Holiday hell as mould destroys clothes and causes health scare

A teenager on her first girls’ trip abroad claims she binned half her wardrobe and is worried for her health after staying in a disgusting Jet2 package hotel that was ‘infested’ with black mould. 

Molly Mcquillan, 18, was horrified to find that her clothes and Nike trainers, which cost £120, were covered in mould less than two weeks into her holiday at the party resort of Malia, on the Greek island of Crete.

Ms Mcquillan, from Rochdale, was holidaying with her twenty-one-year-old friends Paris and Morgan Mcintosh last month before going off to university in Preston, Lancashire.

Their holiday bliss turned to hotel horror as they discovered what they say was black mould in their ‘damp and smelly’ room. 

Photos show the items inside the hotel room caked in a black furry substance, including the kettle, bin, shower curtain, and even the ceiling. The womens’ clothes and shoes are also shown covered in what appears to be mould.

The group said that the ‘infestation’ had caused them to bin more than £200 of belongings, and say that they are concerned that having stayed in the ‘dangerous’ hotel room could affect their health.

They are demanding that Jet2 provide them with a refund for the £550 holiday from hell.

The student claims that she and Morgan Mcintosh have developed a cough since returning home last week.

Ms Mcquillan complained: ‘It’s disgusting. If they put a baby in there or people with health issues, it’s dangerous.’

‘We don’t know if they’ll just wipe the walls and then it’ll grow back again in two weeks,’ she added. ‘We’ve probably lost about £200 of stuff. My Nike Dunks that I had to leave cost about £120 and my friend had to leave six pairs of shoes.’

Jet2 said that they were only made aware of the issue the day before Ms Mcquillan’s departure and they were investigating.

Ms Mcquillan spoke of her disappointment. ‘It’s made me angry,’ she said. ‘My shoes I got as a Christmas present and my other clothes [are ruined] – I’ve left a lot there.’

‘Even the bed was covered in damp and mould was starting to appear on some of the bed sheets.’

‘There was stuff in the wardrobe and on our shoes, bags, and cases on the floor. Everything has mould on it.’

‘When I was there, I ended up getting a bad cough. Since I’ve gone home, at nighttime and in the morning, I feel chesty. I’ve had to go to the doctors, my friend has a bad cough as well.’

Ms Mcquillan said that her friends and her had been aware that the hotel was only rated two stars, but that they expected it be clean. 

‘We expected it not to be the best,’ Ms Mcquillan explained. ‘We were actually pretty happy with the room to begin with but there was a strong odour in the room.’

‘We never paid attention to it, we thought it was just the room, but it was getting stronger and stronger towards the end of the holiday.’

‘Then mould started to appear towards the end of our second week.’

‘We were on the ground floor and couldn’t open the balcony to let air in just in case anyone came in.’

‘Towards the end of the holiday I noticed I had some shoes that were covered in thick mould.’

‘When we came to pack, that’s when we noticed mould was everywhere thick on the walls. It just isn’t acceptable.’

Ms Mcquillan says that she raised the mould issue with the hotel and with Jet2 on September 7. She says they were offered an ‘insulting’ £50 compensation to be split three ways, which they declined. They are now pursuing the complain with Jet2. 

‘We came to pack up and I said ‘look at my top, it’s covered in mould’, and I thought ‘I’m not having it,’ she said. 

‘I rang Jet2 and sent the pictures over, and one of the reps was in the hotel. I asked them to come into our room, the smell was so bad in the room.’

‘Her face dropped as soon as she walked through the door, she said she’d let the manager know.’

‘The next day I went to the rep and asked ‘what’s the outcome of it?’

‘She said she’d spoken to the woman above her and they’re happy to offer £50, which isn’t worth the damage it’s caused to all our stuff so we refused it. It was an insult to us.’

‘I am waiting to hear back from Jet2, they said within two weeks we would hear back. The CEO of Jet2 said he’s investigating it.’

‘I’d like the full money of the holiday back. I understand they might have to knock a bit off because of flights but I think we should get the accommodation refunded.’

Ms Mcquillan is urging any other travellers to think carefully about their hotel choices after the ‘unacceptable’ experience. 

‘It upsets me, this definitely didn’t live up to the ‘trusted’ holiday packages.’

‘Jet2 shouldn’t send guests to places like that. It wasn’t just young ones, there were adults and children there too.’

‘If kids have any illnesses and stay in that room, they’ll end up getting even more ill.’

‘It’s made me more cautious to book with Jet2 again. With something like this they should be looking into it straight away.’

‘The room put a dampener on the trip, it was our first girls’ holiday away. I understand it’s only a two-star hotel but you shouldn’t expect big black mould in the room.’

A Jet2 spokesperson said: ‘As an award-winning holiday company, we always want our customers to have the very best holiday experience when travelling with us, so we are investigating this as a matter of priority and will respond directly to Ms McQuillan once we have completed a thorough investigation.

‘Although Ms McQuillan stayed in the hotel for two weeks, no issues were reported until the day before departure, so we were unaware of any dissatisfaction until then.

‘We have a team of in-resort customer helpers and colleagues available on our 24/7 helpline who are always happy to assist and encourage customers to contact us as soon as possible if they wish to discuss anything to do with their holiday.’