A holiday to the Caribbean is not cheap, and for Dawn and David Brett they had spent months saving for a luxury getaway. However, the British couple is asking for their money back after experiencing what they said was a holiday from hell, after a noisy building site towered “over the pool”.
Dawn and David paid £5,000 for a two-week holiday, booked with Tui to stay at the Riu Palace Antillas Hotel on the island of Aruba.
The couple, who visited the adult-only hotel last month, said they were met with a building site where a hotel was being constructed next door.
Footage shows the construction work towering over the pool and almost “obscuring the sky”.
The sound of banging can be heard as holidaymakers try to relax by the pool.
The “horrific” noise from drilling and machinery being used was so bad that Dawn claims it forced her to take painkillers for headache relief every day.
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Now, the couple is demanding a full refund from Tui.
They are also “refusing to let the issue drop” until the money hits their bank account.
Dawn explained her initial reaction when she saw the construction work taking place: “When I first saw the building work I said ‘oh my bloody God’.
“We’d been saving a while. It’s a lot of money and we’d been looking forward to it.
“It’s heartbreaking. It was constant banging, drilling and machinery. You just couldn’t get away from it. It was horrible.
“We’re sitting around the pool people but you couldn’t relax, it was horrific. You can turn your head to not look but you can’t shut your ears.
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“It was bang, bang, bang all the time and you couldn’t get away from it. It was the whole of our holiday.
“That’s why I’m demanding my money back. I could demand compensation. I could ask for 10 x 20p for the Ibuprofen because I had to take headache tablets all the time.”
This wasn’t the couple’s first time in Aruba, they had been three years prior, and had booked through Tui.
“We were next door a few years ago and it was quite peaceful and we loved it but this time it was horrific to say the least,” she said.
“It was nothing the second time as we expected. We’re supposed to be going for out wedding anniversary next year and I don’t want to go.
“We’ve always booked through Tui. We’re valued customers and we use the same person. I just feel let down. On the website, it didn’t show us any building work.”
Dawn and David spoke to the rep, who offered to look into what seats were available on the next flight home.
“But it wasn’t a quick, easy decision because it’s a nine-and-a-half-hour flight and we didn’t know if we’d get compensation if we came home a week early,” she added.
A spokesperson from Tui said: ‘We understand Ms Brett’s frustration following her holiday experience.
‘We contacted Ms Brett and other affected customers on two separate occasions before they departed to let them know about the nearby building work.
“We can confirm Ms Brett acknowledged receipt of these communications and decided to continue with her holiday booking as planned.”
Riu Palace Antillas Hotel has a four out of five rating on TripAdvisor.
The most recent reviews are positive, with many holidaymakers claiming it is a “gorgeous hotel with amazing staff”.
Only one mentioned the building work and said: “While construction next door was never an issue.”
