Frankee and Jonny James, both 33, took their son Rowan, 8, for their first family holiday abroad but were appalled by their stay at Hotel Sorra Daurada Splash in Malgrat de Mar
A family were forced to cut their first family holiday abroad short after they claim they were left feeling “unsafe” at a Spanish hotel, slamming the attitude of staff and claiming moudly food left them being violently sick.
Frankee and Jonny James, both 33, have said it was one of a number of problems they faced during their £1,800 holiday with their eight-year-old son, Rowan. The pair say it was a “holiday from hell” due to bad smells, poor hygiene standards and “mistreatment” of English guests at the Hotel Sorra Daurada Splash in Malgrat de Mar.
They claim to have been ignored by hotel staff for 10 to 15 minutes, while workers went “over and above for the Spanish guests.” In fact, the family ended up flying back two days early, after they say they got food poisoning and claim staff made them feel “unsafe”.
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The family now plan to stick to holidays in the UK, rather than going abroad. Jonny, a prison officer from Bedford, said: “When my wife and I were ignored for 10 to 15 minutes at the bar, I witnessed the staff go over and above for the Spanish guests. They’d serve the Spaniards first while the Brits waited in the queue.
“I expected it to some extent because I’m aware how the Spanish in Spain can be but it was annoying at the same time. We had all paid the same amount but they were getting a better service than anyone else. It was annoying and frustrating.”
The family-of-three had flown out on October 25, hoping to spend some quality time together in the sun as they enjoyed a well-deserved break from work and school. They claim the four-star resort had advertised a water park and family-friendly atmosphere.
“In my head, I can get food and drinks whenever I want and there’ll be things to do for my son,” said Frankee, an optical adviser. “I purposefully booked somewhere I assumed I wouldn’t need to leave the resort. It turned out to be the holiday from hell.”
Frankee said they had to pay five euros for a reusable drinking cup when they arrived, with the vegetarian adding that the food was “bland” and poorly labelled. She said the water park was closed and claimed there was a pungent smell of sewage from the toilet in their room.
“We had to keep the toilet seat down and the bathroom door closed,” she said. “If someone went to the toilet in the middle of the night, they’d wake us all up with the smell.”
Frankee claimed the hotel’s buffet was packed with raw eggs, mouldy butter and tomatoes. She said she only ate chips, pasta, salad and pizza, but by the next morning, said she was “vomiting”.
She said: “I thought it could be because there was water on the salad. The same pizza cutter was being used for every pizza, like ham and fish etcetera, so it could have been that also.”
Jonny also fell ill after the meal and a doctor later confirmed the parents both had acute gastritis, they said. Frankee added: “The manager only spoke Spanish and said he didn’t understand English. When I did find him, he went to walk off while shouting in Spanish.”
Frankee claimed tensions with the manager reached a boiling point that left her feeling “unsafe”. This prompted the family to head home two days early, on October 30 instead of their planned return date of November 1.
Frankee said she felt “horrible” that their first family holiday abroad since pre-Covid had been “ruined”. The family, who usually holiday in Devon, are now planning on staying in the UK for future breaks.
They have been refunded just £214 out of the £1,800 they paid, but also had to shell out £370 to change their flight. Online reviews of the resort show other guests have had similar experiences.
One TripAdvisor user said it was the “worst holiday I have ever been on” and also complained about the water park being closed. Another wrote: “Rooms don’t get cleaned properly. Manager is arrogant and denies he is the manager and doesn’t take complaints.
“Seen an elderly Spanish man push a child over and the manager refused to do anything about it. Manager speaks awfully to the younger generation of workers, even though they work the hardest. Entertainment is awful and on too late for children. You can just tell they don’t want British tourists in this hotel.”
Another said the food seemed more like that expected from a one-star resort, rather than a four-star establishment. They added: “The lack of labelling of foods – you just did not know what you were eating or waht was in the food.
“Trying to communicate this to the catering staff was a waste of time and energy as most did not speak any English. I have been to a few 4* hotels and this one takes the biscuit.”
Hotel Sorra Daurada Splah did not respond to a request for comment.