Tui customers left 'terrified' on 'holiday from hell' after 18 months of saving up for trip

The pair booked the holiday to Mexico after missing a previous family break due to the pandemic.

However, when the family arrived on June 5, they were told they could not stay at the hotel because TUI had "failed to pay" for the family's stay.

Gerard told the Daily Record: "The staff were extremely rude and appeared to smirk at us and our situation. They told us that Tui had failed to pay for our booking and that if we wanted to stay, we'd have to pay in full - again."

"I couldn't believe it, we saved up 18 months for this. If we wanted to stay for the night, they were going to charge us $600 (£472).

"At one point, they got three security guards to stand behind me and threatened to chuck us out if I continued to speak.

"My son was terrified, it's not exactly the safest place to chuck a family onto the street. The whole ordeal was horrific, we are heartbroken. It was meant to be the trip of a lifetime.

"It might be the last holiday that our kid wants to come on with us before he turns into a teenager, so we wanted to go all out."

He added that they decided to go to the hotel after reading "good reviews" of the resort.

The family were moved to an alternative hotel, however, they said it was not worth the money they had paid for the trip.

Gerard added: "The hotel we have been moved to is fine but it isn't a patch on what we paid for and expected to get.

"The quality and prestige that Moon Palace offers just isn't here, it is really inferior in comparison. We paid for a jacuzzi in our room at Moon Palace and they obviously don't have that here. It's the detail we wanted."

A Tui spokesperson said: "We are so sorry to hear about our customer's experience in Cancun. Our goal is to ensure customers have the best possible experience, so this is not the way we wanted their holiday to start.

"Our destination team is working to get this resolved as quickly as possible."