A dream holiday to Egypt rapidly turned into a nightmare for a British family endured squalid living conditions, pustular mosquito bites, diarrhoea and even a punch-up during the course of their two-week stay. Tracey, 58, from Leamington Spa, took daughter Britt 25, and son-in-law Liam, 31, to the resort of Hurghada hoping for a relaxing break – but the trio were left bitterly disappointed straight for the off.
The teaching assistant, speaking to MailOnline, who asked for her surname to be withheld, said of the 2022 holiday: “What could go wrong just bl**dy well went wrong!’”
Almost immediately on arrival at the Hotel Aqua Beach Resort, the trio suffered mosquito bites to their ankles and tried to clean them with hot water – only to discover there was none available.
She explained: “’I craved a hot and clean bath to soak my legs and ankles in as they were so painful and heavy.”
Unfortunately, Tracey’s bites became infected and filled with pus, she explained, making it almost impossible for her to walk.
To compound matters, her face swelled up a result of a bite, while the bathroom, which Tracey said was filthy, was ‘thick with grime’ and infested with cockroaches, and the resort generally stank of sewage.
Tracey had little choice but the hobble around for days as the problem worsened, waiting five days to for men to come and fix the leaking air conditioning unit – which broke again the following day.
She said: “Everything that went wrong took days and days to fix.”
When she complained to reception, she was told: “What would you like me to do? It’s normal for air-con to leak a little bit.”
In desperation, Tracey sought the help of the on-site doctor, who prescribed antibiotics.
However, after initially offering to see all three of them for nothing, he allegedly changed his mind and began messaging them asking: “When are you paying?’ ‘Can you call now?”
Tracey later told her travel agent the infections had ruined the holiday, saying: “I couldn’t snorkel or swim with the dolphins on the boat trip I went on. I couldn’t sunbathe properly as I had to cover my ankles and legs up.
“It really felt like a pointless venture.”
Things got worse when Tracey suffered what she called “an extreme loose bowel movement which was uncontrollable” at the terrace bar, with her daughter, also covered with bites, having to clear up the mess.
Tracey admitted she “was and still am thoroughly embarrassed as everybody could see what had happened”, with her clothes “totally ruined”.
She added: “I was just an absolute bl**dy mess. I have been to Egypt many times over the past 17 years and have never experienced anything so degrading.”
During the course of the holiday they also witnessed a member of staff being savagely beaten by six men, Tracey added.
She explained: “The fight started by the terrace bar and ended in the restaurant. They ended up pulling the porter up to the restaurant so they could kick him in without people watching.”
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It had been the first time Briton, who suffers from anxiety, had been abroad in 13 years, Tracey continued.
She said: “The holiday was supposed to be a reset for her. She suffered an accident five years ago and this was her time to get away from everything… and it was just horrendous.”
In another harrowing episode, a guest left a dead dog in reception wrapped in a blanket in a chair.
Tracey said: “The dead dog was tossed outside the front of the hotel and had to be removed… by a member of staff. You could not write it.
“If I could have travelled back to the UK after a few days, I certainly would have done so. Because of my swollen feet and ankles I was very worried about the flight possibility making my condition much worse than it already was.”
When it was finally time to leave, the family’s transfer to the airport failed to turn up, meaning they had to order an Uber instead.
Tracey was eventually offered £850 by her travel agent, the price of the hotel, which she accepted.
The hotel is understood to have since been closed and refurbished and is now under new management, with much better reviews.