A family from Cheshire paid £4,000 for a week-long trip to Morocco through Loveholidays to celebrate a 50th birthday and provide solace after two bereavements. They booked all-inclusive swim-up rooms at the five-star White Beach resort in Taghazout, only to be told upon arrival that the hotel had become adults-only. Their two children, aged 12 and 15, who have autism and ADHD, were left distressed and confused.
The receptionist refused them an international call, forcing the family to cross a dual carriageway to withdraw cash and buy a SIM card. It took Loveholidays three hours to find alternative accommodation at a four-star hotel in Agadir, half an hour away. Six hours passed before they could settle in. Loveholidays refunded the price difference of £506.54.
The intermediary booking agent offered £661 in compensation, but Loveholidays deducted the £506 refund, leaving only £178. Loveholidays later offered a £50 voucher for a future booking, which the family rejected. The company claimed the wording was confusing but maintained the £178 was suitable compensation for inconvenience.
Loveholidays resigned from Abta in 2020, so complainants must use Hunt ADR with a non-refundable £108 fee. The family lost most of the first day and ended up in a less luxurious hotel. Loveholidays promised an internal review but offered no further remedy.
