Stuart Wheeldon, 49, from Coleshill, near Birmingham, paid more than £2,400 for his wife and two daughters to stay at the Basilica Holiday Resort in Paphos for seven nights via an EasyJet package holiday
A UK father has claimed that his family’s holiday to Cyprus was spoiled by a ‘cockroach infestation’ at their hotel.
Stuart Wheeldon, 49, forked out over £2,400 for a seven-night stay at the Basilica Holiday Resort in Paphos for his wife and two daughters, booked through an EasyJet package deal.
However, Mr Wheeldon, hailing from Coleshill near Birmingham, was appalled to discover cockroaches in three different apartments they occupied during their stay, with some of the insects measuring ‘a couple of inches long’.
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Photographs reveal cockroaches on a pillow, a window and the floor, while Stuart also encountered them in a shower area.
Upon arrival on 24 July, Stuart said the family was allocated the ‘wrong room’ for their week-long self-catering holiday, reports Birmingham Live.
Despite booking a two-bedroom apartment, they were given a single room with two single beds.
After lodging a complaint with the three-star hotel, staff provided them with another room next door for his 13 year old daughter.
That’s when he first noticed the cockroaches, specifically in the shower area of the neighbouring room.
“I’d actually never seen a cockroach in my life before that,” confessed Stuart, who is employed as a tax analyst.
Opting not to let it ruin their holiday from the outset, he decided to wash them down the plughole.
When he raised the issue with the hotel again, they suggested that his daughter could sleep in another room on a separate floor.
Stuart was far from pleased, and his daughter had to switch rooms for a night while her parents kept an eye on her; however, they found cockroaches in the second room as well.
This led to another complaint at the hotel reception, but Stuart alleges that the staff simply told him ‘cockroaches are everywhere’.
“It wasn’t a good response really, they shouldn’t have been (everywhere),” he commented.
“Thank goodness I hadn’t gone all-inclusive because they would be in the restaurant.”
Stuart revealed that his daughter eventually returned to her original hotel room after the staff had sprayed it clean.
However, their troubles didn’t end there, as he claims they spotted cockroaches in the room where his wife and other daughter were staying on their last night.
“Last night, we never slept because you could feel things crawling over you,” Stuart recounted.
“I went and spoke to reception and said, look, it’s a bit late at this point, there’s not much you can do, I grant that, but it’s not good enough.”
He added: “To be honest, it didn’t seem an unusual sort of circumstance (to them), because they didn’t seem that bothered, to be honest.
“I spoke to EasyJet on the first call, when the cockroaches were first found in my daughter’s original room, and they offered me a £60 voucher towards my next holiday, which really isn’t of any value whatsoever.”
Speaking about the cockroach issue, Stuart stated: “It just gives you a feeling of dirtiness and that it’s not been cleaned properly, you just don’t feel comfortable.
“There was also something leaking from the fridge in my daughter’s room that we noticed on the last day.
“There was like a puddle there, it was dirty and it wasn’t cleaned properly.”
He added: “I don’t go on holiday to complain, I’m not the fussiest of people.
“But, especially with kids, your standards have to be higher.
“It’s not something you want on a holiday, and it definitely ruined our holiday.
“I would never stay in that accommodation again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
“I think the concern is if anyone else has to stay there and they’ve got very young toddlers or babies, god knows what might happen.”
Stuart raised his concerns with EasyJet following his package holiday booking through the airline, and was offered a £60 travel voucher in return.
In correspondence viewed by BirminghamLive, the carrier issued an apology to Stuart whilst noting that cockroach encounters were commonplace in warmer destinations, stating: “While their presence does not indicate a lack of hygiene in your accommodation, we understand that it can be distressing.”
Responding to the incident, an EasyJet holidays representative commented: “We’re sorry to hear that Mr Wheeldon was disappointed with his experience.
“We always want our customers to enjoy brilliant holidays, so we’re actively investigating his concerns with our resort partners.
“As soon as Mr Wheeldon reached out to us, we arranged a room change for him and his family to help improve their stay.
“We’ve also been in direct contact to offer our sincere apologies, a partial refund and a gesture of goodwill.”
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