jasdooit

It was meant to be an ideal girls’ getaway – four days filled with sunshine on a Greek island, poolside drinks, and no obligations.

Rather, a trip to Rhodes with my closest friend fell apart the instant we reached our hotel.

As our taxi arrived at the Kolymbia Bay Boutique Art Hotel, it became immediately apparent that we had been thoroughly deceived.

This was not the four-star luxurious getaway we had reserved. In fact, I would have been surprised if it received even one star.

The swim-up pools, trendy cabanas, and fashionable parasols that we had seen online were not present. Instead, there were smelly trash bags along the path to the pool, bottles of harmful cleaning products visible to everyone, and cigarette butts spread on the ground—probably left by the cleaner we saw smoking while replacing the bed sheets.

Alongside my closest friend, I had arranged the vacation via Loveholidays just after coming back from a remarkable birthday getaway in Mallorca.

Usually, I handle everything on my own – flights booked directly with the airline, followed by hours spent browsing Booking.com to find a highly-rated four or five-star hotel for approximately £200 per night.

Having traveled almost every other month during 2023 and 2024, I believed I had mastered the art of finding a great bargain.

However, when I checked the flights to Rhodes, they all landed or left at inconvenient times, which meant we would waste almost two of our four days just traveling. That’s when we began searching for package deals.

I was doubtful. Package tours had always seemed unpersonal to me, featuring bigger, more commercial hotels rather than the smaller, more unique accommodations I favor.

However, this time, Loveholidays provided a four-day stay at a four-star boutique hotel along with return flights at a cost that was lower than booking them individually.

We verified all details – the hotel’s website, Instagram, tagged guest videos and reviews all corresponded to the listing.

The Kolymbia Bay Boutique Art Hotel received an 8.9 score on Booking.com based on over 130 reviews, with just a few small issues regarding room dimensions or breakfast choices.

On the internet, the hotel appeared fashionable and contemporary, featuring swim-up pools, a sophisticated main pool, and a bar offering standard vacation essentials.

The accommodations were tidy and modern, featuring high-end bedding, rainfall showers, slippers, and robes. We reserved a Deluxe Garden View room.

But the initial warning sign emerged during the packing process.

For some reason, we had each been allocated a checked bag for one flight only. On the way back, the booking indicated a single 23kg bag shared between us.

It was confusing, yet we combined all elements into a single case and dismissed it.

That proved to be the smallest of our issues.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were welcomed by a reasonably friendly employee, who took our passports, collected the city tax, and directed us to the elevator.

Nevertheless, the elevator did not take us to our floor; rather, the doors opened into the basement kitchen, where a chef had activated the button to go up.

An embarrassed employee stood behind a disorganized scene: charred pastry crumbs spread across the floor, overfilled garbage bags, and the same disagreeable odor that remained in the lobby. All remaining hope vanished.

The room was equally unsatisfactory. It bore no resemblance to the pictures.

Everything was in a state of disrepair and unclean. The door knob was damaged. Dust covered nearly all areas. What we were told was a “garden view” ended up being a canopy at the hotel’s entrance, stained with bird droppings.

The bathroom was in disrepair and had a terrible odor. The hairdryer wasn’t functioning, but considering how old it was, I wasn’t taken aback.

The faucets were tarnished, and the furnishings were damp.

As we continued to explore the hotel, things became even worse.

Stinking garbage bags were scattered along the path leading to the pool. Containers of harmful cleaning agents were piled up nearby. Used cigarette ends were spread across the floor. We also saw housekeeping workers smoking as they changed the bed linens.

We instantly realized we couldn’t remain there.

We contacted Loveholidays’ on-holiday support team immediately. The lady on the line provided comfort, advising us to take pictures of everything and forward them as proof. She mentioned that Loveholidays would then ask the hotel for a refund, which we could use for a future visit.

We provided detailed images and explanations and let the hotel staff know about our choice. They suggested showing us two of their “top rooms.” These were bigger, but not cleaner or more modern. After we refused, the staff turned hostile quickly.

I attempted to contact Loveholidays once more to verify that our complaint had been acknowledged.

For the next several hours, we kept calling but received no response. The longer we waited, the more tense the situation grew. In the end, we chose to handle the matter ourselves.

We checked out several four-star hotels in the vicinity to check their availability. One, the Cook’s Club Kolymbia Rhodes, which is also listed on Loveholidays, managed to provide us with two separate rooms for the next three nights.

Loveholidays asked us to remain until the problem was ‘fixed,’ but we didn’t want to spend another moment there. Staying in the room after complaining would have been like finishing a whole meal and then saying you didn’t enjoy it – so we decided to leave.

Some time after, comfortably located in a tidy and truly four-star hotel, we eventually managed to contact Loveholidays.

This time, the reply was surprisingly different. The woman on the line was unkind and dismissive, criticizing us for leaving before the complaint was resolved—despite there being no communication since the initial call.

We covered the cost of the new hotel ourselves. By that time, our main goal was to save what remained of our vacation.

We did not receive any communication from Loveholidays until the last day of our trip. They eventually provided us with one night’s accommodation in a hotel on the opposite side of the island – arriving far too late to be helpful, and not worth the inconvenience.

Back in the UK, I filed a formal complaint with Loveholidays’ post-travel team, including photos, call records, invoices, and all communication. After weeks of following up, I was informed that there was nothing they could do.

In the end, Loveholidays provided a maximum refund of only £62 for a £950 trip.

They declined to separate the hotel expenses from the flight costs, preventing the ability to submit a claim solely for the hotel.

Furious, I filed a dispute with my credit card company and eventually got £400 refunded in December.

It was far from sufficient to make up for the stress, chaos, and extra expenses of a vacation that turned out completely different from what we were promised.

In a statement provided to the Daily Mail, Loveholidays remarked: ‘We sincerely apologize that Ms. Oliphant’s stay at her hotel in Rhodes did not meet our typical high level of service.’

We are examining the hotel listing on our website and have contacted Ms. Oliphant to express our apologies and provide a complete refund for her lodging expenses.

The Daily Mail has also contacted the Kolymbia Bay Boutique Art Hotel for a response.

Read more