Picture this—you’ve planned the perfect trip away with two of your closest friends.

You’ve taken months to research the best flights, hotels and activities, and you’re counting down the days to your much-anticipated holiday.

But what happens when your dream holiday turns into a living nightmare?

That’s exactly what happened to Aaron Hatton and Danielle Halsall, both 20, who claim to have been left 'traumatised' and $1,150 out of pocket after allegedly being told to 'go away' from their accommodation during their 'horrific' first holiday abroad.

The friends booked the long-awaited trip to Antalya, Turkey, through UK travel service LoveHolidays for £500 ($950 AUD) each in August 2023.

Their dream holiday took a turn when they arrived at their hotel—Arsi Paradise Beach—at 1 am to find the gates were locked and the security guard allegedly telling them they hadn’t booked that resort.

A group of three friends were left $1,150 out of pocket on their holiday to Turkey. Image source: wirestock on Freepik.

'I felt so confused and disheartened, and I really thought we were going to have to stay on the streets,' Danielle said.

'No one was willing to help us, even at the other hotels—it was like we were isolated from everybody else who was having fun on holiday.'

'We were so confused, as there were loads of people on the balcony, so I didn’t understand why the gates were locked.'

'I tried explaining to security that this was our hotel and showed them our booking, but they kept telling us we hadn’t booked there. She also shoo’ed at us to go away, as well as saying it wasn’t open to the public.'

Aaron, Danielle, and another friend claimed that the package they purchased online included flights, luggage, airport transfers, and an all-inclusive stay with alcohol.

After seeking help for hours, they visited the resort’s sister hotel, which gave them a room to stay for the duration of their week-long trip at no extra charge.

The group was supposed to stay at Arsi Paradise Beach. Image source: Booking.com, Arsi Paradise Beach.

However, the following day, as they tried to make the most of their all-inclusive package, they claimed to have been told that they would need to pay extra for alcohol as it wasn’t included in their package. That’s when they decided enough was enough.

'We tried to order some cocktails, but the bartender kept saying we needed a wristband,' Aaron said.

'I told him we weren’t given any, so he suggested us paying extra to get the drinks included in our stay.'

'Instead, we stayed in our cramped room for the night, before deciding enough was enough.'

The group suffered another blow when they found out that the price for their supposed hotel was £84 ($160 AUD) for a room with a view of the sea, while their new hotel they claimed was only £18 ($35 AUD) per night.

The group contacted LoveHolidays for an explanation and claimed they had been ignored until they decided to cut their holiday short and just fly back home.

'They asked for a full report to be sent while we were at the airport, which we did, but then they said we had to wait until the full trip was over to dispute anything,' Danielle shared.

'It’s been so stressful and disheartening, as it’s such a waste of time and money. We were left in a country that we didn’t know, with nowhere to go, and no one to speak to—it was a living nightmare.'

On October 23, Aaron claimed LoveHolidays offered to give the group £100 (A$200) worth of vouchers each and refunded them £489 (A930) for their hotel.

However, the group had to shell out an extra £200 (A$400) each for return flights, which they said was a 'joke' and encouraged everyone to avoid the travel agent.

'It’s not good enough, and I’m absolutely fuming,' Aaron added.

'They really don’t care, aren’t bothered about their customers, and we won’t be using them again.'

LoveHolidays and Arsi Paradise Beach Hotel were contacted for a comment on the issue.

'We're very sorry Mr Hatton's holiday did not live up to our usual high standards,' a LoveHolidays spokesperson said.

'We’re investigating the relocation error with our accommodation supplier to ensure it does not happen again and are doing all we can to support Mr Hatton’s claim.'

'While we’re still within the usual timeframe to investigate this complaint, we’ve already been in touch with Mr Hatton to apologise and reimburse his accommodation costs, alongside offering a £100 (A$200) voucher from LoveHolidays.'

Key Takeaways

• A group of friends claim they were refused entry to their pre-booked holiday resort in Antalya, Turkey, leaving them $1,150 out of pocket.
  
• Aaron Hatton, Danielle Halsall and another friend claimed that upon their arrival, the resort's security guard denied their booking and refused their entry.
  
• After seeking help and staying at the resort's sister hotel, they were allegedly informed that alcohol, which they believed to be included in their all-inclusive package, would come at an extra charge.
  
• Travel agent LoveHolidays has offered a voucher and a refund for their hotel stay, but the group had to pay an extra $400 each for return flights, and they claim the response from the travel agency is not good enough.
  

Members, if you have any tips or stories to share about your holiday experiences, share them with us in the comments below!

 

[joany]

Picture this—you’ve planned the perfect trip away with two of your closest friends.

You’ve taken months to research the best flights, hotels and activities, and you’re counting down the days to your much-anticipated holiday.

But what happens when your dream holiday turns into a living nightmare?

