As more Brits seek the perfect getaway as lockdown comes to an end, two hotel guests were left with a less than impressive view at the hotel they booked for their holiday.
The couple, who were promised beautiful sea views from their Premier Inn hotel, have now blasted the company for a 'misleading ad' after they discovered the entire hotel was a 'construction site with no views."
The website lists all the fantastic features of the hotel and that it will be a 'sailor's life' for guests as they hotel is 'slap bang on the marina with views of the sea and surrounding hills' and proclaimed guests would 'enjoy the spectacular scenery'.
However shocking photos taken by the excited couple as they arrived at the Swansea Waterfront hotel on 13th June reveals something entirely different. In fact, the pictures reveal that building was wrapped up in white safety sheeting.
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Roger and Irine Luke confessed that at first they thought they'd stumbled across a construction site and rang the hotel to discover where they should go.
The receptionist assured the couple that despite the waterfront hotel being cocooned in scaffolding and a safety curtain they were open for business.
When the retired electronic engineer checked into the £35 room he was dismayed to discover the lauded views of the sea and hills obliterated by poles and opaque netting - leaving the room 'very dark'.
Outraged Roger believes it was 'false advertising' as although a note on the website conceded there are 'restricted views' he says it's misleading as there's 'no view whatsoever'.
Premier Inn confirmed they had updated their website to make it 'even clearer' that there were no views - now stating rooms will have 'obscured views from the windows as there is scaffolding to the exterior of the building'.
Roger, from Maesteg, Mid-Glamorgan, said: "We've stayed in this hotel several times and when we got there I said to my partner 'we're in the wrong place, this is a construction site here by the look of it'.
"We rang them [Premier Inn] from the carpark to see if they'd purchased another hotel or if this hotel was closed but they said they were round the front.
"Of course then we could see the whole building was completely covered in this safety curtain.
"When we realised we were in the right place we were too far into it by then to say 'we're not accepting this' so we just went with it.
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"It was ever so dark in the room. I complained at the desk and it was pointed out there was a note on the website right at the bottom of the page, about a restricted view.
"It's false advertising. You can't advertise a hotel with a restricted view when there is no view.
"My interpretation of a restricted view is when you open the window and there's a thin two-and-a-half-inch pole right in front of you, not a safety curtain all the way round.
"Part of the appeal of staying there was for the lovely view of the marina.
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Roger said: "What annoys me is that they're blatantly misleading people.
"The advert on their website still stays there is a restricted view, it's very misleading.
"I said to the guy at reception that the hotel isn't fit for purpose.
"I think it's terrible [the way Premier Inn has handled this]. They refunded me £16 plus VAT but no-one ever said 'you know what you're absolutely right, thanks for pointing this out'.
"We use Premier Inn a lot and that's why we're disappointed, we expected better feedback than that.
"I'm sure other people have gone there and felt the same way. When I showed the photos to a friend of mine who already booked in there he cancelled.
"We were told that it's going to be there until next year, the hotel should stay closed until they fix it.
"It would disappoint holidaymakers wanting to stay there, there's no question."
A Premier Inn spokesman said: "Our Swansea Waterfront hotel is undergoing essential refurbishment as our booking journey makes clear so guests are aware works are taking place on their planned stay date before they make the decision to book.
"We're always happy to receive feedback and are pleased to have updated our website to make this fact even clearer.
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"Premier Inn does not own this building. It is landlord-owned and they are responsible for the building works. However, despite the issues relating to the essential work being completed by our landlords, we continue to deliver the best Premier Inn experience possible."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News