'I was forced to barricade my mouldy hotel room after my lock stopped working'

A 'stressed' model claims she was forced to barricade her 'mouldy' hotel room while she slept as the lock didn't work - before forking out £700 on an Airbnb instead.

Chiara Cox jetted off to Antalya, Turkey, for a relaxing two-week trip with her friend Toby Wolstenholme on July 1st, but said their room was 'horrendous'. The 22-year-old claims they were forced to barricade themselves in with luggage and furniture as the door didn't lock, the bathroom was covered in mould and the walls were marked.

When the disgusted pair requested a better room from the hotel, booked through Loveholidays, they were reportedly told they'd need to stump up Euro 140 to switch rooms. But the following morning after spotting the mattress was 'absolutely filthy', in addition to the air con apparently not working, the horrified pair packed up and booked a £700 Airbnb instead.

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Chiara said the hotel manager 'didn't care' when they expressed their concerns to him before taking a taxi to their new digs and simply 'walked off'.

Horrified Chiara, who said the pair paid £700 for their trip, conceded it was 'cheap' but that they still 'expect the basics'. Loveholidays said they were 'continuing to investigate Miss Cox's complaint with the hotel and will remain in touch with her throughout this process'.

Chiara, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said: "We got to the hotel at 1am and the guy was asleep on the sofa, we made him jump when we came in and said hello. He checked us in. It was meant to be all-inclusive but he didn't give us any information about that, he just put the wristband on.

"We looked at each other and said 'this isn't going to be good', we could just tell. As soon as we put that key in the door it opened straight away, we didn't even have to turn it because there was no lock. I went in first and turned the bathroom light on and said 'Toby we can't stay here'.

"I've done festival camping, I'm normally fine, but as soon as I walked into the bathroom it had pure mould in it and there was a used ashtray in there. We walked in the main room and thought 'this looks like a prison, this is horrendous'. We were thinking of getting a flight home in the morning.

"The aircon didn't work either, the window didn't lock, there were stains on the mattress, marks on the wall, wires hanging out, it was like a prison. We complained that we didn't have a nicer room and he tried to charge us Euro 140 more. We slept in the clothes that we travelled in and it was horrendous.

"We woke up lots of times because we had to barricade the door with our suitcases and the furniture because it was wide open otherwise. We were so nervous because anyone could come in. We slept as best as we could and then we peeled back the mattress and it was absolutely filthy, stained, there were hairs on it."

Horrified by the room, the pair packed up, booked an Airbnb and left the key at reception.

Chiara "In the morning, we didn't say anything, we just left the key on the desk. As we were waiting for the taxi, the same guy that was asleep came out and asked if there's a problem. He just said 'okay, no problem' and walked off. He didn't even care. We booked an Airbnb for £700 and that's where we are now because we didn't want to go home, this is the only holiday we're going on, we both booked it off work."

Chiara called Loveholidays to complain and claims she was told she hadn't given the hotel enough time to find a resolution before leaving. The company then reportedly asked for evidence that the hotel had not tried to find the pair a better room. The two have now vowed to never use Love Holidays again, as they expect the 'basics' for the cheap price.

Chiara said: "I called Love Holidays and they said we didn't give enough time for the hotel to find a resolution. They said they need evidence that they didn't try to get us a better room. It's disgusting, we need a partial refund at least. I know what places like that are like, they will probably say that the room is habitable. We both said we're going to stop using Loveholidays.

"They need to up their standards. We paid £700 for both of us, so it was cheap but you still expect the basics. I thought 'I'm going to go on holiday and relax for two weeks and it's been such a stressful travel journey. The stress has not stopped, I wanted a break. We're still in a mood about it because the hotel was going to be all-inclusive but we have to cater for ourselves now. Even if they don't refund us for the flights, I'd really like a refund for the hotel. But I can guarantee they won't put their hand in their pocket."

A Loveholidays spokesman said: "We're sorry to hear that Miss Cox's hotel did not meet expectations on this occasion. Miss Cox booked alternative accommodation before notifying our On Holiday Support team of her complaint, so we were unfortunately unable to offer our assistance to resolve the issues at hand.

"We are continuing to investigate Miss Cox's complaint with the hotel and will remain in touch with her throughout this process."