Feel like I’ve been mugged

[pigcon1]

Arrived last evening with family for our first holiday in a very very long time, which I have spent over 10k on with an reputable company and it is not remotely what I was expecting 50 meters from A road on one side, no soundproofing, shabby exterior. I understand it’s busy and high summer but I feel cheated.

Hope you have managed to make the most of a bad situation op.
A pp said the squeaky wheel ... maybe a bit late for you now but I have often changed rooms at resorts if I'm not happy.
I would be going to reception and speaking to the manager if the rep can't help.
If it's that bad I would have be having a very loud moan and wouldn't move until I got something sorted to my satisfaction.
I think I might even have a cry to the manger in front of some new arriving holidaymakers if I'd spent 10k.
As I'm so fussy I often read reviews of what rooms are good and email in advance to request a particular room, or ask for something in a quiet area or near your pool or top floor etc.

Yes same here. Kick up a massive fuss with hotel and rep and inssisnt on moving when a room come free in the main bit. It miraculously will.

Thanks both. The resort is full, there is no room to move to. I have made my position absolutely crystal clear.

Unfortunately I’m more likely to punch them than cry so it’s better all round if I keep it together ;)

I will photograph everything. Understand from others here that no one (in the annex) has found the accommodation acceptable, that it is far less polished than expected and that the resolution is that for your second week (!!) is that they move you to the central area, this is routine.

The resort may not be full for the entirety if your stay. Keep pushing to change accommodation as others come and go. Also find out from the hotel direct the difference in cost between what you though you booked and what you have been allocated.

My advice OP would be to put those photos all over thier tripadvisor/booking.com/facebook or whatever and write a review explaining it all so at least people in future are less likely to be ripped off by them like this.

I am with you.

I will ask.

they will say it's full, just get yourself to the top of the list of people to be moved to the main bit as soon as there is a slot.

I hate hotels that do this though, it's really wrong. We had a similar experience in Ibiza last summer. It makes it all about 'he who shouts loudest' and the only way to get an acceptable accommodation is to condemn someone else into going into the crap bit. I think it's important to do it though so eventually the hotel realise it's not worth it and change the unwritten policy.

btw last summer we were told the same - the everywhere is full thing. We threatened to leave and book in the hotel down the road and were at reception with our cases trying to book a taxi (the accommodation they gave us was that bad - in a bit of the hotel that hadn't been updated for decades, leaking shower, overlooking a road and when you opened the curtains there was an AC unit blocking the window). We had paid 7K for 5 AI. We were in 2 normal (nice) rooms within the hour (after previously being told we would have to wait to the next day).

What helped was that we were travelling with friends and they had booked direct with the hotel (without telling us) whereas we had booked with booking.com as arranged as it was marginally cheaper. So we knew what the normal rooms in the refurbished part should look like. Reception told us that it was the booking.com reserved bit of the hotel and that they didn't maintain it. We said we didn't care and would be asking booking.com for a full refund and moving to the hotel down the road. This had the desired effect as I presume they just shifted any cost to booking.com.

I have seen this twice now - the booking.com bit being the shit/unmaintained bits of a property - one hotel and one apartments - so beware using booking.com!

Noted. What a complete pain for you.

Yes. I don’t want to be an arse on holiday (feel like I have to do enough of that in the day to day), it’s just draining.

I know, I know. I'm lucky in the sense that my DP steps in and does it - he says that me being pissed off or upset is worse than him having to go and kick off at reception - more likely to spoil his holiday : ) (we don't do this all the time btw - I think we have complained about the room two or three times in 20 years of holidays - I think you have to if they take the piss, especially with the cost of family holidays these days)

Anyway, have a nice morning by the pool then go and speak to them and say you've been asking around on SM and find it unacceptable that you've been put in the annex for the first week. Point out the shoddiness, leaky shower etc - DP always has pictures on his phone to show them. Drop the words twitter, facebook, unacceptable a lot and say that you are going to ask TUI or whoever you booked with to move you or give you a full refund. Do it vocally at reception - ask for the duty manager - as other guests are checking in. You don't have to be rude, just polite but firm and put the ball in their court. What can you do about this? What do you propose to do about this? etc.

Please do a review on sites like Trip Advisor or where you booked through eg Booking.com.

They have a changeover day tomorrow and I’ve asked that we are moved at that point (that I need to see the accommodation beforehand so that I know it’s worth moving).

I will complain to the holding company - with photos etc - on return, I will copy in the CEO. And will ask for a proportion of our money to be refunded. One more bit of admin drag. But it is outrageous that this seems so pervasive - what a joke.

also yes - fab that your DP steps in - well done that person.

The price of that holiday is absolutely scandalous.

I would also feel totally mugged - that's horrific

The last time I went to a lovely 5 star all inclusive it was £600 each - in 2003

I still expect it to be about that ...

That’s about the timeline of our last hot holiday :)

We had this years ago. Paid extra for a room with a sea view. We could see the sea over the top of the grotty block of apartments next door, but what was worse was the noise from the nearby nightclubs. Thump, thump, thump until 4am.

We went and complained the next day and they moved us in to a room for someone that was checking out that day. We ended up with a "pool view" room, which was a standard room that you didn't have to pay extra for, but actually had a nicer view of the sea than our original room, plus had two sets of patio doors to keep the nightclub noise out. Ridiculous!

Re your accommodation OP, I'm sure the hotel doesn't only have one changeover day per week. There must be plenty of people checking in and out each day and you can request you move in to one of those.

DH and I take a "good cop, bad cop" approach. I ask politely and if I don't get anywhere by being nice, he goes in all guns blazing.

@MissyB1 - would you mind telling which hotel it is, and where, of course, by pm if you don't want to put it out here on the thread? Thank you very much. We're going to be in Greece for a month and are looking for nice places to make forays from our base in Athens.

I've just spent 2 weeks in Crete. It cost £2800 for 3 of us in a 2 bed apartment with a car??!! It was spotlessly clean and lovely.

I'm so sorry.

@Jconnais1chansonquivavsenerver

adrinabeach.com/

Is anyone else hoping she makes friends with another Mumsnetter like happened before? Also of course that OP gets moved to somewhere much nicer

😁fingers crossed

I really hope you get moved tomorrow @pigcon1 . Fingers crossed for you