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 wouldn't back down until you were satisfied with the room, you don't have to take the room you are first offered anywhere and I often ask to switch. I have just returned from a TUI holiday and the hotel was gorgeous, so they arent all bad.

Unfortunately TUI seem to be the main affordable package holiday company operating at the moment. I have been very disappointed lately with their misrepresentation of facts about the holidays they provide.

Couldn't be doing with that. I would get the rep back and demand they move you to a nicer room or a better hotel. Take their name - make a show of writing it down. Tell them a full bowl of fruit, bottle of champagne and unlimited cans of DS favourite drink might help until you get a nicer room. Good luck but enjoy Croatia. We love going there.

What an odd thing to say. I assume you don’t realise that Tui offer package holidays to all sorts of hotels, some of them very high end. We recently returned from a week long trip to a lovely 5* hotel in Greece, arranged with Tui, for around £12k (family of 4). Booking hotel and flights separately works out more expensive so why would I do that?

Another supporter of Jet2 here. Had 5 package hols with them in different European cities with no problems whatsoever.

First priority: find ways to enjoy your holiday and make the most of time with your family outside the room.
Second priority: continue your conversation with the rep. explain the new room isn't what you booked either. ask for more/better but be prepared to get neither.
Third priority: take pictures of everything. The mould. The cracked tiles. The "bed". The "compensation". etc. Use them to help you make your case with the rep (ie "do you think these 2 bananas is a suitable alternative to a proper bed?" or "would you be happy with this level of mould in the bathroom you'd paid for?"). If challenged, simply explain that you are documenting your experience at the hotel.
Fourth priority: when you're home, after you've hopefully had a (mostly) lovely holiday, use the pictures to do 2 things: a. present your dissatisfaction to the company head office and ask for a refund; b. create a detailed review on tripadvisor so others will know what to expect.

Maybe a bit extreme but maybe all go & settle down to sleep in the reception area - even if all spread out on the floor - worked for us, they (not TUI though) suddenly found nice rooms for a family of 5....not acceptable at all, take photos, keep the records of / record anyone at all you speak to, even if not in English. May take a while but hopefully it will be sorted & hope you do have a lovely holiday xx Surely no need for this, these days? Good luck 🌹

More love for Jet2 here. We have never had a bad experience with them. Nor TUI to be fair, perhaps they have gone down hill in the last couple of years.

Went to Mallorca with TUI a couple of years ago and we paid for a basic all inclusive and got a basic all inclusive, we ended up dining out most of the time (but that didn’t matter as the hotel were offering what I would expect for the budget we applied to the holiday). Air con broke down in the room, we suffered one night with some fans and were upgraded to a suite with pool side terrace for the rest of the holiday.

Only holiday I have ever been dissatisfied with was Turkey, with TUI, everything lovely except the food which was horrendous and massively over salted and we were not in a location where we could easily dine out as an alternative, but I should have checked location more carefully, so take some responsibility for that myself.

I would say if you don’t pay extra for items on your ‘wish list’, etc. to be guaranteed then in the height of the school hols you are not going to get it because they are all way too busy.

That being said this thread does make me incredibly glad we are not abroad holidaying this year. I thought the prices were exorbitant in the holidays this time around and I just wasn’t willing to pay it!

Do not accept another room until you have viewed it and accepted it

TUI are awful, complaints team doesn't actually care. As annoying as it is, you need to go back to the rep for any issues so they can resolve. If you're not happy with any resolution, tell them and make sure they note it in the case, otherwise if you complain when you get back, they will just say you accepted the outcome and 'compensation' in resort.
Take pictures, I would even go as far as writing the date and time on a piece of paper and having that in the background of the photo as proof it was while you were away (the after travel team are told that they can't trust photos sent by customers because the odd one or two have just pulled them off Google images).
Get case numbers of the rep for your records (they have these each time you see them or if the case remains open they should be updating notes each time you speak with them).
Keep receipts if you need to claim for additional expenses, however the chances that TUI would move you to another hotel and pay for it are basically 0, especially if the rest of the hotel is okay but the room isn't up to your expectations etc. They would just say it was your choice to move and you would need to pay additional expenses or see if your travel insurance would cover it.
Try not to fixate on the room of it is okay for the little time you spend in there, I know it sucks but if everything else is good there, it is only a small part of the experience. It would be great if they can source a better room, but as it's peak season it's more unlikely they have spare rooms for changes.
I hope you are enjoying your time away though, in spite of the room issues

Its worth remembering that just because Tui have made the package the hotel will be a hotel in it's own right.
You would be able to book it independently . If Tui refuses to help go via the hotel directly and pay them for an upgrade if necessary.

Everyone knows you'll be gone in a week regardless. Doing nothing won't help. Your choices are to make life difficult for them by complaining until they listen or buy your way out.

It’s amazing what plastering a few photos on Twitter can do to solve problems.!

Sorry to hear this. We went with Citalia to Sorrento a couple of years back. Really nice hotel. Over heard them saying to another set of guests that they weren't going to use Tui next year because they tend to oversell the rooms.
So the hotel will male it clear that the room has no view or whatever, but ppl turn up expecting a view..

I went on my first solo holiday since losing my husband, in June. We arrived late and I was given a key to the worst room I have ever been given. I tried to speak to the owner but was brushed off that they would sort things out in the morning. Needless to say, nothing happened. I didn't unpack, and rang Jet2 helpline. They said that the local rep would be in touch but after two further phone calls to them, I heard nothing until the following day and ended up waiting to see a rep at the hotel two days after I arrived.

I had spent that time getting upset, trying to find alternative accommodation in the resort and not even unpacking. After speaking with the rep, she brought the Greek owner who insisted that I showed her everything that was wrong and was very vocal. The rep said that I could be moved to other accommodation, which would take another 48 hours to organise, or accept a different room. I went to look at the other room which was just as it had shown in their photos, and what I had expected, so after some thought, I accepted that.

I took loads of photos of the issues (mould, sockets hanging off walls, chipped cupboards etc) and on my return, put in a written complaint to Jet2 who checked it out and did give me a modest refund voucher towards my next holiday. I really feel for you OP. You look forward to a holiday for months and it's such a let down and ruins your holiday. Keep at it and get a suitable room that you are happy with. It's worth the hassle.

Tale pictures and upload on Tripadvisor asap!

People saying Tui and Jet2 are crap - who do you recommend?

Take photos of the shitty room.
email Tui and complain concisely.
Insist on the category room you booked or a transfer to a better hotel at their expense.
Complain on social media.

I’ve booked with jet2 , TUI and easyjet holidays. No issues with jet2, one great experience with TUI and one with issues over the transfer and one with easyjet which was the cheapest and best experience. Even got an upgrade on the room.. I’d definitely book easyjet again unless I wanted a lot of rep experience within the booking