A newlywed couple’s cautionary tale of a miserable post-nuptial getaway to an all-inclusive resort in Turkey is capturing the public’s imagination and turning stomachs at the same time.
A just-married couple claims that their honeymoon plans at a “four-star” all-inclusive resort in Turkey was billed as a dream vacation, but quickly turned into a waking nightmare. The newlyweds decided to document their horrific experience at the Pineta Club Hotel in Marmaris, Turkey in the hope of saving other travelers from the same fate.
According to the bride and groom, the property was unsanitary, dangerous and the staff was inhospitable to the point of hostility. The pair’s vacation photos seem to at least partially back up the husband and wife’s account of the hellish honeymoon.
“It was literally the worst week I’ve ever had,” the dejected bride, who asked that her name be withheld, told the Mirror. ‘We went all inclusive because we’re not very well off. I understand it was a budget hotels, but it was meant to be four-star and I feel it wasn’t even one star. I cried the whole week. I don’t know how we stayed together.”
Although the new spouses are uncomfortable with the media attention surrounding their icky vacation experience, they seem to understand the public’s fascination with the awful honeymoon trip. The pair excuses people’s morbid fascination about their suffering – even fittingly describing the accommodations as “like something out of a horror film.”
The laundry list of grievances outlined to the newspaper (many of which were photographically documented) included a soaking wet mattress, towels stained with blood and feces, a dangerous, sparking in-room hairdryer, dirty silverware and plates at dinner, as well as a chronic infestation of rats, roaches and unidentifiable vermin. According to the couple, the bed linens were soiled and stained, a pool was closed for days due to fecal contamination and staff members could be heard joking about terrorism.
Hotel management denies all of these claims. A spokesperson for the property told the Mirror’s Sophie Evans that there are no records whatsoever of any maintenance issues or complaints related to the honeymooners’ stay, adding that the Pineta Club Hotel “totally refutes” any allegations that staff members behaved unprofessionally or made inappropriate jokes related to terrorism.
In the wake of the publicity surrounding the so-called “honeymoon from hell,” other recent guests at the resort are coming forward to corroborate the rather unbelievable account of a vacation gone horribly wrong. One guest described her stay as a “disaster from the moment we left the airport,” adding that the experience was so awful that she paid extra to change flights in order to return home early.
“I met them [the newlyweds] on the flight over,” hotels guest Gemmalee Coombes told the newspaper. “Unfortunately the property was not fit for living in, it was not sanitary and had many health and safety concerns. We raised these with our designated holiday rep who claimed we are ungrateful and expect too much. I really would not give the property a one star. The food was not edible, the staff were rude and despite it being a basic property there was not one positive aspect of the business.”