Brits could be entitled to hundreds of pounds in compensation after a judge awarded a £280 payout to a German family who couldn’t get a sun lounger.
The family, who spent £4,532 on the break last summer, were awarded the payout after they were they were unable to get any loungers one morning at a hotel in Rhodes.
Managers at the TUI Kids Club Atlantica Mikri Poli hotel had been operating a policy that meant guests who put down towels in their 500 beds had to use them within 30 minutes. However, the court found that in this case it was not implemented.
The ruling has now given fresh hopes to several British holidaymakers who missed out on sunbeds last year, with the possibility the landmark ruling could pave the way for more compensation claims.
Sunbed wars are all too common across the Meditterenean in summer, especially on the Costa del Sol and in Benidorm where a mother was left close to tears after her family was forced to sit under a water slide after missing out on the mad dash.
Holidaymakers were last year seen ‘swarming like ants’ to secure a sunbed for the day at the Magic Aqua Rock Gardens hotel in Benidorm
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
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, who was on holiday with her husband Andrew and their eight-year-old daughter Charley, described the rush for beds as ‘horrendous’ and vowed never to return to the Spanish tourist destination.
Ms Tuffs, who paid £2,000 for a Jet2 package holiday to Magic Aqua Rock Gardens, said she saw holidaymakers sprinting to sunbeds first thing in the morning to ensure they got the best spot.
The 34-year-old, from Chesterfield in 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. I’ve never wanted to cry on holiday before, but I did on that first day.’
Ms Tuffs said that the pool was packed with queuing Brits an hour before it opened at 10am, then ‘chaos’ ensued when the gates were opened by staff.
Footage taken by the IT manager showed holidaymakers crammed near multiple entrances before rushing across the slippery floor to throw their towels on shaded sunbeds.
Ms Tuffs can be heard saying ‘Jesus Christ’ as she waits to see if her husband, who began queuing at 9am, could secure a spot for them.
Ms Tuffs (pictured on plane to Benidorm with family), was so upset by the rush for beds that she has vowed never to return to the popular tourist destination
Footage showed Ms Tuffs and her daughter Charley (pictured together) waiting to see if Mr Tuffs could secure a bed
Ms Tuffs had paid £2,000 for a package holiday to stay at the Magic Aqua Rock Gardens (pictured) in Benidorm
Ms Tuffs said there are at least three different entrances to the pool and some people had even resorted to using a ‘sneaky’ entrance near the toilet blocks.
The mother-of-one claimed that despite there being a rule of staff removing towels left on beds for more than 20 minutes, some were left for up to six hours unattended.
Meanwhile, exclusive pictures from July last year showed how some holidaymakers waited for up to two hours for prime spots at the four-star Hotel Estival Torrequebrada, near Málaga.
Men and women were pictured turning up 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.
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 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.
Holidaymakers in Costa Del Sol have been spotted racing each other to nab poolside sun loungers the moment the doors open
Footage shows a huge queue of people in holiday attire standing in a line as they hope to get their hands on the best beds
‘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’.
Holidaymakers across the Costa del Sol were spotted racing each other to nab poolside sun loungers the moment sites open.
Footage showed a huge queue of people in holiday attire standing in a line as they hoped to get their hands on the best beds.
Meanwhile, in Benidorm locals were caught setting up their deck chairs in the middle of the night to beat British tourists.
Pictures showed residents on the beach erecting parasols in the dark in front of the ocean.
As the waves crash against the sand in the dead of night, a desperate man was seen in one video unravelling a beach mat with a deadly serious look painted on his face.
After putting the first one down successfully he appears to check that the coast is clear before wiping the sand from his hands and starting to lay down a second one at a right angle, perhaps to confuse his opponents.
As the camera pans round, it shows that he is adding to a line of colourful parasols and deckchairs already in place as a woman gazes out over the empty beach.
In Benidorm, locals were seen erecting parasols in the dark in front of the ocean as they battle with Brits swarming to sunbeds
Elsewhere, one hotel even had a referee blow a whistle to let guests know when it was time for the race to start.
Hilarious footage showed the moment holidaymakers got the whistle as they raced to collect their sunbeds for the day.
The holidaymaker captured the footage at the Parasol Garden in Malaga, which is close to Hotel Estival Torrequebrada.
Craig Trapps, who was staying at Hotel Estival Torrequebrada in Malaga, filmed a video of the hilarious moment.
Mr Trapps said: ‘I managed to get into the pool area before it opened! As you can see the bloke takes around EIGHT sunbeds.
‘I had my towels removed by the Spanish and it turned nasty and nearly ended up in a fight.
‘I nearly ended up fighting with some Spanish who literally threw my towels off beds!’