Family Holiday From Hell

One family’s dream holiday turned into a nightmare after they were forced to take a ride in the back of a police car.

Police had to step in and help one family who were left stranded when they turned up at the holiday apartment to find the gates locked. This was just the start of the problems the party of seven faced during their dream trip to Spain.

The family jetted off to Alcoceber in Spain and booked two apartments through Love Holidays. They arrived at their accommodation in the evening and not able to locate keys, or find anyone to help them check in. The family were left waiting in the streets, before being picked up by local police and given a different hotel for the night.

They contacted Love Holidays who advised the family to walk to another hotel one mile walk away to get the keys. However, when they did this they couldn’t locate any staff anywhere. Local police were informed about the family’s situation and arrived to help the family.

Ms Wells described the moment as “scary” when an officer pointed at her and asked her and Jake to get into the police car. “My son was very distressed and worried that we were going to get taken away,” she said. “I thought we were being arrested for being out on the street. But the officer informed us that he had located our keys and drove us to another hotel four miles away. We were told once we arrived that we had been booked in for one night at the hotel, which was arranged last minute by Love Holidays.

The police then had to go back to collect the remaining five members of the family.

“In the end the police were really helpful, so we were all smiling. However, the apartments given to us were not equal to what we had booked and we didn’t manage to get in until 2am. This was the first time we were able to get anything to eat, drink, and get in from the cold.”

The next morning the family felt stranded again when they went to collect the keys from an office, four miles from where they were supposed to be staying. Love Holiday had told the family they and their luggage would be transferred to their intended apartments, however, staff at the hotel did not provide this for them.

“Although we tried to make the most of the remaining holiday, it was ruined by what we went through in the beginning,” added Ms Wells.

After getting in touch with Love Holidays, Ms Wells was offered a £150 compensation for the errors made. “I think this amount is ridiculous, and I’m shocked they think this is acceptable,” she added. “It’s their job to provide customers with all the information like where and when to collect keys, not leave families standing on the street. I felt responsible because I had booked the holiday, and felt I had let everyone down. I was scared and worried for my children on that first night, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to have that experience.”

A spokeswoman for Love Holidays said: “Love Holidays was disappointed to hear about the issues the Wells family experienced on arrival at their apartment and took immediate action to find and book the family alternative accommodation nearby for the first night. However, the customer informed us that they were trying to find a solution at the original accommodation rather than wishing to check in to the alternative hotel booked for the first night. The Love Holidays’ team repeatedly advised the customer to check in to the alternative hotel for the night while we sought a solution with the apartment management, however, the customer persevered and was being assisted by a passing policeman, as a result they arrived at the alternative hotel quite late.”

“The following morning, the family were contacted and advised to take taxis to the original apartments and Love Holidays would reimburse them in full. There were difficulties ordering taxis locally, and the staff at the hotel kindly offered to take them to their original accommodation free of charge. On arrival at the apartments, one of the two rooms was not yet ready, however an alternative apartment was prepared for them. Love Holidays apologises for the inconvenience this caused and has offered the family compensation for the issues experienced on the first night which is in excess of the cost of the first night’s accommodation.”