Dodgy holiday- any comeback?

[LifeZ]

I'll try to keep it short.
My 22 year old son and his partner spent every penny of the money they'd saved to buy an 7 day holiday from a UK tour operator Sold as an all inclusive to a 5 star hotel. No mentions were made that there was a premium drinks menu or anything else akin to that which might be additionally chargeable.
By the third day my son contacts me pretty Fed up. Hotel is awful, food is sobad is practically inedible- the pictures very much confirm this( and he really does eat everything normally- not at all precious about food). Only about 4 cocktails are available, to AI guests a type of wine and beer couplee if diluted squashed and everything else is charge, including water. He normally drinks about 4 litres a day in the uk and they are chargng 3.5 euro a bottle. Tap water isn't drinkable there there is an enormous very expensive drinks menu however.
The sheets are smaller than the bed meaning he and his partner are constantly waking up on a bare matress. He's approached housekeeping and reception for help to no avail.
He's contacted the holiday company (3 times) by app as they have no reps and they send him the same automated message each time telling him to dial to reception.

The holiday has obviously been mis sold in terms of being AI, but basics such as inappropriate linen are not acceptable anD the dire quality of food have made the stay utterly miserable. ( They don't have the money to go out and eat our instead. )
It's there any compensation which can be claimed and how? he's due home tomorrow morning and is looking forward to a decent meal! But I feel the way it's been sold and dealt with means he should have some compensation as it's been pretty grim and he's been miserable.
It seems the hotel is mainly a standard b&b hotel with a la carte restaurants which guests pay for. Very few guests seem to be in the ai option which is probably why it's just so bad

Almost all AI holidays are 'local beer/wine/spirits' with 'premium' drinks/cocktails incurring and additional charge.

Get him to check the T&Cs. How much did he pay for the holiday? That'll be the best indicator of the quality of food he should be expecting.

If he's paid a lot and it's really that bad, I'd try my luck complaining when he gets back.

did he bother to read any reviews beforehand?

Thanks yes am familiar with AI as have dune a fair few but it's not that. It's very very limited. He would have been happy for a vodka an lemonade of any variety, wasn't available. A pina colads, say, isn't available, water, not available. You can have any of you pay London prices.
It was 1500 pp for a week

what hotel?

Sounds like a lot of all inclusive holidays to be honest. Generally speaking it’s local wine and beer and a few tap soft drinks available and food is a fairly repetitive buffet affair.

im not sure he’ll get anywhere with compensation. Has he contacted the holiday company whilst there?

The drinks sounds normal, although there is usually a daily allocation of water provided in the rooms. I wouldn't expect 4 litres per person though, perhaps 1.
Couldn't they have left the hotel to buy water from a shop?

Out of the blue in crete.
At a glance the review look OK. As soon as you search the ai reviews they ask day the same.
We've done a lot of ai holidays( with him) so he knows this isn't Normal at all.

The question of what should have been included is down to the company's terms and conditions, along with what it says in the listing. However, whatever their terms say, the lack of appropriate bed linen and poor quality of the food are unacceptable. Your son is clearly entitled to at least a partial refund for loss of enjoyment and for the difference between the quality of holiday he paid for and the holiday he actually got.

he paid £1500 per person for a week at this hotel?

he didn’t shop around did he! I have spent 2 mins on sites and leaving tomorrow for a week… it’s coming in around £900 per adult

@workemail71 obviously he did. . He spent 4 weeks going over and over the options, bookings and prices etc.

Out of season i think hotels drop the prices at the last minute to get capacity bit it's a gamble.

All inclusive food is pretty crappy unless you choose your hotel carefully. And the drinks menu like that is normal.

Why can’t they go to a shop and buy bottles water? It will be cheaper in the supermarket.

They really shouldn’t have spent all their money on a holiday. They’ll learn from this mistake though so it’s worth it.

I'm actually incredibly surprised by people's opinion of what AI horrid are like. I've been to hundreds of hotels over the years both AI and ordinary hotels and with one exception I've not experienced the issues posters are suggesting as standard in ai. I've had superb facilities, comfort, food and drink no different to a regular hotel. Yes i chose nice hotels but not insanely expensive or anything that would account fit such disguising. I truly am amazed.

I think the comeback is to leave a truthful review of the experience and maybe prevent a few others from making the same mistake.

It doesn't sound great, but aside from the issue with the sheets I doubt he'll get anywhere tbh. Food is very subjective and the overall reviews are ok for the hotel - the tour operator will assess all customer feedback to see if there's a pattern or if it is just one customers view / taste / expectations.

Without knowing the tour operator and what they listed as included it's impossible for anyone to advise if he was mis sold - who did he book with?
The issue with the bedding needs to be sorted in resort ideally, unless he has a rep in resort who can assist?
Holiday complaints are complex. I work for a tour operator (very different to this kind of holiday though) and it's really not unusual to have one very negative review among lots of positives for the same holiday on the same date. I'd definitely advise him to write in with his experience and see what the response is.

He paid £1500 each in September?! Bonkers.

I don't believe he can't get a vodka and coke either and bottled water is price capped in Greece so it will cost him a few cents to buy a large bottle.

Honestly, he's 22. He should be making the best of it not moping around complaining and sulking. And wanting to go home for a "decent meal". Go to the nearest souvlaki joint and eat handsomely for about €5 if he's that desperate.

He's lying about the "London prices" for water too. A bottle is capped at 60 cents but you can usually find them for 30 in the supermarkets in Crete

Of course he's not mopping about. He's just extremely disappointed. It's the first holiday he's been on in 3.5 years in a tough time.
I would expect water to be included in an ai hotel. I've never encountered this.
The company had no reps. Its love holidays.
Reception won't help with things like linen being too small for the bed. Prices of water attached . They have obtained a supply now.

When I've been AI filtered water is free, bottled mineral water is not. All sounds quite standard.

I want to know what a Freddo cappuccino is now!
I suppose I wouldn’t expect there to be an endless supply of free bottled mineral water on AI and it’s not something they’ll have on tap as it were.

Was considering AI for a winter break but have never done it and this sort of thing reminds me as to why. We were a bit disappointed with our hotel this year on holiday but it didn’t bother us too much as we were eating out for lunch and dinner and had the pick of so many amazing restaurants to choose from. We picked the hotel as it got 4 star trip advisor reviews but I’m baffled as to why! Sometimes it just doesn’t work out and it is a kick in the nuts when you have spent a lot of money so I feel sorry for them that they are disappointed.

Agree with others that bottled water isn't always included in AI, but in a 5* you'd expect a couple of small bottles a day as a courtesy tbh. Unfortunately OP Love Holidays aren't ABTA members so while I'd still email in the feedback there's not really much that can be done if he's unhappy with the response.

I think a lot of posters are being unnecessarily scathing, I’d be seething if I’d spent £1500 pp on this, it’s sounds crap, but this is also why I do my research thoroughly and read as many reviews from different platforms as I can before booking anything. You live and learn.

They need to find a supermarket for bottled water and booze and the nearest gyros place for a filling cheap meal.

He needs to just go to the supermarket for water. It's just round the corner.

You said he was fed up and utterly miserable, sounds like moping to me. He's 22, he should be just taking it in his stride and enjoying the time away with his partner!

Honestly, gyros is so cheap, as is water and wine and if he'd done his research he'd know to avoid Love holidays. You've more chance of plaiting piss than getting a penny back out of them. Total rip off.

@BeMintBee a Freddo Cappucino is iced cappuccino. Like a frappe but better.

Ahh thanks had images of a Freddo chocolate bar floating around on the top!