Couple horrified by 'shabby' 4-star hotel that looked like 'abandoned building'
A four-star hotel in Bulgaria left a couple "horrified" at the state it was in, with the pair claiming it looked like “an abandoned building from the 1970s”.
Chris Sunman and his partner Nicky booked a holiday in May through TUI, but the break was offered by Balkan Holidays to the eastern European country. The couple, from Hull, were looking forward to their stay in the 'posh' Fenix Hotel at the Sunny Beach resort on the Black Sea coast. But when the pair arrived, they were left disgusted by the hotel's appearance, claiming it looked completely different to what they saw in the brochure. The couple, from Wawne, near Hull, were forced to complain on the second day they were there because as well as thinking the hotel looked shabby, they feared that some issues might be hazardous.
This image shows the state of the walls of the hotel (Hull Daily Mail / MEN Media)Chris told HullLive: “When booking we asked for a four-star hotel and was offered the Fenix Hotel, Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. We were shown images on screen in the store where we booked and paid for the holiday there and then. On arrival at the hotel we were horrified by the exterior appearance. It looked nothing like the images we were shown on screen, it looked more like an abandoned building from the 1970's."
He added: "The room was totally rundown with shabby furniture, skirting boards coming away from the wall, chips and stains on the coffee table and furniture. The shower enclosure was rusty and old with cracked and broken tiles.
This image shows the state of the floor (Hull Daily Mail / MEN Media)
This image shows the broken tiles by the pool (Hull Daily Mail / MEN Media)“Outside and in the communal areas, which were equally run down, we identified safety issues with light fittings taped up, with plastic cups covering the poolside light fittings. There was a disgusting pool shower area, broken and uneven paving around the pool area, exposed live wires on light fittings hanging from walls at a child's height and unkempt garden areas.
'Hugely loved' Brit dad dies after falling from second floor balcony in Bulgaria
“We were mortified at the state of the hotel. This was absolutely not the four-star experience we had expected. To say we were upset is an understatement. This experience ruined the whole holiday, it was a depressing place to be and we couldn't wait to get home. We had booked half-board, but based on the condition of the hotel there was no way on earth we were going to eat the food there, so we spent as much time as we could away from the hotel.”
And the couple's nightmare continued while trying to lodge a complaint about the hotel. Chris said: “I was astonished by the response from Balkan Holidays, saying none of the issues we raised were safety concerns and that their own findings confirmed that the hotel was to four-star standards.
"We were left exhausted, angry, frustrated and upset by the whole experience. We have drawn a blank with both TUI and Balkan Holidays, neither of which are accepting any responsibility or wrongdoing and left us with no option but to report the case to ABTA."
When the Mirror contacted TUI for comment they highlighted they were the booking agent and that the package was not offered through them. The Mirror has tried to contact Balkan Holidays for comment.
A spokesperson for ABTA told the Mirror: “It is not appropriate for us to comment on individual cases, Mr Sunman has lodged a dispute with us and we responded accordingly on the 30th August, via our portal. Mr Sunman can log in to his case and view our response in detail and we hope that the matter will be resolved amicably with our member.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
