A couple cut short their three-week five-star beach holiday, which cost them £2,700, because they couldn’t bear the stench of sewage in their room and had to walk for almost an hour in the sweltering heat to escape the loud techno music from the pool bar .
Clive Murray, 65, and his wife Rosie, 52, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, booked the all-inclusive Hotel Riu Touareg on the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde through Tui in April.
It was supposed to be a ‘relaxing holiday’ while the couple were in the process of moving, but instead they said it felt more like being in Benidorm or Kavos and were shocked by the state of their double room – which according to them, it smelled like sewage. .
Clive, who served as an airborne engineer in the British Army for 26 years, said he had to fix the bathroom shower head with a rubber band and had to keep adjusting the toilet flush because it fell off the wall when he pressed it . After two weeks of walking for almost an hour to escape the “noise” of techno music from the hotel pool bar, the couple threw in the towel and booked an Airbnb in Sal Rei, despite having five more nights paid.
All told, Clive and Rosie said they spent more than £3,000 on the holiday and, despite complaining to Tui representatives at the hotel, have not been contacted by the company for a refund or compensation.
Clive, who is now renovating their new home in Cumbria, said he will never book with the company again.
“We wanted three relaxing weeks away because all year the moving and everything has been very stressful,” he told PA. “We just wanted to relax… if only. Almost every day we walked 50 minutes onto the beach so we could get away.
“So we made our sandwiches for breakfast in the morning – remember this is an all-inclusive – and sat on the beach as far away from the hotel as possible so we didn’t have to listen to that constant noise. And you could still hear it.
“I know some people will call me an old grouch, but there were a lot of older people there and yet the hotel had hired a model from Benidorm or Kavos with really loud techno music.”
It wasn’t all bad, according to the couple, who said the food was excellent and the hotel staff were always very polite and friendly.
The retired couple booked a holiday in early April after selling their Cheshire home and moving into an Airbnb while they waited to exchange their new property.
“It doesn’t make much sense for us to be in an Airbnb in the Lake District for £400 a week,” says Clive. “So I said to Rosie, let’s go on holiday.”
Clive and Rosie had previously been to Cape Verde in 2019 and wanted to book the same hotel but couldn’t remember the exact name. Instead of Hotel Riu Karamboa, Clive “made a mistake” and booked Hotel Riu Touareg, about 15 miles away, on the south coast of Boa Vista, which cost £2,700.
At first glance, this seemed like a blessing in disguise.
The all-inclusive five-star hotel, which advertises a range of facilities including three saltwater pools, a jacuzzi and a Turkish bath, claims on their website to provide an “unforgettable experience” and promises to make guests’ stay “as relaxing as possible ”. if possible”.
“At first glance it looks like five stars,” said Clive.
But from the moment they arrived at the hotel, which has more than 1,100 rooms, alarm bells started ringing.
Upon opening the door of their luxury room, a five-minute walk from the lobby, the couple said they were greeted by a stench of sewage.
“I immediately thought, there’s a bit of a sewage smell in the room. Maybe the room hasn’t been used for a long time because it’s so far away,” Clive said.
“So we opened the door and walked out onto the balcony and literally, the white plastic furniture, I’ve seen better in containers.”
After their six-hour flight, they were looking forward to a hot shower, but Clive said the shower head was broken so he used an elastic band to keep it in place.
When he then flushed the toilet, the knob fell off the wall and he realized where the foul smell was coming from, he added.
“We were on the top floor and of course the smells rise,” he said.
“The smell was coming from the hole … and it’s clear that each bathroom is on top of the other.
“In the end it was just poorly designed. This should not be advertised as a five star hotel.”
Once again Clive, a do-it-yourselfer, came up with a temporary solution by ‘messing around’ with the system in the wall.
They complained to Tui representatives and were told their grievances would be reported, but said nothing was done to remedy the situation. When Clive brought it up at reception a few days later, it was the first time they had heard of it.
But the room wasn’t Clive and Rosie’s main concern as they planned to spend most of their time away from home.
Shortly after reaching their assigned sunbeds, the hotel bar started playing loud techno music and calling out bingo numbers.
“It started around noon,” he said. “It was almost like they were trying to recreate Ibiza.
“Some people like those kinds of holidays and it’s great for them, I don’t judge that.
“But I went there for a quiet, peaceful five-star holiday, I didn’t go to a copy of Benidorm or Ibiza.”
In an attempt to escape the pounding beats, the couple took daily walks along the beach and into the surrounding ‘desert’.
They had been at the hotel for several days when Rosie opened one of the drawers and found a pile of neatly folded clothes that Clive said belonged to another guest who had moved rooms before they arrived due to the smell.
After two weeks, Clive and Rosie couldn’t cope anymore and decided to book an Airbnb in Sal Rei, the island’s main town, for the remaining five nights, which cost them an extra £200.
“I said, that’s it, we’re not staying any longer, I’ve had enough,” said Clive. “I went to reception with all our bags and said I wanted to check out.
“The Tui rep came by and said, ‘Why are you checking out?’ And I went through the whole thing.
“I said, I just can’t stand it any longer, I’d rather pay for an Airbnb and stay in Sal Rei. I can’t stand the smell anymore, every time I flush the toilet the thing falls off.
“She said, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ but saying sorry doesn’t help. They just weren’t interested.”
The couple said they had a “lovely time” for the rest of their holiday in Sal Rei.
Since returning to Britain, the couple have completed their new home in Maryport, Cumbria, which they are currently renovating.
Clive won’t be booking another holiday with Tui anytime soon.
“It’s not happening,” he said. “Never again.”
Tui UK and RIU Hotels & Resorts have been contacted for comment.