A couple, who were left stranded in Corfu after being removed from their hotel and denied boarding on their return flight to the UK, claimed TUI “washed their hands of them”. Paul Bell, 64, and his wife Ellie, 65, had booked a week-long half-board holiday at the Terezas Hotel in Sidari, Corfu, having previously enjoyed a previous stay there.
They had booked a package deal, but their holiday was cut short when TUI removed them from their hotel and stopped them from flying home.
However Paul from North Shields said he was baffled why they were expelled, which had left them several hundred pounds out of pocket. They then had to arrange an alternative flight home with Jet2, get a taxi to the airport instead of a transfer, and book into another hotel for the remainder of the holiday.
In letters seen by ChronicleLive, TUI stated that the decision was based on repeated incidents during their stay, which were deemed unacceptable and disruptive. But Paul disputes this, saying that TUI never asked him or Ellie for their side of the story.
Earlier in the holiday, Ellie had voiced her dissatisfaction to the manager about the quality of the food, which Paul described as “tepid” and “not very nice”. He said: “Some of the things you would get were rice with sprouts, or another time you’d have rice with a slice of beetroot in it,” reports Chronicle Live
“My wife spoke to the manager twice, she complained about the food being inedible and he didn’t seem interested. She asked him to join us for breakfast the next day so we could show him what we meant, but he never turned up.”
The couple then spent the day out and upon their return, had a conversation with the representative. The following day, as they awaited their excursion to Corfu town, Paul and Ellie were given a letter claiming their behaviour at the hotel was unacceptable.
Dated May 20, the letter read: “You caused a serious disturbance by shouting inside the hotel restaurant in front of other guests, resulting in significant distress and disruption to the peaceful environment of the hotel,” it also stated that “you directed aggressive and disrespectful language towards both hotel staff, the hotel owners, and TUI representatives on site.”
Paul disputes these claims, insisting there was no such outburst from them and that the decision appeared to be made without giving them an opportunity to explain. He said: “I don’t remember anybody shouting.”
He added: “We only spoke to the rep on the day she was at the hotel and there was nothing disrespectful shown to her. They’ve never come and spoke to us to find out what happened, they’ve decided off what the manager has told them.”
Paul expressed frustration at the unexpected turn of events, remarking: “But surely there are always two sides to a story? I was furious, because it spoiled the day we had planned.”
Following their inability to respond or appeal, Paul and Ellie were told to seek help from the UK consulate. Unexpectedly, they received correspondence on 21 May at 22.28 informing them that Ellie was prohibited from taking her scheduled TOM1531 flight home on Friday, 23 May.
Barely half a day later, TUI delivered another message barring both Paul and Eleanor from their planned departure, attributing it to “due to your conduct and behaviour” in accordance with their policy.
Left without alternatives, on Thursday, 22 May, Paul arranged Jet2 flights back to North Shields for €328.56. Despite already being back, the couple was puzzled by a subsequent email from TUI retracting the initial ban, announcing that “the refusal of carriage for Paul Bell and Eleanor Bell has now been revoked, and you will now be allowed travel on your inbound flight”.
Paul underscored additional costs after being made to arrange independent travel: “That doesn’t help us now, because we were told we have to make our own travel arrangements and we came home. We had to pay €60 for a taxi to the airport as well, because we weren’t allowed on the transfers.”
Paul voiced his discontent with the holiday experience, saying: “When we go on holiday, we try to go somewhere nice and quiet, sit and chill, try the local stuff, go to the towns and see the scenery and to have food like we did (in the hotel) was really disappointing. We got no back-up whatsoever from TUI.”
He expressed frustration that TUI took the hotel manager’s word without question, stating: “They took whatever the manager said as gospel and came to a decision just like that. Had we been drunk and disorderly, fine, but we weren’t – we’ve never had any bother on any holidays before, until this time with TUI.”
It is understood that TUI intends to reimburse the couple for their return flights with Jet2.com and travel costs to the airport. However, the company has declined to comment further.
Paul’s experience is not an isolated incident, as earlier in June, Susan Edwards from Westerhope also expressed her disappointment with a TUI holiday in Corfu. She complained about the lack of English food options at the Lido Corfu Sun Hotel and vowed never to book with the company again.
Find out what’s happening near you