Susan Edwards said her all-inclusive TUI holiday to Corfu was “horrendous from the minute [they] got there”
Susan Edwards from Westerhope, who had a “nightmare” holiday in Corfu, booked through TUI(Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
A holidaymaker said she refuses to book with TUI again after a “nightmare” all-inclusive trip to Corfu, where there was “no English food” or hotel entertainment. Susan Edwards set off on a seven-night holiday to the Greek island on May 12.
She stayed at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel with her cousins, aged 77 and 78, her daughter, 30, and second cousin, 50. But Susan, 69, from Westerhope, said the holiday was “horrendous from the minute [they] got there.”
Susan said: “It was all-inclusive, £750 each we paid and there was no food we could eat and we couldn’t have anything to drink. I have to be careful because I have ulcerative colitis so there’s certain things I can’t eat. The all inclusive drinks were wine, lager, ouzo, or brandy. Yes, there were soft drinks, but we had to pay €1.50 for water.”
(Image: Susan Edwards)
Susan said her party arrived at the hillside hotel at around 2pm on May 12 and were ready to enjoy food and refreshments after a long journey. After climbing a large ramp to reach the hotel reception Susan said she was informed that pool-side food would be served at 5pm for guests, which she claims was a “one-inch square of baklava”.
However, her dissatisfaction with the food at the hotel became worse the following day when she discovered there was “no English food” available. Describing the food on offer at the hotel, Susan said: “On a morning you could have toast, a hard boiled egg, or something in sauce.
“There was no bacon. For breakfast there was mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. There was no hot bacon or sausage.
“We got chips one day. One day out of the whole lot. There was fish, sardines and rice – I was sick to death of looking at rice. There was pasta and salads, none of this was marked (labelled). One night there was a Greek night and they had kebabs, I couldn’t eat that. It’s the worst holiday I’ve ever been on.”
(Image: Susan Edwards)
Susan added that she couldn’t enjoy a drink of her choice during her holiday because she doesn’t like ouzo and doesn’t drink brandy. She explained that she would normally drink bottled lager or one Bacardi and Coke, which she said would have cost her €9 and would have been a different brand.
“By the time we paid £750 for the holiday, €70 tourist tax for me and my daughter and an extra £450 for both of our meals, I could have been to the Caribbean on that”, said Susan.
TUI’s website describes holidays at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel as being “all about the laidback life” where “ping pong and pool are the liveliest activities on the agenda”, aside from the occasional live music and Greek night. It also describes the four-star hotel as having its own private patch of beach “just steps away”.
Susan said there was no entertainment at the hotel which is “stuck there in the middle of nowhere”. She added: “There was a private beach but it was so steep we couldn’t get down to it and it was 150 yards from the hotel.
“There’s a ramp at the side of the hotel that you have to try and pull your case up when you arrive. My daughter was up and down, up and down, trying to pull everyone’s case up for them.”
She also described being disappointed as she was unable to have a second key for her the room she shared with her daughter. Susan said: “I asked for a second key for my daughter because sometimes I get tired in the afternoon and rather than lying in the sun and getting burned.
“But if I went up to have a sleep, my daughter wouldn’t be able to get into the room. She would have to wake me up to get in. I asked for a second key but I was told ‘no, too expensive’.”
(Image: Susan Edwards)
Susan said she normally holidays in Spain with her cousins and would always fly with TUI as she felt comfortable knowing “there’s a big company behind you if anything goes wrong.” However, she feels she is unable to fly with the company again as she has been left unsatisfied with the holiday provider’s response.
Susan has been offered £100 in holiday vouchers from TUI, however, she claims some holidaymakers she met while at the hotel have been offered more after complaining. Susan has declined TUI’s final offer of £100 vouchers.
She added: “In the past I’ve paid more to get on a TUI flight because if anything happened I’ve always thought you’ve got a big company behind you if anything goes wrong. Not anymore. This holiday was a nightmare.”
A TUI UK & I Spokesperson said: “Our priority is to ensure customers have the best possible holiday experience, so we are sorry to hear that Mrs Edwards felt dissatisfied with her holiday. We have been in touch directly with Mrs Edwards to come to a resolution.”