There's nothing quite like jumping into a pool on holiday in sunny country, but would you be upset if the pool was a bit colder than you'd expected?
You might be someone who claims it's 'alright once you're in!', but mum Gulnara Adomene, from Romford, East London, was not willing to wait for the water to warm up.
The 40-year-old had been counting down the days until she, her friend Luda and both of their children could head to the beachfront villa Casa Dak at Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, and the promise of a heated pool played a big part in that.
Advert
"I was looking for two months for accommodation. I thought I'd try to look for a villa so we could get a good heated pool," Gulnara explained.
"I found Casa Dak on Booking.com, I looked at the photos and the price and sent a few questions to the villa owner asking what temperature the pool is. He sent me a reply saying '30-32' degrees. I trusted him and chose his villa."
The group arrived at the villa on the evening of 11 April, and the mum immediately went to check out the pool.
"I reached into the pool and felt it was a little cold. I asked [the owner] 'How many degrees is this?' and he said it was 26 or 25, but that in the day it'd reach 30 to 32," Gulnara said.
Advert
"I trusted him thinking it was cold due to it being the evening."
The following day, she opened the cover of the pool and her nine-year-old daughter jumped in, but Gulnara said she only stayed in there for 10 minutes before getting out, 'shivering'.
"The other kids tried but couldn't go in. For me and my friend it was too cold. I tried with my hand but there was no way I could go in that pool, it was freezing," the mum said.
Advert
Realising the pool seemed colder than the owner had claimed it would be, Gulnara bought a thermometer to measure it herself and took pictures showing the temperature at less than 25 degrees.
She contacted the owner, Fabrizio Rossi, who allegedly promised to sort the issue the following day while the group were at the beach.
However, when they came back she said 'nothing had been done'.
"Our kids were disappointed. They were watching the pool, not using the pool. The third day of our stay, the pool engineer fixed it," Gulnara said.
In spite of Fabrizio's effort to resolve the situation, the mum was concerned the pool would take another few days to heat up and so decided to spend £680 to book themselves into a new hotel.
Advert
"I thought 'oh my god, what is the point of staying here?' We'd paid over a thousand pounds and couldn't use what was advertised," she said.
Gulnara claimed there were other issues with the villa including 'cracked glass, a broken shower head, and a mouldy washing machine', though Fabrizio has disputed her claims about the trip.
The owner shared footage which appeared to show the pool reaching 30 degrees when properly covered, and claimed the other 'problems' had been 'created' by the group.
"I'm sorry for the problem but unfortunately it was she herself who created problems," he said. "I found the shower broken [along with] other things."
"The temperature of the pool is 30 degrees. The swimming pool must be closed at night and not opened since the temperature is 18 degrees outside at night.
Advert
"[As it is] an outside pool, if she had not put the cover on at night it is normal that it does not reach the right temperature. If it [the cover is kept closed] it keeps it much better.
"I [also] sent the maintenance guy for two consecutive days with a written registration for intervention. The customers [who stayed after them] have put a very different review."
Gulnara contacted Booking.com after the stay and was told she had to contact the owner of the villa for a refund.
A Booking.com spokesperson said: "We take any complaint seriously and are currently looking into the details raised."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media