Shitty room!

[ThePandoricaOpens]

Currently on holiday with dh and ds14. Got to the hotel and was really pleased when we arrived as the reception areas, bar, seating area is lovely, really modern and well looked after. However when we got to our room it was awful! Really really shabby, yellowing bathroom suite, cracked floor tiles and black mould around the sink and shower. We asked if we could move and was told there were no free rooms the same, so we said we would pay for an upgrade, but it would cost an extra £200 per night! We had asked for a high room with a view but we got a low room with a view of a grotty flat roof! Got onto the TUI online chat and they were really rubbish and just gave a standard' we're sorry you're not happy with your room but we can't guarantee the type of room you get...' Then we had a message saying case closed! We spoke to the onsite TUI rep and she was able to get a new room for us the following day. Checked into the room and rather than another triple superior room they've given a us a double room with a sofa chair! None of us fit in it! The mattress is about 3" thick. Didn't get any sleep last night and really don't want the stress of trying to get another room. TUI aren't replying to me. I don't know what I can do now?

I also agree with the Jet2 admiration. Excellent service.

Another fan of Jet2! Excellent service/ customer care and would happily book with them again.

I'll join in with the Jet2 love. Missed our outbound flight but they still honoured the return flight this year, unlike many other airlines. They were really helpful.

When I was repeatedly fobbed off by reception in a hotel (air con not working, it was 28° in the room), I effectively had a sit-in. I refused to move from reception until it was resolved. It was late, and I actually laid down on one of the benches, threatening to sleep there (reception had working air con). We were shortly upgraded.

If your dignity can handle throwing a tantrum, I’d recommend it.

I have just holidayed with Jet 2 and couldn't really fault them we booked a 5 star with sea view and balcony and that's what we got maybe we were just lucky

My experience in former Yugo is that hotel staff respond better when someone can advocate for you in the local language. Possibly your best bet is to go back to the rep and ask her to advocate for you.

Also, take photographs of the problem to show Tui when you get home.

I have been on 4 Jet2 holidays in the past 11 months and about to go on another in next few days. All the holidays have been very good and great value for money.
They have been a mix of AI, B&B and SC. I had 1 problem with 1 of the holidays but was sorted out immediately by the Jet2 hotel rep.

Why did you feel the need to re-write OP? 😵‍💫😵‍💫 Bit rude.

Absolute this, go out and enjoy your holiday, stop worrying about where you’re going to be while you’re asleep. I might suggest a few drinks will help you sleep but mn will have you in rehab as soon as you get home.

It occurs to me that in former Yugo many houses had fold-down couches as beds at one point, so it might be that reception don't see the couch as a problem when it plainly is.

My Croatian is pretty feeble, but you could try "To nije krevet!" [Toh nee-yeh kreh-vet! "That isn't a bed!"]

This is true. No point letting it ruin your holiday. A hotel room isn’t for spending a lot of time in, like a flat or house. It’s only for sleeping, resting and changing.

But you can enjoy it while also asserting your rights as a customer. You should get what you paid for. If the room isn’t what was requested and confirmed (view etc), is of a different standard to the photos and/or has obvious unacceptable grot (cracked tiles, mould etc), and the price you paid should get you better in that location, you have every right to ask to be moved to a suitable room, in another hotel at their expense if necessary.

If they then move you to a room with fewer basic facilities (i.e. beds), then you have every right to ask to move again to what you paid for.

Be polite, assertive and persistent. If guests are checking in and out all the time, they should be able to move you to what you paid for within a couple of days at least. But don’t let it eat into your holiday time or enjoyment.

Back up all conversations via email, so you can at least provide proof for compensation. They’re more likely to move you if they know they may have to reimburse some of the cost.

