
Hundreds of Brits flee hotel fire in Majorca as two are injured in terrifying early morning evacuation
The wounded guests needed medical treatment for cuts and bruises sustained during this morning's dramatic mass evacuation.
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Some 530 people were forced to evacuate after the blaze broke at the Vistasol Apartments complex block in Magaluf.
Flames took hold in the laundry room of the building and caused significant damage.
A photo from the scene shows charred debris littering the floor.
The fire sparked just after midnight, according to the emergency services.
After being alerted to it, staff immediately rang the emergency services and fire crews were dispatched.
Firefighters Calvià station rushed to the scene, along with patrols from the Local Police and Civil Guard.
Emergency responders quickly took the decision to evacuated the entire building.
The 530 tourists staying in the 173 rooms all had to rush outside and wait while the fire was extinguished.
A fire service spokesman confirmed that two of the evacuees fell over in the chaos and suffered injuries.
The pair, with minor injuries, were transferred to a clinic in Palma.
Firefighters were thankfully able to bring the blaze under control.
Guests had to wait in the night air, but were allowed back inside after three hours, officials said.
The police force on the island is investigating the causes of the fire.
No one required treatment for smoke inhalation, according to emergency service sources.
Firefighters worked until 3am in the morning to extinguish the fire and ventilate the building, after large quantities of smoke spread inside.
After confirming that there was no longer any danger, the crowds of guests were able to return to their rooms.
The nationality of the two guests who needed medical treatment has not been revealed.

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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Why Seville is the greatest city in Europe
Like a smug, doting mother whose highly gifted child has just won a major prize – to her delight but not necessarily her surprise – I was thrilled to hear that Seville has been voted the Greatest City in Europe by Telegraph readers. Having lived here for 22 years, it feels fully justified. As anyone who has visited the city will already know, Seville is a holiday destination that you should explore in fragrant spring, or wander during the warmth of autumn, but avoid throughout the stiflingly hot summer months. It is a magical microcosm of everything you could want in a weekend destination. Airport nearby? Check. Characterful hotels aplenty? Check. History at every turn? Check. Tasty, affordable food? Check. Easily walkable? Check. Blue skies whatever the month? Check. What's not to love? There are tiny, medieval alleyways, narrow enough to touch both sides with outstretched arms; unexpected doorways leading to cool, arcaded patios filled with ferns; and jaw-dropping contemporary structures such as Las Setas, the world's largest wooden structure that winds 30 metres up. There are also endless bars for an unhurried caña de Cruzcampo bien fria (small glass of ice-cold beer), and when the last inch gets warm, do like the locals do and just order another. Yes, as in many well-visited cities, there are concerns about the rise of holiday lets and their impact on residents. And yes, they are justified, but laws have been passed to address the issue. Yet you can expect that most Sevillanos will be delighted to meet you, help you, and charm you with their warmth. They're infinitely proud of their beautiful city, and they love that you appreciate it too. They're passionate about everything: football teams (Seville versus Betis); Semana Santa (Holy Week); the seven-day hedonistic glory of drinking, eating and dancing that is the Feria de Abril; and debating which bar serves the coldest beer. One of the main reasons people choose Spain for their holiday is the food. Seville is known as the capital of tapas, and small dishes reign supreme. It doesn't do any harm that Andalucia grows superb fruit and veg: when British visitors taste a tomato salad – juicy, deep red slices of heaven dressed simply with EVOO, garlic and salt – they weep. Add a few slices of tangy Payoyo cheese, some slivers of nutty Iberian ham, tartare of tender (sustainably caught) bluefin tuna and cumin-scented spinach with chickpeas, a traditional dish originating from Sephardic Jews, and you're in heaven. And I haven't even touched on the glories of the city's dizzying romp through architectural styles. Stone pillars in a church courtyard? Probably Roman or Visigothic. A tower that looks reminiscent of a Moroccan mosque? That's because it used to be a minaret; now it's a belltower with a Renaissance crown. Spanish and Arabic script on the same building? Built by Islamic stonemasons for a Christian king, known as Mudéjar. A glazed tile with geometric design? Made in Triana, with Arabic origins. I feel privileged to live here, and I like nothing more than to convey the city's enduring allure to visitors. As the saying goes, 'Quien no ha visto Sevilla no ha visto maravilla' – 'If you haven't seen Seville, you haven't seen a wonder'.


Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
The 10 best cities on Earth (according to you)
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Anyone who has wandered through a city where memories of the region's Moorish era as Al-Andalus swirl at almost every turn will already know the answer. The Alcazar palace recalls the distant mists of the 11th century in its tinkling fountains and cool courtyards. The Casco Antiguo tells a later story of tapas bars and boutiques – but is no less alluring. 1. Cape Town 2023 position: 1st We live in a turbulent era, where war rages, heatwaves stalk the Mediterranean summer, and travel can feel a more precarious prospect than we might admit. So it is reassuring to find that some things do not change. In the past 11 years, Telegraph readers have been asked the question 'What is your favourite city on the planet?' seven times. And seven times, you have replied: 'Cape Town'. In truth, this unswerving consistency is easy to unpick. Few places can match South Africa's most feted metropolis for photogenic power: the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront fringing the Atlantic, Table Mountain rearing as an epic backdrop, the land ebbing down to the beaches of Camps Bay and the flicked tail of the Cape of Good Hope. Then there are the winelands to the east; the promise of fine vintages in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. What price eight times out of eight in 2027?


The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
I'm too ill to travel – why won't the hotel refund me?
Q Is it legal or reasonable for a hotel not to offer any sort of refund? I was booked to stay at a well-known hotel chain this coming Saturday night. Unfortunately, I am ill and can't go. The hotel has refused to refund me. It seems quite harsh that it's a flat 'no' like this! A The hotel responded to your polite request for a refund by saying: 'Unfortunately due to the cancellation policy, the amount due is not refundable even if the booking is cancelled or modified.' I checked the conditions for the 'advance saver' you booked; in return for a 15 per cent discount on the regular, flexible rate (refundable until midnight the night before), it makes quite clear you are not getting your money back. Sorry. Yet there is rather more to your case than that. I have tried to make a booking for Saturday night and found the place is full up. The website says: 'Unavailable for the selected dates'. There are two possibilities that I can see: one is that the hotel will have an unoccupied room on Saturday night because you won't be showing up; that would be a shame. The other is that the hotel has deliberately overbooked. Hotels often predict a certain number of no-shows of people who have booked and paid in advance, perhaps selling 102 rooms in a 100-room hotel. (I recently asked at the front desk of a four-star hotel in Brussels if they had any rooms available that night, and was told 'minus two' – ie it was overbooked.) Whichever explanation is correct, I think it would be fairer and commercially smart on a busy night to allow you to change dates for a fee or to allow you to cancel completely for, say, a 50 per cent refund. Then the hotel could resell your room with confidence, and probably price it at significantly more than the £95 you paid due to strong demand. For now, though, I fear all you can do is spend your hard-earned money elsewhere in future. Q What countries have you not been to? Steve Holland A Far too many to mention. While I relish visiting new nations, I am in no sense a 'completist' wanting to visit every country in the world. I am sure the scattering of island nations across the Pacific have their charms, but I won't be putting together a complicated, expensive and time-consuming itinerary to visit them. (I have, though, been to Easter Island, part of Chile, which I wholeheartedly recommend.) My most pressing wish is to explore more of Africa. In the west, I have heard great things about Sierra Leone and Ghana. Congo looks fascinating. And, in the southeast, Malawi and Mozambique are tempting. In the Indian Ocean, Reunion (technically part of France) and Madagascar appeal. In the Middle East, I will be visiting Lebanon for the first time this October, but Syria, Iraq and Iran I will save for later. The main Asian nations I long to visit are Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. I have tried to visit the last of those. The authorities refused to issue a visa. I hope officials in Ashgabat may be more lenient next time. North Korea? I would much prefer to visit when this strange land is freed from tyranny. In South America, my 