A couple abandoned their Norfolk seaside holiday after finding crisps in their bed and being told the hotel lift had been struck by lightning.
Clair and Brad Jerram, 49 and 47 from Portsmouth, paid £451 for a week-long stay at the Sea Princess Hotel in Great Yarmouth.
But after a five-hour drive to Norfolk on August 15, the couple turned around the next day.
Mrs Jerram said: “There was dirty bedding, crisps in the bed, a rotting drain outside the window, no towels or toiletries.
“The bathroom was rank, and when we filled up the kettle, there was rust from the filament floating in the water.”
She added: “Our room was on the fourth floor. I suffer from hip problems, but was told the lift had been struck by lightning and was out of order.
“Just about everything seemed off. When I asked if we could move rooms, the guy at reception said: ‘there is another one, but frankly it’s even worse’.
“It’s sad because there’s so many people in the town trying to keep the tourist industry going, and this hotel is an insult to them.”
Before the couple left, they got confirmation in writing that they would receive a full refund.
But the Sea Princess later told Booking.com it would only refund the Jerrams £25 as a “gesture of goodwill”, because staff “didn’t receive complaints during your stay”.
After a query from this newspaper, Booking.com agreed to intervene.
In a statement on Tuesday it said: “On the rare occasion a customer arrives at a property and it doesn’t meet their expectations, our customer service team is on hand to investigate. In this instance, the customer has now been refunded for the unused nights at this property.”
It also revealed that the hotel agreed to cover 50pc of the refund.
Mrs Jerram confirmed she eventually received her refund late on Tuesday - and was “immensely relieved”.
The hotel declined to comment.
Between June 2017 and May 2019, 23 reports were made to environmental health officers at Great Yarmouth Borough Council about the hotel.
They included “unhygenic” conditions, poor customer service, general disrepair and concerns over fire safety.
Most recently, the owner’s appeal to turn the “eyesore building” into flats was rejected.
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