British holidaymakers have blasted two men for hogging five sunbeds 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 wars are threatening to make a comeback as hotels in hotspots including Spain’s Costa Blanca fill up with tourists from northern Europe looking for a sunny getaway.
Paul Hitchcock, who regularly holidays in Benidorm, shared a picture of two sunseekers at his hotel who had stacked up multiple deckchairs – seemingly preventing other holidaymakers from bagging a spot.
‘Two people, five sunbeds, and they are not the only ones,’ he told fellow tourists, who slammed what they called the men’s ‘selfish’ sunbathing etiquette.
Others jumped into the pair’s defense – suggesting that the chairs were piled up by the gentlemen as the loungers were often too low for elderly people.
Paul Hitchcock, who regularly holidays in Benidorm, shared a picture of two sunseekers at his hotel who had stacked up multiple deckchairs
‘Ask them to move them if people need them. It’s not right but if they have dodgy knees like me and can’t get up easily I get why they are doing it,’ one woman sympathized.
‘If there’s plenty of beds it’s not a problem,’ said another person, adding that the beds ‘are so low’ that ‘older people or people with back problems put two together as it’s easier to get off.’
But some questioned whether the men were saving the chairs for friends or family members, arguing that chairs should be taken on a first come first served basis.
‘I’d throw the towels off and take them. Not on them, they’re not ‘yours’. Simple,’ one person commented on the Benidorm group Facebook post.
Many argued that it was the hotel’s responsibility to deal with uncooperative guests.
‘I would get the hotel staff to do something about it,’ one said, with another adding it ‘shouldn’t be allowed’.
Another said: ‘This should be getting stopped, how embarrassing!’
Brits heading to Mediterranean resorts this summer are once again anticipating poolsides filling up – with reports last year of people queuing for hours before pools opened in a bid to secure a lounger.
Footage showed holidaymakers racing each other to nab poolside sun loungers the moment sites opened, at which point witnesses said ‘madness’ ensued.
A British mother holidaying in Benidorm last year said she was left close to tears after her family was forced to sit under a water slide after missing out on the mad dash.
Cayleigh Tuffs, pictured with her husband Andrew and their eight-year-old daughter Charley, said she was left on the brink of tears after missing out on the mad dash last year
Cayleigh Tuffs, 34, who was on holiday with her husband Andrew and their eight-year-old daughter, described the rush for beds as ‘horrendous’ and vowed never to return to the Spanish tourist destination.
Hotels across southern Spain were forced to crackdown last year on unruly behavior as tourists battled for the best sunbathing spots.
One hotel on the Costa del Sol revealed that they were forced to introduce a parking ticket style system – with towels left on beds unattended removed after a time limit.
Guests at the Estival Torrequebrada on Benalmádena Beach, many of whom paid thousands for their holidays, were warned they could no longer leave towels as a marker on a sunbed to claim it for a whole day.
People queue for sun loungers at 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
Management instead began leaving cards on sunbeds with towels, handbags and other personal belongings on them, warning 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 meant to be enforced, one German family was awarded a £280 payout.
The family, who spent £4,532 on their break last summer, were awarded the cash after they were unable to get any loungers at their Rhodes hotel one morning.
Managers at the TUI Kids Club Atlantica Mikri Poli hotel had been operating a policy that meant guests who put down towels on any of their 500 beds had to use them within 30 minutes. The court found that in this case, the policy was not implemented.