That’s exactly what happened to Aaron Hatton and Danielle Halsall, both 20, who claim to have been left 'traumatised' and $1,150 out of pocket after allegedly being told to 'go away' from their accommodation during their 'horrific' first holiday abroad.

The friends booked the long-awaited trip to Antalya, Turkey, through UK travel service LoveHolidays for £500 ($950 AUD) each in August 2023.

Their dream holiday took a turn when they arrived at their hotel—Arsi Paradise Beach—at 1 am to find the gates were locked and the security guard allegedly telling them they hadn’t booked that resort.

View attachment 33472

A group of three friends were left $1,150 out of pocket on their holiday to Turkey. Image source: wirestock on Freepik.

'I felt so confused and disheartened, and I really thought we were going to have to stay on the streets,' Danielle said.

'No one was willing to help us, even at the other hotels—it was like we were isolated from everybody else who was having fun on holiday.'

'We were so confused, as there were loads of people on the balcony, so I didn’t understand why the gates were locked.'

'I tried explaining to security that this was our hotel and showed them our booking, but they kept telling us we hadn’t booked there. She also shoo’ed at us to go away, as well as saying it wasn’t open to the public.'

Aaron, Danielle, and another friend claimed that the package they purchased online included flights, luggage, airport transfers, and an all-inclusive stay with alcohol.

After seeking help for hours, they visited the resort’s sister hotel, which gave them a room to stay for the duration of their week-long trip at no extra charge.

View attachment 33473

The group was supposed to stay at Arsi Paradise Beach. Image source: Booking.com, Arsi Paradise Beach.

However, the following day, as they tried to make the most of their all-inclusive package, they claimed to have been told that they would need to pay extra for alcohol as it wasn’t included in their package. That’s when they decided enough was enough.

'We tried to order some cocktails, but the bartender kept saying we needed a wristband,' Aaron said.

'I told him we weren’t given any, so he suggested us paying extra to get the drinks included in our stay.'

'Instead, we stayed in our cramped room for the night, before deciding enough was enough.'

The group suffered another blow when they found out that the price for their supposed hotel was £84 ($160 AUD) for a room with a view of the sea, while their new hotel they claimed was only £18 ($35 AUD) per night.

The group contacted LoveHolidays for an explanation and claimed they had been ignored until they decided to cut their holiday short and just fly back home.

'They asked for a full report to be sent while we were at the airport, which we did, but then they said we had to wait until the full trip was over to dispute anything,' Danielle shared.

'It’s been so stressful and disheartening, as it’s such a waste of time and money. We were left in a country that we didn’t know, with nowhere to go, and no one to speak to—it was a living nightmare.'

On October 23, Aaron claimed LoveHolidays offered to give the group £100 (A$200) worth of vouchers each and refunded them £489 (A930) for their hotel.

However, the group had to shell out an extra £200 (A$400) each for return flights, which they said was a 'joke' and encouraged everyone to avoid the travel agent.

'It’s not good enough, and I’m absolutely fuming,' Aaron added.

'They really don’t care, aren’t bothered about their customers, and we won’t be using them again.'

LoveHolidays and Arsi Paradise Beach Hotel were contacted for a comment on the issue.

'We're very sorry Mr Hatton's holiday did not live up to our usual high standards,' a LoveHolidays spokesperson said.

'We’re investigating the relocation error with our accommodation supplier to ensure it does not happen again and are doing all we can to support Mr Hatton’s claim.'

'While we’re still within the usual timeframe to investigate this complaint, we’ve already been in touch with Mr Hatton to apologise and reimburse his accommodation costs, alongside offering a £100 (A$200) voucher from LoveHolidays.'

Key Takeaways

• A group of friends claim they were refused entry to their pre-booked holiday resort in Antalya, Turkey, leaving them $1,150 out of pocket.
• Aaron Hatton, Danielle Halsall and another friend claimed that upon their arrival, the resort's security guard denied their booking and refused their entry.
• After seeking help and staying at the resort's sister hotel, they were allegedly informed that alcohol, which they believed to be included in their all-inclusive package, would come at an extra charge.
• Travel agent LoveHolidays has offered a voucher and a refund for their hotel stay, but the group had to pay an extra $400 each for return flights, and they claim the response from the travel agency is not good enough.

Members, if you have any tips or stories to share about your holiday experiences, share them with us in the comments below!

I’m 72 now and since I was 18 years old this sort of thing has been going on in every country, you book a certain hotel but it’s really pot luck where you end up it’s really sort of expected, sometimes you get a better hotel sometimes worse. Once you except the fact that most of these touristy travel resorts are a rort and just enjoy what you have given the happier you’ll be. Even if you try to sue them you won’t win as somewhere in the million pages of terms and conditions it says we take every care but are not responsible for missed flight and over booking. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not.