Shrewsbury couple in their 40s put in resort for pensioners by Thomson

Sharon Lanning and husband Alun wanted a honeymoon in Tunisia
After the shootings this was cancelled and replaced with a Cyprus trip
They paid an extra £200 to stay in a resort hotel full of pensioners
‘We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,’ said Mrs Lanning

Ted Thornhill for MailOnline

Published:
06:39 EST, 23 September 2015

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Updated:
11:19 EST, 24 September 2015

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A party loving newlywed couple promised a ‘Gold’ hotel by travel agents after their dream honeymoon was cancelled at the last minute were shocked to find it overrun – by ‘Golden Oldie’ pensioners.

Bride Sharon Lanning, 41, and her husband Alun, 42, were hoping for fun and frolics in a resort brimming with other young couples – but discovered a substitute hotel booked for them was geared towards the over 65’s.

Their week-long break was interspersed with Bingo, board games, incontinent guests, OAPs on mobility scooters and a string of tribute acts including Frank Sinatra and Des O’Connor.

Their week-long break was interspersed with Bingo, board games, incontinent guests and OAPs on mobility scooters. Pictured are scenes from their disappointing hotel in Paphos, Cyprus

Elderly guests told them they went to the hotel year after year – just like the ageing British holidaymakers staying at the Solana hotel as seen in TV comedy Benidorm.

Mother of two Sharon, a business consultant from the village of Bromere Heath, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, said: ‘The hotel looked just like an old peoples home. The average age was about 65, and we were laughed at by the other guests and asked why we had chosen to come here for our honeymoon.

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‘When I explained that we were told it was a gold hotel, they said yes it is was gold – but for golden oldies. I was was gutted. It was a mixture of Cocoon, Fawlty Towers and Benidorm.

Mr and Mrs Lanning had originally booked their £1,600 honeymoon for the Tunisian island of Djerba but only a day after their wedding, the trip was cancelled by travel bosses at Thomson due to July’s shootings on a beach in Sousse.

They were then give just a few hours by the travel agents to book another trip and were offered the Atlantica Golden Beach hotel in Paphos, