British family 'scammed out of £1,800' as five-star luxury hotel 'didn't exist'
A devastated family claim they were 'scammed' out of £1,800 as their five-star Loveholidays resort promised pools, play areas and amenities that 'did not exist'.
Gemma Lane and Nicholas Preston, along with their 19-month-old baby Louis, stayed at the hotel in Antalya, Turkey last month after booking a package deal with Loveholidays.
The pair picked the family-friendly hotel for its range of children's facilities, including outdoor and indoor pools, a play park and Smurf Village. It comes after women claim 'Our Jet2 holiday was ruined because we flew to the wrong Spanish island by mistake'.
However, upon arrival at the resort on July 2, the couple claimed it was evident they'd been 'mis-sold' the all-inclusive, luxury hotel advertised online - as it bore 'no resemblance to the photos'.
Mum Gemma says their 'dingy and outdated' hotel room looked nothing like the images and lacked a cot for their toddler, while staff allegedly suggested little Louis could just 'sleep in the bed with them'.
As the family explored the hotel's touted children's facilities, they were shocked to discover the 'play park' shown in online photos was merely an area of astroturf and 'derelict land'. According to the holidaygoers, the elaborate slides and climbing frames they saw online didn't exist.
To add insult to injury, the indoor pool was closed and cordoned off - supposedly shut for two years - while the 'Smurf Village' looked 'nothing like the photos'.
Devastated, 40 year old biomedical scientist Gemma was reduced to tears by the hotel's shocking condition - claiming the family had been 'conned' out of their £1,800 holiday budget.
The pair were forced to shell out an additional £1,500 to relocate after point-blank refusing to endure another evening of their 10-day break at the 'appalling' accommodation.
Loveholidays expressed regret that the family's experience 'didn't meet their typically high standards' and confirmed they were looking into the matter, though noted their support team weren't given the chance to sort things out before the family bolted from the hotel.
Manchester resident Gemma explained: "It was my partner's birthday. We just wanted to have a really nice time on holiday. We booked it specifically because it looked really good for babies.
"We arrived at midnight and they took us up to this room and it was this dingy, cave room. There was no cot for the baby.
"The lad who took us up to the room said we haven't got a [cot] for tonight. He said the baby could sleep in the bed with us.
"This is meant to be a five-star luxurious place. The room looked nothing like the pictures. It was dirty. It was so outdated. The pictures they had [online] didn't reflect reality at all."
Following a room switch the next day, Gemma checked out the resort's other amenities but maintains she quickly realised they'd been 'duped' into paying for a luxury break that simply didn't exist.
Gemma revealed: "The kids' play area which looked lovely on the pictures with nice parks and lighting, that wasn't there. It was just derelict land. There was meant to be a park with a slide, that wasn't there. It was just derelict land. It was terrible.
"We thought there'd be a nice little playground and the Smurf village. Louis would have nowhere to play. The indoor pool was shut and apparently hasn't been open for two years.
"The pictures we saw online were either really photoshopped or didn't exist. I don't know if it used to look like that when it first opened. We'd been mis-sold the holiday."
Despite flagging her worries with reception and Loveholidays, Gemma claimed the resort and booking site were 'completely unhelpful', leaving the family no choice but to splash out another £1,500 on accommodation elsewhere.
Gemma alleges that since their return, Loveholidays has offered a measly £173 compensation for their break, which the family turned down. She continued: "It was like a big scam. We couldn't even speak to anyone at the hotel. Reception was completely unhelpful.
"I couldn't stay there and function with a baby. I was in tears. I was really upset. I would've rather got a flight home than stayed home. It was the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. It was more like a two star than a five star.
"We thought we were going to this luxurious, five-star hotel. I work for the NHS and you only have a certain amount of times you can have off. I wasn't wasting my 11-day holiday being stuck in that hotel.
"And you can't get hold of Loveholidays, it's like a chatbox system. We couldn't speak to anyone at the hotel. No one could speak English. The reviews need to be investigated - they're obviously not real.
A Loveholidays spokesperson said: "We're very sorry that Mr Preston and his family's experience at their hotel in Antalya fell short of our usual high standards.
"Mr Preston booked alternative accommodation before our On Holiday Support team had the opportunity to offer assistance, however we recognise the concerns raised and are investigating them further with the accommodation provider.
"We have been in touch with Mr Preston to apologise and have issued him with a full refund for the unused nights of their accommodation."
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