What can I say! This was a holiday that was a disaster from the start. Sun Express Airlines - Unsmiling, unhelpful, glum looking lot. We paid more for wider seats with more legroom. OK on the way out but on the way back we we given row 1 A, B and C with a bulkhead in front of us so no legroom. Also these seats were not even as wide as the seats behind us because they had the tray in the armrest. Tried to remonstrate with a hostess and even showed her the confirmation form but it was a case of sit down and shut up.
The Antique Palace was the pits. We were given a bill of just over GBP200 for the a/c and safe box as we arrived. The room had not been cleaned and had stains on the floor. The a/c control was hanging off the wall in one bedroom. The bathroom was horrendous. We actually cleaned the room and bathroom as best we could before we went to bed. The toilet seat was hanging on one bolt. There were stains on the ceiling from the toilet upstairs and also the shower cubicle. The floor was heavily stained and we never could get this out. The drain in the shower was higher than the rest of the floor so all the water graduated to the lowest point and just festered in the tray without draining. The TC rep even came in to take a look and was horrified. She tried to get us moved but there was nothing else available. The water was never warm and most of the time freezing cold. One of the a/c units broke down and it took them 3 days to fix it. The light in the toilet blew and took 2.5 days to fix. The TV blew up during a storm at the end of our first week and took 3 days to be replaced. The Sat system was turned off for the final 3 days of our stay so again no TV. There was no phone. The lifts were out of commission when we arrived so I ended up tramping up and down 3 floors with the cases. The lift broke down at regular intervals during our 2 week stay. Fair play to Jo the TC rep, she tried to get us some money back for the state of the place and the loss of amenities with the TV, a/c etc but the miserable swine behind the reception just laughed in our faces. The food in the Antique Palace was over cooked sufficiently to have past as replacement shoe leather. The drinks in the bar were over priced. There was also the tendency for the mixed spirit/soft drink combinations to be served MINUS the spirit. Something that was proven when we asked for 2 whiskeys and separate coke and lemonade. I actually sat at the bar to order a round and was frog marched back to the table by 2 of the so-called waiters. They obviously didn't want me to see that there was a fiddle going on. The staff were effing and blinding at us after that incident because we were not using the bar any more. Room cleaning and replacement towels and bed linen seemed to be down to luck rather than a strict rota, however, surprise, surprise, we did get a visit from 2 room maids on our last day who, when they found that we were not giving them a tip, stripped the beds and removed the towels so that we were forced to use our own beach towels and take them home wet.
All in all this was a experience that will not be repeated. Be warned, do yourself a favour, DON'T GO TO THE ANTIQUE PALACE, IT'S A RIP OFF BIG TIME.
Thomas Cook, there will be a strongly worded letter coming your way and hopefully a visit from Trading Standards for the misleading descriptions and claims in your brochure.