a day ago
Your rights if hotel refuses to serve Irish food on your holiday abroad
With the summer holiday season fast approaching, many people across Ireland are preparing for long-awaited sunshine getaways. But for one traveller, a dream trip turned into what she describes as a complete "nightmare".
Susan Edwards, 69, from Westerhope in Newcastle upon Tyne, paid €890 for a seven-night all-inclusive holiday at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel in Greece. She had been looking forward to relaxing with her family, enjoying warm weather, good food and a much-needed break.
Instead, she found herself "sick to death of looking at rice" as the largely local food menu left her group frustrated. Susan claimed there was "no English food" available, telling Newcastle Chronicle: "It was all-inclusive, £750 (€890) each we paid and there was no food we could eat. I have to be careful because I have ulcerative colitis so there's certain things I can't eat.
"On a morning you could have toast, a hard boiled egg or something in sauce. There was no bacon. For breakfast there was mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. There was no hot bacon or sausage.
"We got chips one day. One day out of the whole lot. There was fish, sardines and rice - I was sick to death of looking at rice. There was pasta and salads, none of this was marked (labelled). One night there was a Greek night and they had kebabs, I couldn't eat that. It's the worst holiday I've ever been on."
After lodging a complaint with TUI, the holiday provider offered her £100 (€119) in travel vouchers - which she has since declined.
Now, consumer rights expert Helen Dewdney, also known as The Complaining Cow, is weighing in on the issue and what Irish travellers can do if they feel misled on a package holiday.
In Ireland, package holiday rights are protected under the EU Package Travel Directive (EU 2015/2302) and the Package Holidays and Travel Trade Act 1995. In the UK, they are covered by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
Helen told Mirror UK: "A package holiday consists or two or more components, such as accommodation and flight or transfers, and must last longer than 24 hours or at the very least have an overnight element. The organiser (i.e. the travel company with which you booked) is liable for the failures of hoteliers, suppliers and services within the contract.
"The organiser must not provide misleading information. If the holiday does not match the description, you will be entitled to redress. The organiser must clearly state the details of the booking in a Standard Information Form, before you make any payment. The Form must include specifics of any arrangements: dates, times, costs, meals, excursions included/excluded, activities, transportation, cancellation fees, contact details for the package organiser, information on compulsory/voluntary insurance regarding repatriation in the event of illness/death/accident, and/or the cost of termination of the contract by the traveller."
She added: "You are entitled to redress for the disappointment and distress caused by things going wrong. The amount will be dependent on what and for how much of the holiday. Make sure you take out travel insurance at the same time you book your holiday. You never know what might happen between now and then!'
"Is it reasonable to claim for a lack of 'English food' on a continental holiday? Probably not. However, at least one TUI customer has succeeded in claiming limited compensation for this alleged breach, although she has got to buy another holiday to use it!"
A spokesperson for TUI UK and Ireland said: "Our priority is to ensure customers have the best possible holiday experience, so we are sorry to hear that Mrs Edwards felt dissatisfied with her holiday. We have been in touch directly with Mrs Edwards to come to a resolution."
