£4,000 Tui holiday ends in disaster as couple left mopping up ‘soaked’ hotel room

A couple’s £4,000 luxury Caribbean holiday turned into a nightmare after they were forced to spend two nights in a “soaking wet and stinking” hotel room in Mexico.

Andrew Atkinson, 61, and his wife Jill, 57, from Middlesbrough, arrived at the five-star rated Bahia Principe Grand Coba hotel on June 10 to find their “Junior Suite Superior” flooded from wall to wall.

Despite immediately complaining to reception, the couple were told there were no other rooms available and had to remain in the waterlogged suite.

The all-inclusive Tui holiday, booked through Hays Travel, was further marred when the room’s dehumidifier continued flooding overnight despite attempts to mop up the water.

“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,” Andrew said.

The electrician described how the water covered the entire floor, with a strong smell of damp permeating the room.

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

The couple faced additional water-related problems, including a bathtub that wouldn’t drain.

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Jill, who suffers from COPD – a common lung disease that makes breathing difficult – was left feeling unwell for 10 days after their ordeal.

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

The couple were forced to wash their clothes due to the “musky horrible smell” from the moisture.

When Andrew complained to Tui after returning home, he encountered further frustration with a “language barrier” after being redirected to customer service staff in Egypt.

Tui initially claimed they couldn’t help as the holiday was booked through Hays Travel, but later offered £325 in vouchers as compensation, which Andrew refused.

Following the incident, the hotel’s guest relations team sent an apologetic message acknowledging their error.

“We at Bahia Principe Grand Coba are very sorry for the condition of your room as it should not have been issued because of the work was not complete,” the message said.

Though in the face of their experience, the Atkinsons have booked another Mexican holiday with Tui – and are set to jet off to Cancun today.

“If it doesn’t go well, I won’t go again. I’ll holiday in England,” Andrew said.

A Hays Travel spokesman said they were “sorry to hear about Mr Atkinson’s experience” and confirmed they had been assisting with Tui liaison throughout.

TUI and the hotel were approached for comment but had not responded at time of publishing.