Colin Newton and his wife Paula have vowed never to return to Butlin's in Skegness, Lincolnshire, after leaving just 16 hours into their three-night stay. The couple, both 63 from Heanor in Derbyshire, paid £249 for the holiday but claim they found their room in a revolting state upon arrival at 4pm on June 26.
Dried vomit and stains found
The Newtons said they could "smell sick" as soon as they entered the room. They noticed dried vomit "on the carpet, up the skirting board and up the wall." A staff member offered to clean while the couple got food, but when they returned the sick had not been cleaned. Mr Newton went to reception and a cleaner came to remove the vomit.
Paula then found "thick lumps of chocolate" on the curtains. The cleaner said he could not change them until the next day. After 10pm, the couple began preparing for bed and discovered more issues in the twin and double rooms.
Blood and suspected faeces on beds
Mr Newton found his wife sobbing in the twin room with something brown on the beds. "I would say suspected faeces. I have no idea if it was faeces or chocolate as I wasn't getting down to examine that," he said. The other twin bed had a ripped quilt cover, and the double bed was covered in sand and biscuit crumbs. When he lifted the pillow, he saw blood. "I spent 32 years as a police officer. I've seen my fair share of blood and I know what blood looks like," he added.
After reporting the issue, the couple waited for fresh bedding but by 11.30pm no one had come. The sofa was also dirty, with "sticky Haribos" and crumbs between cushions. They stripped the double bed but found a yellow stain on the quilt, so they slept on the bare mattress.
Refund and complaint
The couple checked out at 8am the next morning. Butlin's initially offered £41.50, then increased it to £83 as a gesture of goodwill. Mr Newton rejected both offers. Butlin's later offered a full refund on July 22. A Butlin's spokesperson said: "We're very sorry to hear about this guest's experience during their stay at our Skegness resort. This falls well below the standards we expect and is not the experience we want any guest to have. As an apology, the guest was offered a gesture of goodwill."
The couple made a complaint to East Lindsey District Council. A council spokesperson said: "The Council has received a complaint and is investigating accordingly. The Council has a statutory duty to investigate complaints."
