A couple claim their wedding anniversary was ruined when they discovered their beachside resort in Egypt looked more like ‘war-torn Syria’ than a four-star hotel.
Robbie and Dawn Bennett flew out with two friends for a £3,700 two-week, all-inclusive holiday in Safaga, Egypt, to celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary in September.
However, after arriving at the Paradise Abu Soma Resort, the couple said they soon realised that what was meant to be a luxury hotel ‘looked nothing like the pictures’ advertised online.
Shocking photos taken during the ‘holiday from hell’ show rooms overlooking what the holidaymakers dilapidated poolside terraces and buildings.
Robbie says the rubble-strewn tennis and basketball courts that made up what was supposed to be the ‘sports facilities’ were unusable and appeared more like a ‘warzone’.
Other snaps show the group sat in complete darkness with only their phones for light during what they say was a power cut at the hotel during dinner time.
The 42-year-old former civil servant said their ‘shabby, 1980s-style’ room was ‘dirty’, claiming there were hairs in the bed and just two single sheets to sleep with.
After complaining to the front desk, the pair said they were offered alternative accommodation in another area of the hotel, which guests reportedly refer to as the ‘prison block’.
Robbie and Dawn, a 49-year-old civil servant, believe the holiday was ‘misrepresented, describing their stay as the worst trip they’ve ever been on.
What the couple expected when they booked their holiday at the Paradise Abu Soma Resort
Robbie says the rubble-strewn basketball courts that made up what was supposed to be the ‘sports facilities’ were unusable
A poolside seating area looks worse for wear and like it hasn’t been updated in years
Snaps show the group sat in complete darkness with only their phones for light during what they say was a power cut at the hotel during dinner time
Robbie said he, his wife and their friends take an annual trip to celebrate their wedding anniversaries
Robbie, who lives near Colchester, Essex, said: ‘It’s an annual trip that me, my wife and our friends take to celebrate our anniversaries. We got married in the same month, in different years, to our respective partners.
‘I’ve been to Egypt eight or nine times over the course of the last 13 years. We’ve never had any issues in the past.
‘My wife booked the hotel online and all the pictures and reviews looked really good. It looked really picturesque.
‘When we got to the hotel, we thought this can’t be right. My wife was practically in tears.
‘We were supposed to be staying in one of the beachside, ocean-view chalets, which was just a double bedroom with 1980s decor in really poor condition.
‘I think we had one plug socket in the whole room that we could use. It was really dirty – there were hairs in the bed. Just very poor quality.
‘This was supposed to be a four-star hotel. We didn’t even have a duvet, each bed just had a single sheet on it. There was no additional bedding in the room.
‘We just froze the whole time.’
Shocking photos from the ‘holiday from hell’ show rooms overlooking what the holidaymakers dilapidated poolside terraces and buildings
An area of the ‘shabby’ hotel which could do with a lick of paint
Robbie and Dawn immediately complained to the front desk and their holiday provider who they claim offered them £700 to find alternative accommodation nearby.
Robbie said: ‘We started looking at relocating hotels straight away. My wife was so disappointed because she’d booked the whole thing. She thought she’d ruined it for everybody. She wanted to go home.
‘The hotel offered us a different hotel room in what the guests call the ‘prison block’. It looked terrible.
‘They advertised basketball courts, tennis courts, crazy golf, sports facilities and it looked more like Syria or Beirut. You couldn’t use them.
EXPECTATION: ‘We were supposed to be staying in one of the beachside, ocean-view chalets,’ Robbie said
REALITY: Robbie said their ‘shabby, 1980s-style’ room was ‘dirty’, claiming there were hairs in the bed and just two single sheets to sleep with
‘It looked and felt like a warzone. If we’d taken them up on their offer and stayed in the ‘prison block’, that would’ve been our view when we opened the curtains.’
The couple were also disappointed by being offered plastic cutlery at breakfast, despite the resort being a four-star hotel.
Robbie said: ‘In the morning at breakfast, instead of them putting out metal spoons, we had a collection of plastic spoons and plastic cups for drinks.
‘One evening, while we were eating dinner, there was a power cut so we were out of power for five minutes or so sat at the dinner table.
An outside table tennis area with broken shelves and ripped open canvas
A kids’ club and disco at the resort look outdated and uninviting
‘It was just shabby. We weren’t happy with the hotel at all. It was a holiday from hell.
‘Out of all the holidays we’ve been on, I’d rate it as the worst.
‘It was completely misrepresented to how it was advertised online. It shouldn’t be advertised as four stars.
‘We were going out there to celebrate our anniversary and have a relaxing time, but we just thought thank god that’s over. It was a relief leaving.
‘We’d like some compensation for the experience we had. It was the one holiday we save up for every year that we spend our hard-earned cash on.’
The hotel were contacted for comment.
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