‘I spent £4,000 on dream family holiday – when I arrived at the hotel I was appalled’

It's a familiar complaint that holiday hotels don't always match up to the description when booking online, but mum-of-three Tracy Haslam may have returned from her trip to Tunisia with the most severe case of holiday letdown to date. She alleges that her £4,000 all-inclusive Loveholidays break was spoiled when the hotel proved to be part of an elderly care facility, with irate pensioners repeatedly being wheeled past her sun lounger.

Tracy Haslam travelled to Tunisia with her two daughters and six grandchildren on April 12 and, upon arriving at the four-star hotel, observed a substantial number of older people in wheelchairs. When the 52-year-old enquired at reception about her luggage, she made a comment about the number of elderly residents with carers she'd seen around the hotel. It was at this moment, Tracy says, that the hotel manager admitted the hotel was part of a residential care facility.

Tracy recorded footage of elderly patients, some of whom, she claimed, had dementia, being wheeled inches past her sun lounger 'every five minutes'. Asserting she felt deceived, the mum-of-three says she'd 'never have' booked the hotel had she been aware. The mum-of-three lodged a complaint with Loveholidays for failing to disclose it was part of a care home, maintaining it's "not appropriate for kids."

Loveholidays stated that, following Tracy's feedback, they 'became aware' that the hotel accommodates residential care guests in a designated section of the resort. They have temporarily suspended accepting bookings for that hotel while they "investigate further" with their accommodation partner.

Tracy, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said: "We went to reception to speak about [my] case and they were quite rude so that already got my back up."

"The manager was walking past and there were these wheelchairs and I said 'excuse me, is this residential?' He said 'yeah there are just three' [elderly residents] and I went 'you're having a laugh, there's about ten just gone past me'. So part of it has a residential care home attached to it."

She added: "My biggest complaint is about the care home because I would never ever have booked that hotel if I had known that. I'm not discriminating against old people, but a couple of them were verbal so they were going past us verbally moaning. It's not appropriate for kids."

In response to her initial complaint, Tracy claims a Loveholidays representative informed her that hotels "operate under their own policies and discretion regarding who they accommodate and this is outside of our control."

The representative also confirmed that after 'carefully reviewing' the evidence submitted it 'is not sufficient to support a claim for compensation'. Following contact from the press, Loveholidays issued an apology and provided a full refund. Tracy stated: "There were nine of us that went and it's a holiday we're not going to get back.

"It's just been very blasé that the hotel doesn't need to state what clientele they have and I just think that's disgusting. A care home with at least ten residents being wheeled past you every five, ten minutes, I find it bizarre. It's just a weird experience to go on holiday and have wheelchairs coming past you all day."

Tracy says she feels "misled" by the holiday firm, adding: "Some people might not be bothered but it bothered me," she said. "I just would never have booked it. I am a bit of a holiday princess, I go away quite a lot and I do like a nice hotel. For a four star it was shocking."

A Loveholidays spokesperson responded: "We're very sorry that Ms Haslam and her family's experience at their hotel in Tunisia fell short of our usual high standards.

"We are investigating the issues raised with the accommodation provider as a priority, and have removed the hotel from sale whilst this investigation is underway. We have been in touch with Ms Haslam to offer our apologies and a full refund of the cost of her accommodation."

The hotel has been contacted for comment.