'missing' nations are the sole Dutch and French representatives on the continent, Suriname and French Guiana. I will reach them one day. Mostly, though, I am desperate to explore more of the countries I have already visited. I am looking forward to returning to Ukraine – as well as Belarus and Russia – when the war ends; tourism is a force for healing after conflict. Large swathes of Turkey look enticing, as do Georgia and Armenia. At the other end of Asia, I have barely done Indonesia justice, and will do so soon. Finally, the more I see of the great European nations – France, Spain, Italy, Germany... – the more I want to return. Q I am going to Belgium in early September. I don't think we have time for Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. Which two of those would you choose? John Gregory A Without question, Antwerp and Ghent. Bruges is a superbly preserved medieval city with a magnificent, Unesco -listed historic centre. But in summer it is Belgium's strongest contender for overtourism, especially when a big cruise ship docks at nearby Zeebrugge. According to maritime sources, vessels will call at the port on most days in the first half of September. Bruges and Ghent are sometimes portrayed as similar – but in my view, the latter has more to offer. Rivers and canals slice Ghent into a collection of enticing quarters. You can survey them from the top of the 14th-century belfry – accessible by 366 steps. The first cultural highlight is a superb Modern art museum, Smak. Next, a spectacular work of art, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck, on display in the cathedral; it is also known as the Ghent altarpiece. And Citadelpark has much to offer, including the beautiful University Botanic Gardens, with 10,000 species of plant, and MSK – the Museum of Fine Arts. Antwerp is twice the size of Ghent and more industrialised, but the city centre is eminently walkable. The central station is more than a busy transport hub: it is a palace of mobility and the grandest possible entry point to a city. The impressively refreshed Royal Museum of Fine Arts (also known as KMSKA) is lots of fun. Antwerp's Flemish renaissance Grote Markt feels like a more enjoyable central square than even the Grand-Place in Brussels. Both Antwerp and Ghent offer superb food and drink at reasonable prices – as does everywhere else in Belgium. Just in case you have time en route from Antwerp to Brussels airport or main railway station for your journey home, Mechelen is well worth a lunch stop, too. Q I was booked to fly from the Maldives to Doha and onwards to London on Qatar Airways on the day the Iranians fired their missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base. The flight to Doha was cancelled. Ground staff at the airport could only give me a slip of paper telling me to contact the local Qatar Airways office. That was impossible; two emails only got automated replies. So I bought full-price British Airways tickets home for the following day. Qatar now refuses to pay any compensation or expenses and has only offered a refund of the unused return portion. Of course, I accept the cause was beyond the airline's control. Even though it was a 'non-UK sector' that was cancelled, because the whole journey started and finished in London, that gives me UK rights, I think? Leon D A Your experience mirrors mine last November when Qatar Airways cancelled a flight from Kathmandu to Doha, not in such dramatic circumstances as yours. The carrier washed its hands of the matter, offering a replacement flight a week later. I ended up spending £1,300 to get home via Bangkok. Qatar Airways issued a refund for the return leg promptly, but it didn't cover even half of that cost. You have, I'm afraid, become the latest traveller to learn of the loophole in British and European air passengers' rights rules. They do not apply to a non-European airline flying from outside the UK or the EU. So there is no obligation to find another flight or provide hotels and meals. This is infuriating and should be addressed. Rules notwithstanding, the passenger-friendly course of action for Qatar Airways would have been to rebook you immediately on the British Airways flight for which you ended up paying top whack. But tens of thousands of passengers were stranded in various locations. Many of them, such as those flying out for the UK, were covered by air passengers' rights rules. So it is unsurprising that they were prioritised. If you happen to have been on a package holiday to the Maldives, then the holiday company is required to look after you and should recompense you. Otherwise, I suggest you try your travel insurer.