A family from Caerphilly have described how their dream holiday to Florida turned into a nightmare after a Thomas Cook booking error left them without proper accommodation and caused them to miss part of their Disney World passes.
The trip was intended to celebrate Heather Schofield's 60th birthday, with a party of 16 relatives including Cai Williams, his wife Leonna, and their three children. The family-of-five paid £3,500 for flights and accommodation, plus £1,500 for park entry for the two-week holiday.
Problems began before departure when Thomas Cook changed their departure airport from Gatwick to Manchester, then switched it back about a month before they flew on April 20. At the airport, no baggage allocation had been made, and the family had to argue for an hour before being allowed to board without paying extra.
On arrival at the Rosen Inn International in Orlando, the family were told their rooms were not booked for another two days. They were allowed to stay overnight but had to pay £100 per family for a room. Their shared room had only two three-quarter-sized beds, meaning the three children had to share one. The original self-catering suite had been replaced with a room of minimal facilities, forcing them to eat out more often and adding around £1,500 to their costs.
The first days of their two-week Disney passes were spent trying to resolve the issue with holiday reps, who were helpful but unable to move them to another hotel. A temporary bed was provided, and activity vouchers were given, but the family found these were generally available anyway. At the end of the holiday, they discovered they should have had vouchers for breakfast but had not received them, so they had paid for their meals.
Mr Williams said: "We just want some answers. It was disgusting. My wife, my children, my mother-in-law - all they did was cry. It was horrible." A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said: "We're very sorry for the inconvenience caused. We recognise we made a mistake with the hotel booking and we're investigating the issues raised. We have contacted Mrs Hibbs and we hope to be able to resolve this."
