Dozens of holidaymakers, including many Britons, have been caught on camera scrambling for sun loungers at a hotel on the Costa del Sol. Video footage from the Hotel Parasol Gardens in Torremolinos shows guests waiting patiently around the pool area before staff give the signal, then rushing to claim sunbeds with towels.
Witnesses described the scenes as 'pathetic' and 'childish', with some tourists elbowing others out of the way to secure a spot. The morning rush has become so fierce that some guests are getting up as early as 5am to reserve loungers, tying towels with pegs before returning to bed.
Mother Sarah Wood, 46, from Yorkshire, said: 'It's pathetic, childish behaviour if I am honest. Grown adults elbowing you out of the way just to get a sunbed. It is ridiculous.' Natasha Hawley, 44, from Kent, added: 'The scrum for the sunbeds is something else... you just have to push your way through.'
Not all guests are joining the fray. Phil White, 45, from Leicestershire, described the rush as 'hilarious' and a 'spectator sport'. His wife Janine noted that the competition was mainly among Spanish and German tourists, while others simply head to the beach.
The sunbed wars are not limited to Torremolinos; similar scenes have been reported across Mediterranean resorts, especially in Majorca. In July, tourists were seen lining up towels overnight outside locked pool areas to secure prime spots when doors opened at 8am.
