Couple who paid £800 for five star break in luxury Greek spa faced scaffolding, filthy swimming pool and bare wires
Chef Perry Miller, 57, and make-up artist wife Nicola, 41, blast holiday firm Thomson after their relaxing getaway was shattered by constant work in resort
A COUPLE who thought they got a bargain when they paid £800 for a five star Mediterranean break have told of their horror at encountering scaffolding, a filthy swimming pool and bare wires at the resort.
Chef Perry Miller, 57, and make-up artist wife Nicola, 41, were also faced with restaurant entrances boarded up and a beach covered in litter at the spa on the Greek island of Rhodes.
Promised a ''beachside location, lagoon-style pool, and plush spa” with ''rooms dressed in earthy colours with fluffy robes and slippers'' they discovered much of the Sensimar Imperial Resort & Spa by Atlantica was still being rebuilt in a major renovation project.
Holiday operators Thomsons put them up in another part of complex but the couple, from Nottingham, have now made a formal complaint.
Nicola said: ''The hotel we booked just looked like a building site.
''Everywhere we looked there was scaffolding and construction work being done when they were promising all this luxury.
“I know it was a bargain but the resort was being touted as five star and I expected a lot better.
“The hotel we ended up in didn't have half the facilities that we were promised.''
Nicola booked their last minute holiday in March with their flights out of the UK just three days later.
She added: “When we booked, I would have thought Thomson would have known about the building work that was going on - but they never said a word.
"I would have probably understood if we booked it a while ago but in our view, they sold us that holiday knowing that it was not ready.
"We went for a walk around and couldn't believe that had sent us there. We went to the beach and everyone there was saying 'oh my god, look at the state of the place'. It seems we were the first holidaymakers of the new season that were booked in to stay.
"There was nothing about building work mentioned when we were booking. The pool was filthy, the beach bar was all taped up, there was scaffolding all around the restaurants.
"The beach was full of rubbish and there were no sun loungers. It was just a derelict bomb site.
There was scaffolding everywhere, everywhere you looked.''
The couple were taken to the Atlantica Imperial Residences hotel in the same complex but remained frustrated with their stay.
Nicola added: “I couldn't use any of the pools as the outdoor ones were filthy and the indoor pool that's supposed to be heated was freezing. The lawns were all being turfed whilst I was there.
"The beach was out of bounds as it was full of rubbish and there weren't even any beds there. There were no facilities like advertised.
“The tennis court couldn't be used as it was being worked on, there was no scuba diving which was supposed to be included, there were no activities at all."
Thomsons said in a statement: ''On this occasion we unfortunately received late notice on some refurbishment works taking place at the Atlantic Imperial Resort in Rhodes in March this year. As a result we were unable to notify customers - including Ms Miller - in advance of travel.
''We did, however, try to minimise disruption and impact to affected customers' holidays while in resort.
"This included organising a swim-up room and hotel upgrade at the Atlantic Imperial Residences, providing alternative dining and further heated swimming pool facilities and arranging complimentary taxis to another nearby tennis court.
''Following a severe storm in resort, we also ensured any debris was cleared from the beach, sun loungers returned and the pool cleaned and reopened as soon as possible to ensure customers could enjoy the remainder of their stay.''
