We are all aware that the internet, newspapers and investigative programmes are full of stories of holidays from hell. Now I don’t want to appear to be the type of person that revels in others misfortune, but I thought it might be funny to have a look at a couple of examples of what we Brits affectionately term holidays from hell. Being from the if I didn’t laugh I’d cry generation maybe my outlook on some of these incidents is far more pragmatic than other people’s.
However, trust me I do understand the distress that can be caused when a dream holiday turns out to be anything but that. But, because I tend to be the type of person that laughs at inappropriate things I thought I’d have a look at a couple of things that have happened on holidays from hell. As this is amusement only I will avoid naming and shaming establishments and tour operators.
Dead Bird in the Restaurant
Imagine booking a dream getaway to Jamacia at great expense only to find everything was not as described in the brochure. Problems included a wardrobe collapsing on an ageing party member, a buffet covered in flies and water running down the walls into sockets. But undoubtedly the highlight of this trip was finding a dead bird in the restaurant. Dead bird in a restaurant what’s unusual about that you may ask unless of course, it’s a vegetarian restaurant.
Well in fairness dead birds are normally found in the kitchen waiting to be plucked and cooked not sitting patiently on a chair waiting to greet diners. Not surprisingly the family didn’t fancy sharing the table with a deceased parrot, so had to try and find somewhere else for Christmas lunch. The best they could manage at short notice was a bread roll and French fries. When asked to comment on this the Hotel denied the claims that in the words of Elvis’s hit Suspicious Minds, the bird was ‘caught in a trap’. If ever there was a case for a restaurant accident claim this is it.
Flying Cockroaches in The Room
Now turning up to a supposed five-star to find a room infested with cockroaches is one thing, but that would be multiplied several times if they were flying around like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Now you can’t accuse the hotel concerned of ignoring the problem as they issued our beleaguered couple with bottles of ammonia to tackle the offending bugs. This is because it is ideally their responsibility to hire experts to get everything from the kitchen to the sewer line cleaning done, that can help getting rid of all the pests. Well! Maybe they omitted the bit from the brochure that stated that the hotel was aimed at people who were experts in the art of jungle survival. Not only did the ammonia fail to kill off our insect friends it also led to our intrepid tourists suffering from chest pains and dizzy spells. Not surprisingly to ensure survival they cut short their holiday and returned home.
The Hotel was Little more than a Building Site
Now nobody in their right mind would choose to spend a holiday in the middle of a construction site. So, it’s not unreasonable to expect that when you book a holiday the resort will be complete when you arrive. So, imagine the horror of turning up to find your hotel looked like the before picture from a Barrett catalogue. Being awoken every day by the dulcet tones of a pneumatic drill and needing to be an expert in cross country manoeuvres to get to the dining hall is no picnic. None of the advertised attractions such as pools and water parks were finished and while toilet jokes are often funny, that doesn’t tend to be the case when the jokes on you. Maybe next year save money ring Barrett’s up and ask them can you pitch a tent in the middle of a new development at least there will be plenty of sand.
