A grandmother claims her £4,000 all-inclusive Loveholidays getaway was ruined when the hotel turned out to be part of a care home, with moaning elderly residents wheeled past her sunbed.
Holiday Nightmare in Tunisia
Tracy Haslam, 52, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, flew to Tunisia on April 12 with her two daughters and six grandchildren. Upon arrival at the four-star hotel, she noticed a large number of older people in wheelchairs. When she asked reception about her luggage, she commented on the elderly folk with carers around the hotel. The manager then revealed that the hotel was part of a residential care home.
Tracy captured footage of elderly patients, some she claimed had dementia, being wheeled inches past her sunbed every five minutes. She said care home residents were taken around the pool in their wheelchairs.
Feeling Misled
The dog day-care owner said she felt misled and would never have booked the hotel if she had known about its alternative purpose. She filed a complaint with Loveholidays for not disclosing the arrangement, claiming it is not appropriate for children.
Loveholidays said that since Tracy's feedback, they became aware that the hotel accommodates residential care guests in a designated portion of the resort. They temporarily removed it from sale while investigating further with their accommodation partner.
Tracy's Account
Tracy said: 'We went to reception to speak about my case and they were quite rude so that already got my back up. The manager was walking past and there were these wheelchairs and I said excuse me, is this residential? He said yeah there are just three elderly residents and I went you're having a laugh, there's about ten just gone past me. So part of it has a residential care home attached to it.'
She added: 'My biggest complaint is about the care home because I would never ever have booked that hotel if I had known that. I'm not discriminating against old people, but a couple of them were verbal so they were going past us verbally moaning. It's not appropriate for kids.'
Response from Loveholidays
In response to her initial complaint, Tracy claims a Loveholidays rep told her hotels operate under their own policies and discretion regarding who they accommodate, and this is outside of their control. The rep also stated that after carefully reviewing the evidence provided, it is not sufficient to support a claim for compensation.
However, Loveholidays have since issued an apology and a full refund. Tracy said: 'There were nine of us that went and it's a holiday we're not going to get back. It's just been very blase that the hotel doesn't need to state what clientele they have and I just think that's disgusting.'
She described the experience as bizarre, with wheelchairs coming past her all day. 'I just feel I was misled because I would never have booked it if I had known. Some people might not be bothered but it bothered me. I am a bit of a holiday princess, I go away quite a lot and I do like a nice hotel. For a four star it was shocking.'
Statement from Loveholidays
A Loveholidays spokesperson said: 'We're very sorry that Ms Haslam and her family's experience at their hotel in Tunisia fell short of our usual high standards. We are investigating the issues raised with the accommodation provider as a priority, and have removed the hotel from sale whilst this investigation is underway. We have been in touch with Ms Haslam to offer our apologies and a full refund of the cost of her accommodation.'
The hotel has been contacted for comment.
