Couple on £4,000 TUI holiday forced to spend two nights in 'soaking' hotel room

A couple who paid £4,000 for a two-week holiday in Mexico were left mopping up their “soaking” hotel room, and were later told it should not have been issued in the first place.

Andrew Atkinson, 61, an electrician from Middlesbrough, and his wife Jill, 57, booked an all-inclusive TUI holiday at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba hotel on Mexico’s Caribbean coast through the travel agent Hays Travel.

When they arrived at the hotel that has a five-star “official rating” on TUI’s website on June 10, they found their “Junior Suite Superior” was soaking with water.

Andrew said he immediately went to reception and complained about the flooding, but was told “we haven’t got anything else for you”.

The couple were forced to spend two nights in the damp room before being offered another one, even though Andrew said he complained several times.

Jill, who suffers from COPD a common lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe was left feeling unwell for the next 10 days.

Even when Andrew tried mopping up the water which appeared to come from the room’s dehumidifier it flooded again overnight.

“They gave us a room that was absolutely soaking wet and stinking you wouldn’t put your dog in it,” Andrew said.

“It was absolutely disgraceful how they treat people. The water wasn’t just in a little area it was from one side of the room to the other.

“There were electric cables running through the water… which is very dangerous because even though it’s only around 110 volts, it could still kill you.”

On June 10, Andrew and Jill flew from Newcastle to Cancun for what was supposed to be a sun-soaked Caribbean holiday.

After travelling for 15 hours, they arrived at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba hotel around tea time, where they had booked an all-inclusive two week stay.

“With the insurance it worked out to just over £4,000,” said Andrew.

But no sooner had they walked into their suite, the couple realised the front room was flooded with water.

“You could put your hand in it,” said Andrew. “It was all over the floor and you could smell the damp.”

Fearing the dampness would aggravate Jill’s COPD, Andrew went straight to reception and asked to be moved.

“I went to reception and said that room’s soaking mate and my wife’s not in the best of health see,” explained Andrew.

“But they said, well, we haven’t got anything else for you. They didn’t have any more rooms available.”

Andrew said the water appeared to be coming from a dehumidifier that was “making a racket all night”.

He was particularly concerned about the machine’s electric cables, which he said were running through the water.

So after being told they would have to stay in the soaked room, Andrew decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I tried cleaning it up,” he said.

“But if you tried drying the room, when you got up in the morning, the water had just poured out again all over the floor.”

There were other water-related issues with the room, including the bathtub which would not drain.

On the second day, Andrew said he went back to reception and asked to change hotel.

After speaking with the hotel’s guest relations team, Andrew said he was finally offered another room.

“The new room was a lot better it was clean, it was dry,” he said.

Unfortunately the experience left Jill feeling unwell for several days afterwards.

“In the end, guest relations sorted it out two days later and gave us another room,” said Andrew.

“But my wife was ill for about 10 days of the holiday because she has COPD and they put us in a soaking-wet room.”

“She wasn’t on holiday. She was ill, laying in bed and sweating.”

The couple also had to wash their clothes as they “stunk of moisture”.

“It was like a musky horrible smell,” said Andrew, who contacted TUI customer services to complain about what had happened.

“When I phoned them up to complain after I got home, they put me through to someone in Egypt,” he added.

“So I told them my wife’s got COPD, and they asked me how did she catch it? Did she catch it in the room?

“There was clearly a language barrier.”

“They thought it was like a cold, she’d caught it whilst on holiday.”

“The customer service is just ridiculous.”

Andrew said he was initially told because the holiday had been booked through Hays Travel, TUI was unable to help, but was later offered £325 in vouchers as compensation which he refused.

Following the experience, Andrew received a message from the hotel’s guest relations team, seen by PA Real Life, apologising for what happened.

It states “We at Bahia Principe Grand Coba are very sorry for the condition of your room 33009 as it should not of been issued because of the work was not complete and the room needed drying and cleaning…Guest relations Bahia principle coba Staff sorry my English not the best.”

While the couple managed to enjoy the last few days of their holiday, they said the whole experience put a dampener on their trip.

They have booked another Mexican holiday to Cancun on November 21 with TUI and hope their room will be water-free this time.

“We didn’t have a holiday so I decided to book another one,” he said.

“This one cost me another £4,500 let’s see how this one goes. If it doesn’t go well, I wont go again. I’ll holiday in England.”

A spokesperson for Hays Travel said: “We are sorry to hear about Mr Atkinson’s experience at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba in Tulum, Mexico.

“Hays Travel operates as an authorised agent on behalf of TUI, which means that generally any refunds or compensation related to quality issues are processed directly through them.

“We have been assisting Mr Atkinson with liaising with TUI throughout.”

PA Real Life has approached TUI and the hotel for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publishing.