24 October 2023 , 08:14
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A group of pals were left in shock when they arrived at their all-inclusive hotel in Turkey, only to be told by a security guard to "go away".
Aaron Hatton and Danielle Halsall, both 20 from St Helens, along with another friend, flew from Manchester Airport for a seven-day holiday booked through loveholidays. The trio, who had spent £1.5k on the trip, arrived at their hotel around 1am, only to find the gates locked.
Despite seeing people on the balconies, they couldn't get in. Aaron told the Liverpool Echo: ""We just wanted to go somewhere hot for a nice little holiday and booked something with loveholidays. We got to the airport [in Turkey] and everything was fine, and we booked a private transfer and went to the checkpoint where they picked us up.
"We were dropped off at about 1am at this hotel we had booked and it was locked at the gates. We went round to the other side and we could see people on the balconies so we asked them how to get in - they said to go around to the front.
"There was a security guard looking at us and we were trying to get through but they kept saying go away, find somewhere else and that the hotel wasn't open to the public. We showed them our phone with the booking and the name of the hotel but they kept shaking their head."
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Aaron and his pals had no choice but to stay at the hotel's sister site. However, after settling in, they were told they couldn't have alcohol as part of their all-inclusive service, which was promised when they booked their holiday. He said: "After 11.30pm we were told we could only get a drink from the water machine and that it wasn't safe to leave the hotel at night. They told us to go and lock ourselves in our room."
"We also paid extra for a bigger room with a sea view [at the initial hotel] which was worth £84 a night and after looking up the new hotel that was £18 per night, so we were downgraded. The room [in the new hotel] had one double bed and one single bed which was very cramped. "
The friends didn't manage to contact loveholidays until October 8, when they decided they'd had enough and wanted to return home. Their families had to pay £570 for the friends to fly home after just 48 hours abroad.
Aaron said: "It was so stressful and traumatic. We were left in a country we didn't know in the middle of the night with nowhere to go. We registered a complaint on October 13 and it just said it was processing, we have tried to call loveholidays but they said the phone line was for people who were still on holiday. It seems like loveholidays are just not bothered."
A spokesperson for loveholidays said: "We're very sorry Mr Hatton's holiday did not live up to our usual high standards. We're investigating the relocation error with our accommodation supplier to ensure it does not happen again and are doing all we can to support Mr Hatton's claim."
"While we're still within the usual timeframe to investigate this complaint, we've already been in touch with Mr Hatton to apologise and reimburse his accommodation costs, alongside offering a £100 voucher from loveholidays."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]