty.

Stand in reception and insist on a refund for the difference. You were crazy paying the best part of a grand in the first place, you'd be ridiculous if you didn't demand the money back now.

Ask to move lodges!

Stop mucking around with thermometers. You don't need to prove it. You know it. They know it. Start being more firm. Ask to switch lodges. Don't let them give you the runaround

THIS!! You're on an expensive bloody holiday you don't need to be messing about down Wilko. Go down to the reception and tears strips off them. What a joke. Then name and shame on here. This is your wonderful hard earned expensive break (or should be) and they're absolutely taking the piss.

We are all invested in this now so I hope you do manage to find a thermometer 😱

I've been in hot tubs when the weather was quite cold and I was not cold at all, it was lovely and warm until I got out of course! Definitely complain, of course the hot tub is a deal breaker when choosing somewhere. You should push for compensation even if it starts working at some point in the holiday. Get a thermometer if you can, or otherwise question why they haven't got one themselves as they should have.

Quick thought, what's th make of hot tub? Do a quick Google about the temp reader. It'll probably confirm it says the intended final temp, not the actual temp, or how to change the readout to get the actual temp. Then take a photo.

I’m sure buy now Amazon could have delivered one to a local locker all this faffing.

You need to make yourself a pain in their ass. They no it’s broken but your doing not much more than erm sorry to bother you but it’s still chilly. Be a pain. Tweet them, trip advisor a review. Email the ceo. Speak to your lodge neighbours about their hot tubs if you see them in passing.

Ask to see their risk assessment on the running of hot tubs, this should have something about how they can check the temperature when the monitor clearly isn’t showing correctly, see if there’s a log of maintenance on said hot tub. Just be a royal pain 😅

I'm at a different forest holiday now and ours was ready on arrival and constantly as hot as a bath, with or without lid on. I would politely just ask either neighbour for a quick comparison, or tell the staff you've compared and yours is not as hot as neighbours who are enjoying theirs and having a great time! Could you ring the head office?

You are probably best off with a supermarket or garden centre for a meat thermometer or an outdoor thermometer. Or, as people say, just make them compare the temperature of yours with one of the others.

That probably means (hopefully) that there was no one in your lodge before you... or that they did not empty it and clean it before you arrived...

Can you ask someone whose lodge has a hot tub - ask what their water is like?

Also, speak to a manager. The youngsters are just following procedure, but probably don’t know what to do if there’s a problem. It shouldn’t matter too much if you open the lid (surely it’s like an oven that if you open the door it will take a bit longer to heat?).

Those holidays are expensive and you’ve already missed days of using the hot tub. I would be livid, because that’s the only reason I would book one of the lodges. If they say again, that the water is fine and you don’t feel it is, say that you’ll ask on Facebook to see if anyone else has had problems!

Email the CEO this thread.

It's certainly putting me off booking there as service seems appalling. We all know your hot tub is not 38 degrees!

They have ruined your holiday! You have paid them for something they advertised and which you haven’t received. Your tub is not hot. You cannot use it without getting cold. You want to be moved or a complete refund and if you don’t get it you will contact trading standards and watchdog…

You have been patient. You have given them opportunity to fix the fault but you have paid hard earned money to this company for something you haven’t received.

Do not feel sorry for them start getting angry. You have been there since x day it’s still not working. Get your phone out in reception and tell them they have half an hour to resolve the issue or you are phoning trading standards and do it… and start posting on twitter about how your children have had their break ruined etc because the hot tub in lodge xxx isn’t working and they won’t accept it. You need to stop being so passive.

I’d ask the neighbours how hot theirs is! As well as all this complaining follow up. It is totally not ok, I too would be gutted.

I'd be interested in testing the water too and finding out the ph level. How do you know if they can't get the temperature correct then how are the chemical levels safe?

We stayed at a lodge a few years back and had exactly the same issue. I was so disappointed. It would have been perfect if it worked. Right on the lakeside with beautiful views. We were there 4 nights and rented it privately. After repeatedly contacting the owners they sent someone who got it working on our last day before leaving the next morning. I complained and they were really arsy about it. Eventually offered £100 discount off a future stay there which expired in 6 months. Like you we paid about £500 more for the hot tub. I left reviews everywhere I could.