Pensioner Freda Jackson had been looking forward to her holiday in Benidorm all year, but ended up outraged at the number of Spanish guests at her hotel
A British tourist claims she ended up crying at the end of her two-week holiday to Benidorm as her hotel had “too many Spaniards in it”.
Freda Jackson, from Blackburn, Lancashire had booked to stay at the Poseidon Playa, located on the outskirts of the popular tourist spot with a pal back in April 2017.
The following year, the pensioner, who is in her eighties, opened up about the allegedly miserable time she had on her trip raging, “why can’t the Spaniards go somewhere else for their holidays?”
According to retired care assistant Freda, her hotel was full with supposedly “rude” Spanish people, one of whom almost knocked her “flying” without so much as an apology.
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Grandmother-of-six Freda, who lives with mobility issues, revealed: “The hotel was full of Spanish holidaymakers and they really got on our nerves because they were just so rude.
“One evening a Spanish guy nearly knocked me flying and he just walked off without even apologising.”
And when it came to the entertainment on offer, unimpressed Freda was left far from amused. She recalled: “The entertainment in the hotel was all focused and catered for the Spanish – why can’t the Spanish go somewhere else for their holidays?”
As explained by Freda, she’d been recommended the Poseidon Playa by travel operator Thomas Cook, and was left dismayed on a number of counts.
Although she’d request flat ground access, Freda says her accommodation was located on a slope. She and her friend, who had paid a total of £1,133 for the holiday, went on to demand either a full refund or a free trip as compensation.
Freda continued: “I have never complained about a holiday before – but this one was a disaster from start to finish. My friend and I paid for it from our pensions and it was a struggle trying to fund it over 12 months and the holiday was totally ruined – I cried after.
“We wanted to go somewhere on flat ground and not in the hills because we have mobility issues. To top it off, once we got to reception they told us we had been put on the 14th floor – thankfully we were moved to the second floor – and that it was 42 steps down to the hotel’s swimming pool.”
Freda, who has previously enjoyed trips to Greece, Turkey, Portugal and Tenerife, alleged that Thomas Cook “mis-sold” and “ruined” what should have been a dream holiday.
She and her then 61-year-old friend journeyed 1,500 miles from Manchester Airport to Alicante on May 10 of that year, having allegedly not been notified that their flight dates had changed.
According to Freda, she had to submit a letter of complaint directly to Thomas Cook, as there were no reps on the holiday to whom she could air her various grievances. Thomas Cook bosses initially offered the duo a £75 holiday voucher as compensation for the “disappointing” experience.
A Thomas Cook spokesperson issued the following statement at the time: “Due to a system error Ms Jackson was not informed of a change to her flights until six days before departure.
“We are very sorry for the inconvenience this caused and are investigating to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We have offered Ms Jackson and her travel companion a gesture of goodwill to try and put things right, which we hope she will accept.”
The grandmother later denied to the Mirror that she had made any derogatory comments about Spanish people.
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