An Oldham mum has slammed LastMinute.com for featuring a hotel she alleges was 'more like a hostel' and for closing her case while she tried to complain.
Holiday nightmare
Gemma Banks, 39, said the hotel she booked in Alanya, Turkey, was listed as three-stars on the website but felt 'like a hostel', alleging rooms were unclean and that the food allegedly 'gave her family food poisoning'.
Emails seen by the Manchester Evening News show that Last Minute closed the case, advising Gemma to complain to hotel management as the justification that 'the hotel [was] responsible for the health of its guests'.
"We offer a wide range of options and categories to suit all budgets and we provide users with reviews and ratings from other customers," the email read. "The customer is always free to choose the product that best suits their preferences and needs before confirming their booking."
Unsafe conditions
Gemma said she paid £1,562 for an all-inclusive two-week break at the Grand Bahama Beach Hotel in Konakli beginning on July 11. "It was advertised as being three stars but it was more like a hostel," she claimed. She said there were a number of 'incidents' with the food served to them.
"It [the hotel] was full of mould around the pool, there were gaps in the tiles everywhere," she continued. "It was so unsafe. There were flies around the food area, the drinks were warm and there were cats in the kitchen. It made us all poorly."
Gemma said the alleged issues with the food meant she and her family had to eat elsewhere at extra expense, and that the hotel 'repeatedly' ran out of soft drinks and alcohol.
Desperate pleas ignored
"We have 10 nights left and have very little money left and worried how we will eat and drink for the remainder of the holiday," she wrote in a company to LastMinute on July 15, having raised the complaint three days earlier. "We are having the worst holiday ever and this can’t continue my children are crying daily we are all tired hungry and very upset with this situation and would like it to be addressed asap," she continued in her emails to the company.
"LastMinute just told us to talk to the hotel staff, I didn’t get any help from them," Gemma told the M.E.N. "We asked to be removed and they said nothing. They then said that they were closing the case. They left us in a dire state. We spent the whole holiday crying, it was horrific. There has been no explanation and no apology."
Case closed
Closing the case on July 19, a customer service representative told Gemma they were 'truly sorry to hear' that the family were unwell. "We must clarify that any issue relating to hygiene, the condition of the buffet, the quality of the food or the health of guests is the sole, direct and exclusive responsibility of the accommodation provider," they said. "The price paid for your stay corresponds to the type of accommodation booked and the area in which it is located. If you believe that the establishment has been seriously negligent, we urge you to [...] see a doctor immediately; lodge a formal complaint; gather evidence and witnesses. As the establishment itself is legally obliged to be responsible for the health of its guests, you should address any request for compensation or complaint directly to the hotel management."
"For our part, having clarified this point, we are now closing this case in our system. We wish the whole family a speedy recovery."
Misleading listing
Gemma said she felt the hotel had not been correctly advertised. The active listing has since been removed from LastMinute's website, though an archived version from August 2025 lists the hotel rated as 'good' with three stars and a 7.6 rating. It has an average of 1.9 stars out of five on TripAdvisor and 3.4 stars on Google Reviews.
"It was said to be an all inclusive with cold drinks and a sandy beach," Gemma claimed. "You had to cross a main road to get to it and it was rock beach. We feel completely abandoned by the company and believe consumers should be aware of how this situation has been handled. It is the first and last time I will book with them. How can they sell something and then have no responsibility for things that are so incorrectly advertised?"
When approached for comment by the M.E.N, a Last Minute spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about the customer’s experience. We have been in contact with the customer and have escalated the matter with the accommodation provider. Our review is still ongoing, and we will continue to liaise with the relevant parties.”
Grand Bahama Beach Hotel Alanya have not responded to requests for comment.
