A mum's holiday turned into a 'nightmare' when she stormed out of a Lanzarote villa - as she claims her thermometer showed the heated pool was six degrees cooler than promised.
Gulnara Adomene had been counting down the days until her holiday to beachfront villa Casa Dak at Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, with her friend Luda and both their children. The 40-year-old had spent months planning the seven-day trip from April 11 to 18, but claims she was disappointed by not just the villa's battered bathroom but the pool's 'freezing' 24-degree waters.
Despite being reassured by the owner that the pool reached 30-32 degrees during the day, she alleges it remained six degrees lower than expected for their whole stay. The animal-breeder contacted the owner who agreed to get someone over to fix the pool, but claims no one arrived until the third day of the holiday.
The group of six then had to spend another £680 to book into a new hotel elsewhere. However the owner of Casa Dak villa blamed the family, claiming they did not cover the pool at night, meaning all of the heat escaped.
He apologised for the issues but said he believed the problem rested with Gulnara, who he accused of bombarding him with around '80 messages in three days' complaining about her stay.
Gulnara, from Romford, East London, said: "I was looking for two months for accommodation. I thought I'd try to look for a villa so we could get a good heated pool.
"I found Casa Dak on Booking.com, I looked at the photos and the price and sent a few questions to the villa owner asking what temperature the pool is. He sent me a reply saying '30-32' degrees.
"I trusted him and chose his villa. We were so excited for the holidays, we were counting down the days to leave, especially for the heated pool. I told my kids and we bought so many water toys to play with. It was something different for us."
The holiday quickly took a turn for Gulnara after she realised the pool temperature wasn't quite up to standard, even buying a thermometer to measure it herself. After several days of messaging the owner, someone came to fix the broken pool, but Gulnara claims it remained 'dirty'.
Gulnara said: "We got there around nine o'clock at night and he was there. He showed me the property and the pool. I reached into the pool and felt it was a little cold.
"I asked him 'How many degrees is this?' and he said it was 26 or 25, but that in the day it'd reach 30 to 32. I trusted him thinking it was cold due to it being the evening.
"The next day I woke up and there were a few issues inside the house. There was cracked glass, a broken shower head, and a mouldy washing machine, but the main thing was the heated pool.
"We tried to get in the pool in the morning. I opened the cover and my nine-year-old daughter jumped in but only stayed in for ten minutes. She came out shivering.
"The other kids tried but couldn't go in. For me and my friend it was too cold. I tried with my hand but there was no way I could go in that pool, it was freezing.
"It was important for the kids, especially as it wasn't the summer months. The sea was cold. My kids like warm water so it's important for them.
"I contacted the owner. He said there were problems and that something was broken, but that he'd sort the problem the next day. We went to the beach for another day as we couldn't use the pool.
"When we came back, nothing had been done and no one came. Our kids were disappointed. They were watching the pool, not using the pool. The third day of our stay, the pool engineer fixed it."
Concerned it would take another three days to heat up, the mum and friend booked their kids into a new hotel. But the mum-of-two remained unable to enjoy the rest of her stay as she was so anxious about getting a refund, feeling dismissed by Booking.com too.
Gulnara said: "I thought 'oh my god, what is the point of staying here?' We'd paid over a thousand pounds and couldn't use what was advertised.
"He [the owner] was really uncooperative and wasn't apologising. It was really stressful. He was telling us to leave and not apologising. We were looking forward to relaxing, having fun, and feeling safe.
"Even when we changed the hotel, the kids were fine but I was stressed out. I feel sad and frustrated. I'm scared now to rent a villa again. I understand things can break, but we were only there for seven days and wanted to enjoy the pool.
"I contacted Booking.com and they kept saying I had to contact the owner for a refund. I trusted their platform and thought the client would be protected from some kind of issue as you are using a serious platform.
"[After moving to a hotel] it was difficult [to enjoy it] as I was still contacting the owner. I've never had this experience in my life. I'm really upset and frustrated about this situation. It's been a nightmare."
Fabrizio Rossi, owner of Casa Dak villa, disputed Gulnara's version of events and shared footage that appeared to show how the pool was 30 degrees when the cover had been on correctly. While Gulnara's photos showed the toilet and bathroom in a 'dirty' condition, his photos show it clean.
Fabrizio said: "I'm sorry for the problem but unfortunately it was she herself who created problems. I found the shower broken [along with] other things.
"The temperature of the pool is 30 degrees. The swimming pool must be closed at night and not opened since the temperature is 18 degrees outside at night.
"[As it is] an outside pool, if she had not put the cover on at night it is normal that it does not reach the right temperature. If it [the cover is kept closed] it keeps it much better.
"I [also] sent the maintenance guy for two consecutive days with a written registration for intervention. The customers [who stayed after them] have put a very different review. It seems to me not very honest and sincere [and she was] sending me like 80 messages in three days."
Gulnara vented about her ordeal in a Lanzarote group on social media as a warning to other holidaymakers. Some were horrified by her claims and called her experience 'grim' and 'shocking'. However others questioned why she needed the pool to be so warm.
One said: "So sorry for you and your family. These holidays cost lots of money. We expect them to be enjoyable. You need compensation or moving to another villa. Or both!"
One asked: "How you can expect to pool temperature be 30/32c? That's hot tub, not a pool. With similar temp in the pool you can only get some disease."
A second said: "32 degrees! I wouldn't do that to my pool for anybody… But if that's what the owner said..."
A Booking.com spokesperson said: "We take any complaint seriously and are currently looking into the details raised."
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