Mum left 'close to tears' on Jet2 holiday as desperate holidaymakers battle over sunbeds
A mum who was meant to be unwinding abroad was left in tears after a 'horrendous' battle for sun loungers in the latest despatches from the sunbed wars.
Brits have spent all summer battling over sunbeds, with some holidaymakers having to queue 90 minutes to get one and some hotels taking revenge on sun lounger hoggers.
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Now, Cayleigh Tuffs has told her sunbed story, after splashing out £2,000 on a Jet2 package holiday to Magic Aqua Rock Gardens in Benidorm with husband Andrew Tuffs, 37, and eight-year-old daughter Charley Tuffs.
The 34-year-old was on the verge on tears on her first day at the resort after being forced to sit under a water slide because there were no sunbeds free.
That was because desperate holidaymakers queued for the loungers around an hour before opening, leading to 'chaos' once the gate opened.
On Thursday (3 August), a day where Cayleigh filmed the chaos unfolding, Andrew managed to reserve two beds, one more than he could grab during his other attempts on Monday 31 July and Wednesday 2 August.
While the hotel says towels left on beds for more than 20 minutes unattended will be removed by staff, the mum claims some are left for up to six hours.
Cayleigh has since described the sunbed wars as 'horrendous' and says she will never return to Benidorm.
Cayleigh from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: "They're like ants scurrying for food. It's horrendous.
"We've seen people throw towels across the pool to get beds and people are running even though it's massively slippery.
"We go on holiday five times a year and this is the first time we've ever seen anything like this.
"On the first day we got here in the afternoon so there was no chance of getting a bed so we sat under a slide to get some shade. I was nearly in tears, it was horrendous."
The mum continued: "Staff have no control. There's a sign that says 'if you leave towels for 20 minutes, we'll remove them' but I haven't seen that happen in five days.
"There's people saving beds for five or six hours when nobody's been on them. That's really frustrating when I just want to watch my daughter play.
"When we're not sitting around the pool we can't see her play so she's either got to stay with us or we've got to be in the pool with her. We can't leave her on her own."
Cayleigh retuned to the UK after the five-night break on Friday (4 August), and has since posted the video of the sunbed wars to Facebook.
Many were left shocked by the footage, with one person commenting: "It's like a swarm of ants when you lift a rock up lol."
Meanwhile, a second penned: "My idea of hell. And pushed right up against people you don't know, and in the shade!! Madness."
In a statement provided to Tyla, a Jet2 spokesperson said: “We have no control over this and encourage hotels to set their own policies on guests reserving sunbeds.”
Tyla has reached out to Magic Costa Blanca, who oversee Magic Aqua Rock Gardens, for comment.
Callum Jones