Leaving them alone on holiday - was this bad?

[MsBlackbird]

We recently took my partner's 13 and 16 year old DSs on holiday. It was mostly fine but we had a lot of trouble getting them up and out of the hotel in time to do anything before midday. On the last morning we planned a local boat trip starting at 11, which meant leaving the hotel at 10.30. Despite multiple calls to their room, including a 15-minute warning at 10.15, they didn't show up on time. We waited a couple of minutes and left without them, returning around 2pm to massive sulks and resentment. Apparently they were only five minutes late but didn't think to follow us even though they knew where we were going. They had money and bought pizzas for lunch, and I am sure had fun in and around the hotel. But now, a couple of weeks later, we're still being punished for 'abandoning' them for hours on what was 'supposed to be a family holiday'! I think this is unreasonable but what do others think? How should we deal with the resentment?

Kamini - are you a little wind up merchant?

I am someone with concern for kids still hurt by the action. Said parent often turns up late but sets different standards for others. The lesson said parent tried to teach merely caused intense upset which is nothing new. This thread was started by someone who felt guilty for doing what they did, and rightly so, but they wrote it in a way that would make the teenagers look bad, and it worked.

Said parent has not taken his kids on a holiday since, but he continues to bring them t-shirts with the place names he's visited on!

LOL and I thought I held a grudge! Stop enabling these 'boys' (who are now nearly men and ought to get over it) - I'd think twice about taking them on holiday again too!