'Do not book a holiday': Leeds woman holds protests outside Tui store over 'disgraceful' Cape Verde holiday
She claims the hotel she stayed in was ‘dirty, dilapidated and dangerous’
A Leeds woman has been protesting outside a travel agents in the city centre for three weeks after a “disgraceful” holiday experience.
Judith Weelands visited Cape Verde for two weeks in January as part of a packaged holiday provided by TUI, and claims the hotel she stayed in with her husband was “dirty, dilapidated and dangerous”.
She said that she received £290 in compensation for the holiday, which cost £2,872 for her and husband, but wants to continue raising her concerns.
A TUI spokesperson said they were sorry Mrs Weelands was “disappointed with parts of her holiday” but said it had responded “in line with our terms and conditions”.
Mrs Weelands, 72, and her husband Anthony, of Farsley, were keen to visit the African island and stay in the same hotel that they visited eight years ago, called Melia Dunas.
She said: “It was a fantastic, five-star all inclusive.
“They have sold the hotel to some businessmen and they have run it down into the ground. It was disgraceful, filthy and dilapidated.”
She said that among the issues she raised were a lack of cleanliness in her hotel room and safety hazards, including exposed nails in her shower.
Mrs Weelands said that she did not get pictures of the discrepancies at the time because they “are not from that generation”, but raised it with the holiday representative at the hotel reception.
She said: “It wasn’t until I got home and told my daughter what had happened that she shouted ‘why didn’t you take photos?’”
The couple raised the issues with TUI when they came home and accepted the “final pay out” of £290 compensation.
She said she had taken to protesting “the old fashioned way” outside of the Lands Lane store over the last three weeks to highlight her experience to others and try to get further compensation from the company.
She said: “It’s been very tiring but I have had lots of support from people saying to continue trying to get what you want
“TUI are a massive company. £3,000 would mean nothing to them, so they should do the right thing.”
A TUI UK and Ireland spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry to hear that Ms Weelands was disappointed with parts of her holiday.
“After she returned, we looked carefully into the concerns she raised and responded in line with our terms and conditions, which she accepted in April.
“We want customers to have the best possible holiday experience, and we are sorry that some elements of Ms Weelands stay fell short of the high standards we aim to provide.”
Melia Dunas was contacted for a statement.