British tourists have criticized two men for hogging five sun loungers between them at a Benidorm resort, in what could be an early sign of the poolside chaos to come this summer.
Last season’s sunbed war threatens to return as hotels in hotspots, including Spain’s Costa Blanca, fill up with tourists from northern Europe looking for a sunny getaway.
Paul Hitchcock, who usually spends his holidays in Benidorm, shared a photo of two sun worshipers at his hotel who had stacked several sun loungers, apparently preventing other tourists from getting a spot.
“Two people, five sun loungers, and they’re not the only ones,” he told his fellow tourists, who criticized what they called the men’s “selfish” sunbathing etiquette.
Others came to the couple’s defense, suggesting that the chairs were stacked by the gentlemen, as sun loungers are often too low for older people.
Paul Hitchcock, who usually spends his holidays in Benidorm, shared a photo of two sun worshipers at his hotel who had stacked several sun loungers.
‘Ask them to move them if people need them. It’s not good, but if they have weak knees like me and can’t get up easily, I understand why they do it,” one woman commiserated.
“If there are a lot of beds, it’s no problem,” another person said, adding that the beds “are so low” that “older people or people with back problems can put two together because it’s easier to get down.”
But some questioned whether the men were saving the chairs for friends or family, arguing that the chairs should be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.
‘I would throw the towels and grab them. Not in them, they are not “yours.” Simple,’ one person commented on the Benidorm group’s Facebook post.
Many argued that it was the hotel’s responsibility to deal with uncooperative guests.
“I would ask the hotel staff to do something about it,” one said, with another adding that “it shouldn’t be allowed.”
Another said: ‘This should stop, what a shame!’
Brits heading to Mediterranean resorts this summer are once again anticipating the pools to be packed; Last year there were reports of people queuing for hours before the pools opened in a bid to get a sun lounger.
Footage showed tourists competing with each other for poolside loungers as the sites opened, at which point witnesses said “madness” ensued.
A British mother who holidayed in Benidorm last year said she was left close to tears after her family were forced to sit under a water slide after missing the crazy race.
Cayleigh Tuffs, pictured with her husband Andrew and eight-year-old daughter Charley, said she was left close to tears after missing last year’s crazy race.
Cayleigh Tuffs, 34, who was on holiday with her husband Andrew and their eight-year-old daughter, described the rush to get beds as “horrendous” and vowed never to return to the Spanish tourist destination.
Hotels across southern Spain were forced to crack down last year on unruly behavior as tourists battled for the best sunbathing spots.
A hotel on the Costa del Sol revealed they were forced to introduce a parking ticket system, where towels left on unattended beds were removed after a time limit.
Guests at the Estival Torrequebrada on Benalmádena beach, many of whom paid thousands of dollars for their holiday, were warned they could no longer leave towels as a marker on a sun lounger to claim for an entire day.
People queue for sun loungers at the Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, near Malaga, as many brought chairs and a good book as they waited for almost two hours before the beach and pool opened.
Instead, management began leaving cards on sun loungers with towels, bags and other personal items, warning that they would be removed after 45 minutes if they remained unoccupied.
After missing out on a sunbed at their Greek resort, where a similar policy was intended, a German family was paid £280.
The family, who spent £4,532 on their holiday last summer, received the cash after they were unable to get sun loungers at their Rhodes hotel one morning.
Managers at the TUI Kids Club Atlantica Mikri Poli hotel had been enforcing a policy that meant guests who placed towels on any of its 500 beds had to use them within 30 minutes. The court determined that in this case the policy was not implemented.