MIAMI, United States. – In January of this year, Canadians Michele and Jessy Revivo from Thornhill, Ontario, were looking forward to enjoying a vacation along with their children on the beaches of Varadero, a destination they had not visited as a family since the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with the Canadian outlet CityNews, Jessy Revivo recalled: “As a couple, we went to Cuba about 30 years ago and it was great; we wanted our children to experience the same.”
They decided to book at the Meliá Marina hotel in Varadero, attracted by its high ratings on internet pages and images of the place that showed “beautiful boats and the blue ocean.”
However, what they found upon arrival was a discouraging scene. “It was like something out of [the movie series] Twilight,” said Jessy. Michele added: “The hallways were dark; if they had lights, they flickered. We had to use the flashlights on our cell phones to find our room.”
The situation at the Meliá Marina hotel was alarming, with elevators out of service, dark hallways, and rooms in deplorable conditions. “There were what appeared to be blood stains on the sheets, the rooms were dirty, and the toilet didn’t work,” Michele explained.
Desperate to find a better place, they looked for other accommodation options in the area, but everything was booked.
After a restless night, they comfronted the hotel’s bureaucracy without success. “The manager said we had to deal with an Air Transat representative who would be there at 10:00 a.m. the next day,” Michele commented.
In the end, they were offered a stay at a nearby resort, although they had to sign a document waiving any claim for compensation.
Although the second hotel was cleaner and better organized, it also had significant issues. “There was no running water or toilet paper in the public bathroom area,” Michele noted.
The family tried to get compensation from Transat for their experience, but only received an initial offer of $150.
According to CityNews, Transat’s response when contacted was to acknowledge that the Canadian family’s stay at the Meliá Marina hotel was “undoubtedly unpleasant,” but the company considered that sufficient action had been taken by moving the family to another hotel.
The Revivo family, dissatisfied with Transat’s management and the quality of the hotel facilities, seeks adequate compensation for their ruined vacation. “I think we are looking for something reasonable,” Jessy assured.
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