A fuming mum who booked a holiday at Skegness Butlins has vowed to never return after she said her accommodation was disgusting.
Clare Mullet who booked a four-night stay as a treat for her 11-year-old son who has battled brain cancer said she was shocked with the state of their accommodation.
The holiday was meant to be a celebration to mark the end of Ethan’s gruelling brain tumour treatment, but instead turned into another nightmare.
When she arrived at the Butlins accommodation there was a seal on the door saying the room had been cleaned, but according to Clare Mullet it was far from clean. According to Clare it was disgusting.
“There was woodlice, dead flies on the floor, and blood stains on the carpets and the sink was rotten too,” according to Clare
Ethan Mullet remarkably and bravely thought medulloblastoma after his sickness was said to have been mistakenly put down to a virus in February last year. It was every parent’s nightmare.
He underwent an eight-hour operation to remove the mass before travelling to Germany for proton beam therapy, followed by nine months of chemotherapy in Newcastle.
Clare explained that it had been a hard year but thankfully Ethan Mullet was given the all-clear in March 2021. To celebrate the news Clare wanted to Ethan to have fun so she booked a holiday at Skegness Butlins, something she now wished she hadn’t have done.
“I explained that Ethan had just been through chemo and there was no way we were staying in that room, even after being cleaned,” Clare explained.
“I just felt dirty being in there. I started getting really itchy.”
When Clare made a complaint, the staff told her that she had checked in more than an hour before the normal allocation time of 4pm. However, Clare was confused why the seal said it had been cleaned when it hadn’t.
The housekeeping team arranged for the apartment to be steam cleaned, but Clare refused to stay in the apartment and instead they were moved to alternative accommodation.
It was not just the state of the apartment that ruined their holiday. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, Butlins like many other holiday resorts have introduced COVID-19 measure which includes guest having to book shows and activities in advance.
Clare says Ethan was left “devastated” after she was only able to book one slot for the St Bede’s Catholic School pupil to enjoy his eagerly anticipated spell in the pool.
“Ethan had been really looking forward to going swimming,” she said.
“He loved the rapids, and he was desperate to go back in. But we couldn’t book another slot for him.
“We were told we’d have to wait in another queue and if someone did not show for their pre-booked slot then Ethan could go back.
“But his mobility isn’t great after his treatment and who knows how long he’d have had to queue for before being allowed in, so I just brought him away.”
The 43-year-old also said customers were forced to walk to the main door of the resort’s entertainment venue to order refreshments on the Butlin’s app due to there not being any phone reception.
“It has been a disaster from start to finish,” Clare said.
“It was very cheap but it’s not about the money. I’d never have expected it to be like this.
“I’d have been absolutely gutted if I’d paid more than £2,000 for the holiday we got.
“Ethan has been doing really well after his treatment. He was really looking forward to it as it was his treat.
“But our holiday was ruined. I was really disappointed. I’ll never go back to a Butlin’s resort again.”
A Butlin’s spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about Mrs Mullett’s recent break.
“We understand this was a very disappointing experience, however as the guests arrived prior to our 4pm check in time their room was not yet ready.
“As soon as our resort team was contacted, we offered a room change which was accepted.
“To ensure we follow government guidelines, we launched a new app for guests to book entertainment.
“We have increased the capacity of our show venues and extended opening times for our pools. We know demand is high for some of our most popular activities and we aim to let no-one down.
“Any available slots are released each morning and our team will let guests in to enjoy our shows and activities if there’s any availability on the day.
“The safety of our guests and team remains our priority and we’d like to reassure guests that we have a strict cleaning and hygiene policy in place.
“Each room is thoroughly cleaned and sanitised before arrival. We’ll be contacting the guest to discuss the issues raised in more detail.”