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A British holidaymaker says his family’s trip to Paphos was spoiled after finding cockroaches in multiple hotel rooms at a three-star resort.
Stuart Wheeldon, 49, from Coleshill in the West Midlands, booked a seven-night self-catering stay for his wife and two daughters at the Basilica Holiday Resort through an EasyJet package deal. The holiday, which cost more than £2,400, began on July 24.
But Wheeldon said the family’s experience quickly soured after discovering cockroaches in three separate apartments. Some, he claimed, were several centimeters long. Photos he shared showed the insects on a pillow, by a window and in a shower area.
“It just gives you a feeling of dirtiness,” said Wheeldon, who works as a tax analyst. “You don’t feel comfortable when you’re trying to sleep and things are crawling over you.”
According to Wheeldon, the problems began when the family was given the wrong accommodation on arrival. They had booked a two-bedroom apartment but were instead offered a room with two single beds. After complaining, they were moved to another unit, where his 13-year-old daughter stayed, but that was where he said cockroaches were first spotted.
Over the course of the week, the family changed rooms several times, but Wheeldon said the issue persisted. “I’d never seen a cockroach before this trip,” he said. “Rather than starting the holiday on a bad note, I tried to wash them down the plughole, but it didn’t stop.”
Hotel staff, he claimed, told him that cockroaches were “everywhere” in Cyprus. “That’s not really a good enough response,” he said. “If we’d gone all-inclusive, I would have worried about the restaurant too.”
The father said his family lost sleep during their final night when more insects appeared in the rooms. “Our last night was awful,” he said. “We never slept.”
Wheeldon complained to EasyJet during the holiday and said the company initially offered him a £60 travel voucher.
In an email shared with the press, EasyJet acknowledged that cockroaches can be common in warmer climates, adding that their presence “does not indicate a lack of hygiene,” but apologized for the distress caused.
An EasyJet holidays spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear that Mr. Wheeldon was disappointed with his experience. We always want our customers to enjoy brilliant holidays, so we’re actively investigating his concerns with our resort partners. As soon as he reached out to us, we arranged a room change to try to improve the family’s stay.”
Wheeldon said the incident had put him off the property for good. “It definitely ruined our holiday,” he said. “I would never stay there again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.”
With information from Birmingham Live.
