Nightmare Honeymoon - Any rights?

Seff

Hi,

We had a nightmare honeymoon in a 5 star all inclusive hotel where the food was practically inedible. We followed all the required complaints procedure whilst away, and tried to move hotels, but the hotel refused to refund anything. We were advised to make a complaint to the booking agent upon return but our complaint has basically been dismissed.

Is there any recourse? This was a very expensive holiday for us and we just feel sick at the complete waste of money. It was booked as Hotel Only, and on a debit card. As far as I know the booking agent isn't a member of ABTA and there are no mediation options.

As I booked hotel only through an agent are there any remaining options to try and claim compensation? Would I have any chance of going through the small claim court?

Thanks in advance.

powerful_Rogue

Seff wrote: »

Hi,

We had a nightmare honeymoon in a 5 star all inclusive hotel where the food was practically inedible. We followed all the required complaints procedure whilst away, and tried to move hotels, but the hotel refused to refund anything. We were advised to make a complaint to the booking agent upon return but our complaint has basically been dismissed.

Is there any recourse? This was a very expensive holiday for us and we just feel sick at the complete waste of money. It was booked as Hotel Only, and on a debit card. As far as I know the booking agent isn't a member of ABTA and there are no mediation options.

As I booked hotel only through an agent are there any remaining options to try and claim compensation? Would I have any chance of going through the small claim court?

Thanks in advance.

What stopped you moving to a different hotel?
How much was the cost of the hotel element of the holiday and how much are you looking to try and recover?
Was it just the hotel food that was your issue with the hotel?

Oakdene

How was the food 'practically inedible'?

Seff

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

What stopped you moving to a different hotel?
How much was the cost of the hotel element of the holiday and how much are you looking to try and recover?
Was it just the hotel food that was your issue with the hotel?

We weren't in a position to spend thousands of pounds moving to another hotel having already spent £5k+ on the original hotel/flight not knowing if we would ever end up getting any money back.

The difference between half board and full board is £1k+ but I haven't really thought about a specific amount to claim back.

The food was 90% of the issue. There were some other minor things but not worth complaining about. We aren't normally complainers and are willing to put up with minor issues that come with running a hotel.

glentoran99

Food ruined your entire honeymoon and made it a nightmare? What exactly was wrong with the food? and why couldn't you simply eat out?

Seff

Oakdene wrote: »

How was the food 'practically inedible'?

It didn't taste fresh. Nearly everything was deep fried and smothered in sweet chili cause. Bread arrived covered in ants. The choice from the buffet was tiny compared to other 5 start hotels. We witnessed food dropped and picked up and served. Fruit wasn't covered and had flies all around it. Dishes were bland and tasteless. There was a supplement on half the menu. There was no choice of wine.

I have stayed in several 5* all inclusive resorts, and 4* ones as well and this didn't even compare to the 4* ones. Not happy having spent £5k+ on it as a honeymoon!

k3lvc

You've not yet convinced us why the food was inedible so your chances at complaint level are limited

What exactly was the issue ?

Only meat options when you're declared vegans ?
Food offer related to location of hotel but different from western 'norms' ?
Dangerously undercooked food ?


Cross-posted with your response above


5* differs by location and needs to be compared within the region rather than globally - in reality it sounds like many (allegedly) 5* places I've stayed on an AI basis

powerful_Rogue

Seff wrote: »

We weren't in a position to spend thousands of pounds moving to another hotel having already spent £5k+ on the original hotel/flight not knowing if we would ever end up getting any money back.

The difference between half board and full board is £1k+ but I haven't really thought about a specific amount to claim back.

The food was 90% of the issue. There were some other minor things but not worth complaining about. We aren't normally complainers and are willing to put up with minor issues that come with running a hotel.

Did you eat out and keep the receipts? That would have solved the issue.

But then it depends on what you mean by the food being inedible. Tastes are different and what one person likes another doesn't.

Which country was you in?

Seff

glentoran99 wrote: »

Food ruined your entire honeymoon and made it a nightmare? What exactly was wrong with the food? and why couldn't you simply eat out?

The hotel was located 20-30 minutes away by taxi from other restaurants. Having already paid a huge amount for all inclusive we didn't want to start having to spend up to an hour in taxis each meal. We both love food, and eating poor food 3 meals a day for 8 days did make it a nightmare! We also had managers endlessly coming up to us mid way through meals asking how it was...didn't exactly make for a relaxing honeymoon.

Seff

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Did you eat out and keep the receipts? That would have solved the issue.

But then it depends on what you mean by the food being inedible. Tastes are different and what one person likes another doesn't.

Which country was you in?

No, as mentioned the hotel was quite isolated so would have meant 45-60 minutes in a taxi each meal.

This was in Mauritius. There are a lot of 5* hotels there, and I think the food is generally of a good standard.

We overheard at least 3 other guests complaining about certain meals, and there are a number of Trip Advisor reviews that specifically mention the food as an issue, so we weren't alone!

powerful_Rogue

Seff wrote: »

The hotel was located 20-30 minutes away by taxi from other restaurants. Having already paid a huge amount for all inclusive we didn't want to start having to spend up to an hour in taxis each meal. We both love food, and eating poor food 3 meals a day for 8 days did make it a nightmare! We also had managers endlessly coming up to us mid way through meals asking how it was...didn't exactly make for a relaxing honeymoon.

Now this confuses me.

The food was that poor yet you still ate it 3 times a day.

You complained to the staff, yet wasn't happy about the managers checking on your experience.

I think because of the above your chance of a claim is very small. You'll be holding out for a goodwill gesture if anything.

You also have to remember that 5* abroad is totally different to 5* in the UK.