Hotel guest who paid extra to see the ocean appalled by ‘inner city’ view — staff told her to ‘lean over the balcony’
She booked a room with a view �and got a concrete slap in the face.
British mom Kim Antrobus says her girls�trip to Portugal was “ruined�after paying extra for a view of the majestic Atlantic Ocean �only to find herself staring directly at a pair of drab apartment buildings.
Antrobus, 43, and her friend Louise Edlin shelled out over $500 for something called a “side sea viewâ€?room in Costa Da Caparica last month.Â
But instead of a sweeping vista, she claims they were greeted with a grim urban scene she said looked more like “Beirut or inner city London.�/p>
“My friend had to climb onto the balcony bit, leaned right over and said ‘you can just about see [the sea],’â€?Antrobus
She went on, recalling, “I couldn’t see it myself. I’ve got a slipped disc and there’s no way I can lean that far over to see it.â€?/p>
Loveholidays, the online travel agency through which the trip was booked, reportedly responded that the pair had received a sea view �albeit one that required some acrobatics to catch a glimpse.
“She said you can ‘see [the sea] with a stretch,’�Antrobus recounted.
“It doesn’t say on the website a ‘side sea view with a stretch over the balcony.’â€?/p>
The duo ended up forking over more money to upgrade to a better room.
Antrobus, who works in marketing and is a mom of four, blasted the original listing as “misleading.�/p>
“To me that wasn’t a sea view room,â€?she said. “It just didn’t look like we were on holiday by the sea. It wasn’t the view I was expecting.â€?/p>
“It was a beautiful hotel, just a shocking side sea view,â€?she added. “We changed rooms straight away, I wasn’t staying in that room.â€?/p>
Loveholidays offered a partial refund �but also passed the buck to the hotel.
“While every hotel classifies their room types differently, we understand Ms Antrobus’ disappointment, and as a gesture of goodwill, have offered a refund of the additional Euro 30 she paid to upgrade to a full sea view room,â€?the company said in a statement.
Still, the experience left a bad taste.
“It was a nightmare to get in touch with Loveholidays. It ruined my holiday,�Antrobus said.
She stressed, “I won’t book with them again now. I’d tell other people to steer clear.â€?/p>
