According to a report by the Times newspaper British tourists have been forced to sleep on beaches as the hotels they booked are closed.
Tourists were left bewildered, disappointed and stranded when they arrived at the hotels they had paid for, only to discover that they were still closed due to the lockdown.
Loveholidays was one of the main culprits, according to the consumer watchdog Which? Those who chose not fly home or sleep on beaches booked alternative accommodation, the watchdog said.
Paul Davis booked a £1,500 holiday to Spain on 1 July, and when he arrived in Salou on the Costa Daurada, the 4R Regina Gran hotel was closed.
He told the Times newspaper, “When we pulled up, I thought we must have the wrong hotel, it was all shut and hadn’t been opened for a good while.
“It’s disgusting. We were fortunate enough to have the money to stay somewhere else but lots of other people probably aren’t in that position.”
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel magazine said, “It is beyond belief that holidaymakers have been left in a position where they have either had to fork out hundreds of pounds for alternative accommodation or risk being left with nowhere to sleep.”
A spokesperson for Loveholidays said, “We wholeheartedly apologise to the affected customers for the inconvenience and distress this has caused.
“Our customer services team is in contact with them to resolve matters to their satisfaction and ensure that they can enjoy the rest of their holidays.
“We are not aware of customers sleeping on the beach and would be horrified if this was the case as we have a 24/7 in resort helpline number that customers can – and should – call if they face issues at their destination using the number set out in their booking documentation and on our website.”
Loveholidays added,”We are working closely with all our suppliers to understand which hotels are open for customers but unfortunately some closures were not communicated to us prior to customers travelling to those hotels.”
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