An elderly couple were left in tears after being forced to stay in a hotel room that they claim "wasn't fit for humans". Glenys and Graham Launders paid £545 for their five-night stay at Coasters Hotel in Skegness, Lincolnshire, after reading positive reviews online.
However, upon arrival on August 4, the pair were immediately hit with a "dirty smell" when they opened the door to their room that "looked like it hadn't been touched in years". Inside, Mr Launders, 80, and his wife found stained pillows, greasy kitchenware and a filthy toaster - with the fridge also having to be cleaned before anything could be put in it.
Mrs Launders, 75, immediately complained to reception about the state of the room, and broke down crying over the shocking conditions, the Mirror reports.
She explained: "We arrived in Skegness at about 4.30pm and spoke to the lady at reception who greeted us and said that, to get to our room, we would have to go around a corner and up two flights of stairs. My husband is disabled and, even though there was a stairlift for the first flight, there wasn't for the second and so that was difficult to manage.
"We eventually got to our room and when you opened the door the smell just hit you straight away. It was a very fusty and dirty smell and it was as if the room hadn't been touched in years.
"We started unpacking and I had to actually clean the fridge in the room myself before I put anything in there. There was a bus stop opposite the hotel, so the area was perfect and we went out after unpacking and we thought we'd tell reception about the room on our way - but we got downstairs and it was already shut.
"When we eventually got back later on the smell was still there, even though I'd opened the windows, and so I squirted two bottles of air freshener out that I'd bought from the shop."
Speaking of the problems Mrs Launders said she and her husband faced in the room, she explained the bed was pressed up against a wall, there were stained pillows and she noticed greasy kitchenware and unclean cooking facilities.
She said: "It wasn't until the Saturday morning that I actually managed to see someone at reception. I showed her pictures of everything, including the toaster which was filthy, and when I asked if she would make toast in it, she said that she wouldn't.
"But there was no offer of a new toaster or for the room to be properly cleaned, she just explained to me that they had been short staffed. I was really upset and I was in tears when I was talking to her because of how bad the room was. It wasn't fit for humans and it was just a disaster.
"There was nowhere else for us to stay because there were either no vacancies or places were too expensive, but the hotel told us that they would sort out a refund for us when we left. We decided to leave a day early and, even though we'd been told that a refund would be sorted, they changed their tune.
"I asked the woman at reception if she wanted my card and she told me 'no' and to sort it out with Booking.com, who we had booked it through. I found her nasty and the whole thing just spoiled our holiday."
Mr Launders added: "This had all been arranged as a nice family getaway because our sons were in Skegness and they said that we should join them for five days. That's what it was supposed to be, but our experience at the hotel meant that we didn't get that nice holiday."
On the issue of the refund, the manager of the hotel told NottinghamshireLive that she hadn't been asked for one "in the correct manner". Mrs Launders told the news site that they approached hotel staff properly for the refund.
Coasters Hotel has been approached for comment.
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