Help re. ABTA complaint against On The Beach please?

Legacy_user

Hello there,
I'm just wondering if I could have some help re my ongoing complaint against OTB. OTB are fighting my complaint, which I feel is very valid, but I'd appreciate the advice of impartial forumites?
I booked a 7 night all inclusive holiday at Eurostars Las Salinas in Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura for my daughter, son in law, 10 month old grandson and me via OTB. It was a very important and emotional holiday, as my firstborn grandchild, a beautiful perfect baby girl had died thanks to hospital negligence in her mummy's arms only a year earlier, and I'd been diagnosed with a life limiting debilitating disease. This was potentially my last family holiday, and I wanted my daughter to have a relaxing stress free luxury holiday.
I paid almost £5000 - a lot of money to a medically retired ex civil servant - for a 4 person villa accommodation, with our own pool. I spent hours researching and checking reviews of different hotels in the town, to select our accommodation, as my sister and her family were going at the same time, tho to a different hotel. I selected the Eurostars Las Salinas as the villa accommodation looked so lovely, spacious and we could all be together.
On arrival, we were shown to our accommodation which was clean and spacious and as per the online brochure....until we went looking for the second bedroom for my daughter and her family. We were stunned and extremely disappointed to find that it was a 6x6' cupboard, with two single beds in, wall to wall, and with nothing else in it! After a long journey, my heart sank and stress levels rose, to realise this wasn't going to be the holiday I'd hoped for.
I immediately went to reception to complain but was told all villa accommodation the same, and to return the next morning to speak to management.
I have a disability which means I can no longer use the phone, so I sent two long detailed online complaint messages via my OTB booking account, asking for help that night, and spent our first night of this big emotional holiday in tears. I felt it was my responsibility as a mum to make sure this holiday was the best for my grieving family, whilst dealing with my illness and feeling so let down. There were no pictures anywhere online of this unacceptable 2nd bedroom. If I'd seen it or found it described anywhere, I would not have booked this hotel.
Management of the hotel stated there was nothing they could do. Obviously the cupboard wasn't viable for my daughter, son in law and baby, and I certainly wasn't going to sleep in a broom cupboard for 7 nights after spending so much of my hard earned cash, plus a poorly grandma requires a little privacy! It was almost impossible to even close the door on the tiny box room. No windows or furniture. Nothing.
No response from OTB so the only thing we came up with was paying out more money for a room nearby for my daughter and her family, which I paid so that we could continue our holiday.
To cut a long story short, OTB are refusing to compensate me - despite their website falsely advertising the villa accommodation by failing to describe/omitting details of that tiny inadequate 6x6 two single beds wall to wall room as the second bedroom. They claim it's my fault for not doing enough research beforehand ( tho that 2nd bedroom isn't pictured or mentioned anywhere on the tinterweb), it's my fault as it's my expectations not their advertising that's caused this problem and my fault as I didn't ring them on that first night so they had the opportunity to move us to a different hotel, even tho I explained I couldn't use the phone and messaging was the only other way to communicate with them. Their response to my initial messages, two days later was to advise I needed to complain upon our return home.

Our correspondence continues between us on the ABTA website, but do I have a case? I'm already stressed out with it all. I'm exhausted and frustrated with OTB. Should I continue to fight?? Any advice much appreciated and apologies for this long story!

bradders1983

If you are complaining officially, leave out the stuff in the first couple of paragraphs as for the reason. It is totally irrelevant and they will probably think you are laying it on too thick

pattycake

As bladders says, your reasons for booking the holiday have no relevance. Keep your complaint concise and to the point. Seemingly though, you booked two bedroom accommodation and that was what was provided even though you deemed the second bedroom to be unacceptable.

I’m sorry for your woes and hope you get a satisfactory conclusion.

System

Hi both,
Thanks for your advice, can I just ask, is a 6x6 cupboard with two single beds in deemed as acceptable ? And as it wasn't shown anywhere on the OTB website - or indeed any others - would that count as misrepresentation?
Cheers,

mgdavid

annieco22 wrote: »

Hi both,
Thanks for your advice, can I just ask, is a 6x6 cupboard with two single beds in deemed as acceptable ? And as it wasn't shown anywhere on the OTB website - or indeed any others - would that count as misrepresentation?
Cheers,

can you post a photo of the room?

jpsartre

annieco22 wrote: »

Hi both,
Thanks for your advice, can I just ask, is a 6x6 cupboard with two single beds in deemed as acceptable ?

What makes it unacceptable? It hardly sounds luxurious but it's a place to sleep.

soolin

annieco22 wrote: »

Hi both,
Thanks for your advice, can I just ask, is a 6x6 cupboard with two single beds in deemed as acceptable ? And as it wasn't shown anywhere on the OTB website - or indeed any others - would that count as misrepresentation?
Cheers,

It's bigger than a lot of bedrooms in new build houses in the UK, I have never liked windowless rooms, but again have come across a few in both the UK and overseas. In fact one resort we stay in each year is built so that each apartment only has windows to the front (they are built back to back) so the seperate bedroom, mini bathroom etc have no windows at all .

Westin

I tend to agree with the other posters, particularly around having a factual and concise style of raising a complaint. That said you are not dealing with a normal tour operator but an online travel business selling separate travel components.

Here is the description from the hotel’s own website which is light on interior images of the villa but certainly describes them as two-bedrooms. https://www.eurostarshotels.co.uk/eurostars-las-salinas/rooms.html

OTB is not like a typical tour operator where often the operator has a copy writing team and product team who put together a feature of a hotel, writing copy descriptions and setting out images. OTB will have likely either had copy provided from a third party bed bank or possibly from the hotel themselves. The copy and room descriptions are pulled from fairly generic content. OTB will also have no resort team or product team to inspect and check hotels. Quite possible that no one from OTB has even ever seen the accommodation. These are some of the negative differences these online travel sellers have vs. traditional tour operators who have internal processes and resources which typically pick up on issues like this.

I think you may struggle to take this further and get the recompense you seek. OTB will defend their position and state the issue is with the hotel or 3rd party accommodation supplier. Whilst I agree that the second bedroom could have been described better and a 6ft square windowless room would not in the minds of many be a suitable bedroom, it was nevertheless equipped and laid out as a separate sleeping bedroom. This will come down to you fighting for recompense from a Spanish hotel and I can’t see you getting very far with it.

System

I paid £5k for this "villa accommodation for 4 adults", am I unreasonable to expect two bedrooms that have drawers/wardrobes/a mirror/bedside table and room to put cases etc? We weren't expecting anything luxurious, but a 6x6 cupboard with 2 single beds in was just too basic. If we were staying in a basic cheap hotel I'd have been happy, I've stayed happily in cheap and cheerful before.
If I had seen a pic of that bedroom, or a description before booking I would not have booked it and gone elsewhere!
Trying to attach pics, thanks for all your input

System

I paid £5k for this "villa accommodation for 4 adults", am I unreasonable to expect two bedrooms that have drawers/wardrobes/a mirror/bedside table and room to put cases etc? We weren't expecting anything luxurious, but a 6x6 cupboard with 2 single beds in was just too basic. If we were staying in a basic cheap hotel I'd have been happy, I've stayed happily in cheap and cheerful before.
If I had seen a pic of that bedroom, or a description before booking I would not have booked it and gone elsewhere!
Trying to attach pics, thanks for all your input

elsien

You won't be able to post photos as a new member.
Use a photo hosting site such as tinypic then put up a broken link (leave a gap in it somewhere) and someone else can put it up for you.