Ready, set…tan! Brit holidaymakers at Costa del Sol hotel reveal ‘violent mad scramble’ for sunloungers – which are released daily at the blow of a whistle
- Today is the last day of the whistle system following MailOnline’s story yesterday
British holiday makers at a Costa del Sol hotel where the daily release to guests of sun loungers is announced by the blowing of a whistle have told how the system makes for a ‘a mad scramble’ which can turn violent.
The whistle announcement system was introduced at the Spanish seaside hotel in a bid to reduce the intense competition to secure a prized spot by the pool.
But instead, the moment when staff blow whistles to announce that the loungers are unlocked and available has led to even more chaotic scenes – as captured in hilarious video footage published by MailOnline.
Now, holidaymakers at the Parasol Garden in Malaga have told of their concerns over the system and complained it was detracting from an otherwise enjoyable and sun-soaked holiday.
Sarah Wood, 46, a project coordinator from Wakefield, said: ‘As soon as they opened the gates, took the chains off the beds and blew the whistle, there was a mad scramble.
The whistle announcement system was introduced at the Spanish seaside hotel in a bid to reduce the intense competition to secure a prized spot by the pool
Natasha Hawley, 44, from Kent, said the scrum for sunbeds was a ‘free for all’
Health worker Janet Fleming, 66, from Manchester said she woke at 7.30am on the first full day of her holiday with her husband, David, a retired upholsterer
‘My daughter Meghan and me were elbowed out of the way by people running past us. It is such an unsatisfying way to spend your holiday.’
READ MORE – Angry Greek locals launch sunbed war on British tourist hotspots in bid to stop holidaymakers from taking over pristine beaches
Health worker Janet Fleming, 66, from Manchester said she woke at 7.30am on the first full day of her holiday with her husband, David, a retired upholsterer.
She managed to secure two sunbeds by the pool on a patch of grass and Anderson palm trees by placing her Ralph Lauren towels on them.
But she said: ‘I have never known sunbeds to be locked up on any holiday that I’ve been on before. It is shocking.
‘They need to do something about this. It’s just making everybody nervous and everybody is getting involved in this rush because nobody wants to be left out.
‘But I do find it entertaining seen everybody running around like a comedy sketch.
Mr Fleming, 69, added: ‘It is a terrible fight for the sun loungers. It shouldn’t have to be like this and none of us want to behave out of character by pushing and shoving.
‘But now the sun is out and there is music playing it is beginning to feel like a holiday.’
Holidaymakers queueing up at the Parasol Garden Hotel on the Costa del Sol as they wait for the whistle to blow to announce the daily scramble for sunloungers
And we’re off! Crowds head towards a rack of sunloungers to grab them before they run out
Aerial footage showing chaotic scenes at the hotel during one morning rush for chairs
Natasha Hawley, 44, from Kent, was on holiday with her husband John and her child Aiden, 20, who has special educational needs.
She said: ‘We turned up and asked for ground floor access because my son has a motorised wheelchair and they gave us one with step access.
‘They then said they could make it up to us and put us on the ninth floor, it’s just been ridiculous really.
‘But the scrum for the sunbeds is something else, it is like a free for all, you can’t be polite here you just have to push your way through and get what you want, which is not how I really want to be on holiday.
‘I don’t like that, I am always encouraging Aiden to be polite but it’s not a good impression to come here and have to be rude to others just to get a sunbed, it’s so disappointing.’
Train driver manager Ryan Deacon from Norwich was with his wife and children.
The lucky ones: Holidaymakers soak up the sun at the Parasol Garden Hotel
The international exposure MailOnline’s story caused has now seen the hotel management rethink their policy and we can reveal today was the last day for the whistle system
‘It’s a bit nuts. People were standing there for about 30 minutes beforehand and everyone was inching closer and closer before the allowed time and getting shouted at to get back.
‘I feel we are being treated like animals and that doesn’t feel great.
‘This holiday has cost me a couple of thousand pounds and all I want to do is enjoy it with my family under the sunshine and not have to worry about how I’m gonna get a space by the pool.’
The international exposure MailOnline’s story caused has now seen the hotel management rethink their policy and we can reveal today was the last day for the whistle system – which will be dropped from tomorrow morning.
Hotel receptionist Gregorio Lara told Mail Online: ‘We do not like seeing people having to run to get sunbeds.
‘We are going to introduce a new system, which is fair for everybody. Once I’ve got their son loungers, they can stay on them.
‘But if they leave the towels here for more than 30 minutes, we will photograph them, remove their belongings and show them the pictures and explain why they have lost the sun beds.’
Earlier this week, Mail Online reported how other tourists at the same hotel waited for up to two hours for prime spots to grab a lounger.
Tourists stroll around by the pool at the Parasol Garden Hotel
In a very British scene in southern Spain, men and women were pictured forming an orderly queue long before the beach and swimming pools opened to ensure they get the best spot – and most brought a chair and a good book to pass the time.
But one witness said that once the gate opened each morning, ‘madness’ ensued, with ‘people literally running in’. Some parents shoved forward their children to sprint in and grab a sunbed because they are fitter and faster.
Charlotte Chartell told MailOnline that people were queueing up on chairs whilst reading ‘as they’ve been there so long’.
But she also concluded ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, following her initial shock that people were waiting in line to get a sunlounger each day.
Ms Chartell said: ‘There are two pools, but only one for children, so everyone wants to get as close as they can to the slides as well. There definitely aren’t enough sun loungers for the number of guests in the hotel.
‘But as soon as the lifeguard opens the gate, people literally run in, someone sent their children running ahead of the adults. It’s madness. I was there the week before the holidays started so God knows what it’s like now.’
In a similar fashion Spanish locals were seen out before dawn to lay down their towels in a prime spot on a Costa Blanca beach last week.
The early-risers in Torrevieja proudly planted their flags in the sand even before the sun rose.
They began setting up at 5.30am just after council cleaners finished their night shift – as similar scenes also played out just over an hour’s drive away in the popular holiday spot of Benidorm.
Signs at the hotel forbid people from reserving sunbeds by leaving their belongings on them
One local dug his sun umbrella – the red and yellow of the Spanish national flag – into the sand and plonked his deckchair beside it before disappearing.
Another even planted a mini-Spanish flag into the top of his parasol – and stood next to it with his arms crossed in front of him as if he were defending his territory against foreign marauders.
Monica Gomez, Benidorm’s councillor for beaches and the environment, said last month: ‘There are also people who put out their belongings at this early time of the morning and go home, and that is something that is not allowed.
‘By-laws mean the local police have the power to the act when items are left on the beach in this way and it leads to conflict between beachgoers and they always act when required to in order to mediate and try to resolve disputes to make sure both parties can enjoy a good day out on the sand.
‘If it’s proved someone has abandoned their sun umbrella or sun lounger the police have the power to remove it.
‘Generally the items are left on the beach itself, by one of the entry points or by the lifeguard’s tower.
‘That means that when the person concerned goes to pick them up they can be advised this is something they shouldn’t be doing so they can be urged not to repeat it.
‘We always appeal to peoples’ personal responsibility so we all exercise a correct use of our beaches and enjoy them.
‘However if people persist in this sort of behaviour where they abandon sunbeds and umbrellas and generate conflict with other beach users, the police can sanction them for a reiteration of a practice that is not permitted.’
Source: Read Full Article