We came home today from our Tui holiday to Turkey. Absolutely beautiful hotel but the room we booked was a Twin with a Sofa bed (me, DS1 who is 20 and DS2 14). When we arrived we were given a double and a tiny sofa bed. Both boys wouldn’t share (and they shouldn’t have to as I specifically booked twin beds) and clearly I’m not sharing with either of them.
Explained it to the manager and he upgraded us free of charge to a family suite, basically a twin room plus a king room joined with a bathroom, I looked at that online but didn’t book it as we didn’t need it as the twin room said it slept 3 and it was £1500 more.
So it can be done, be polite and stand firm. I was incredibly charming (more so than I normally am!) which I think helped.

When I was a holiday rep we always got clients to view the new room before commiting to move.

Were you made to check out and wait
and given the room that you did t book and forced to accept it?

On another note I find all hotel rooms are pretty shabby in many ways compared to shared areas - I guess they invest in shared areas more because that’s the ones guests use and see the most?

But absolutely go back and ask for the type of room you’ve paid for.

We’ve generally found people involved in tourism spoke quite good English (plus other languages) when we’ve been to Croatia.

But I guess there’s always google translate if not.

Adding to the Jet 2 love. We went on 2 Jet 2 holidays last year, 10 nights in Greece and 4 nights in Mallorca. Both fantastic experiences.

For the Greece holiday, the (outstanding) accommodation was exactly what we were promised. For Mallorca we were actually put in a better grade of room than we'd booked and got a double size balcony and sea view for free.

As a family, we don’t tend to book packages but I have a holiday coming up with my friend which I’ve booked through TUI. This thread isn’t giving me a lot of confidence 😫

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea

Been on several holidays with Tui and never had any problems at all.

Their knowledge of English isn't the point - it's the attitude from some hotel workers in former Yugo: they have the misguided notion that they're a cut above the rest.

One time, my late husband and I were on holiday in Slovenia. I don't speak Slovenian, but I do have some Serbo-Croatian (as it was once called).

The receptionist had perfect English when our bus arrived, when he took in our passports and when he handed out our keys. When I returned to the desk to ask whether a fan was available for the room he had - inexplicably - forgotten every single word of English that he knew.

I girded my loins and repeated my question in my best Croatian. I got an immediate response.

ETA I've found the same right across former Yugo. Most hotel workers are lovely, but you still get those who are mired in the ways of the past. On those occasions, a bit of Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian can make all the difference.

I went on a TUI holiday last year. Fantastic value for money. I wanted a trip somewhere - a TUI rep was in the beach selling tickets. When I got to the ferry it was much cheaper. to do a different trip - rep refunded my cash without me even asking when I told him.

@ShanghaiDiva indeed - I’ve not been on a jet 2 hols ,as my H not keen on packages and very fussy on flight times - however they were indeed present at our nicely upmarket mid size adults only in Mallorca this year - and the rep was lovely as I chatted to her one day

Flown loads with Jet 2. They are fab.

Just out of interest @ThePandoricaOpens how much have you paid for this holiday ?

We went to Greece with TUI last month and it was ok.

I mean for £400 each half board for a week it was never going to be 5 star 🤪 but we ate well, slept well it was bloody hot and the swimming pool was the largest on the island. All was very clean and all the guests very chilled out and the majority were multiple returners. Always a good sign 👍

I would address some other complaints but definitely not things like the view - I’m sure everyone wants a nice view, but realistically it just can’t be accommodated.

I agree with PP, try to reframe it for yourself: the hotel is just a pit stop anyway, you’ll be focused on activities outside of the room.

If they tell you they don't have any other triple rooms available, would you consider a separate room for your DC? That might be easier for them to source? Otherwise, insist they move you to a different hotel.

When we were much younger, we had an awful experience with TUI, and believed them when they told us they didn't have any other rooms anywhere else to move us (we had a cockroach infestation). Basically told to put up with it, there was nothing they could do, except fumigate. I still have nightmares about those cockroaches. It was our first family holiday abroad with our six month old baby too. Ugh!

I am older and wiser now, and just wouldn't accept that now.