A Nottinghamshire family are demanding a full refund from TUI after what they described as an "absolutely awful" 11-night stay in Turkey where they allegedly faced several problems including strong sewage smells at their hotel. Shaun Caudwell, 37, attended the break with his wife Vanessa, 33, and five children.
The Edwinstowe family arrived at a hotel on September 19 but said they went on to have the "holiday from hell". The family claim the holiday began with initial confusion at reception when they said staff were unable to find the family on their list, before they eventually arrived in their rooms to find them in a "dirty" state.
Mr Caudwell said: "When we got inside, the rooms were absolutely filthy. The drains in [one of the rooms] smelled of sewage. The beds were a block of wood with an extremely hard, very thin dirty mattress on and the smell of sewage was completely disgusting. The electric in [one room] did not work at all. It kept cutting out."
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Mr Caudwell said he was also concerned over the condition of a cot, which he said was later replaced, provided for their 11-month old son Elijah. Shaun Caudwell said: "We spent a lot of money on this holiday and the children all couldn't wait to go after a rubbish few years and this is what we get. We feel completely broke and let down by TUI and have had the absolute holiday from hell."
TUI confirmed teams in the resort were in regular contact with the family and offered to upgrade their room which the family did not accept. TUI also stressed hotel staff had accommodated the customers as much as possible.
A spokeswoman for TUI said: "After further investigation of Mr and Mrs Caudwell’s claims, we’re confident that our teams in resort supported them as much as possible during their stay in Turkey. Our rep was in constant communication with the family, and we provided alternative accommodation and an upgraded room to address their concerns. If Mr and Mrs Caudwell would like to purse their claims further, we’d recommend for them to contact our legal team."
Nottinghamshire Live contacted the hotel over the claims but received no response at the time of publication. The family were eventually transferred to another hotel.
Mrs Caudwell added: "We have been to Turkey twice before with no problem and this was supposed to be a quieter area of the country, but it was not at all like it was advertised. It was just absolutely awful and I think the way it was all handled by TUI was disgusting."
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