Holiday compensation news
01/10/2008

Tour operator may pay out for anniversary trip gone wrong

A couple from Rugby may claim holiday compensation after their stay in Cuba was marred, first by a Hurricane, then by difficulties with a "disgusting" hotel.

When the hurricane came the married pair, who were celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary, were told they would have to leave their hotel and take shelter in a restaurant. And, although they did not suffer any personal injury, making the involvement of a solicitor less likely, they may still be eligible for some form of holiday compensation.

They explained, "We were packed into this building that had been boarded up and just sat around and waited. "Through a gap in some woodwork I glanced outside and could see coconuts and tiles flying through the air - it was the strangest, scariest sight I have ever seen. "I could hear clattering and whirring as it passed over us and huge trees were crashing to the ground just outside the restaurant. "We were stuck in there for 14 hours which seemed like an eternity and just had to pass the time by telling stories and jokes. "When we got outside and saw the devastation that the hurricane had caused we felt lucky to have been unscathed."

And they said that things did not improve once they were transferred to another hotel. "The hotel had hardly any water, the bathrooms were crawling with insects and the toilets were full of human waste. Almost everyone was being sick or getting diarrhoea," they said. Adding, "I went without a shower for three days and felt disgusting. In the end 80 guests staged a sit-down protest in the hotel lobby. "The reps totally abandoned us. "We were told we would be moved or flown home on certain dates but when that time came they were nowhere to be seen. "In the end the hurricane turned out to be the least of our problems!"

A spokesperson from the couple's tour operator has commented that he will be contacting them to discuss holiday compensation.

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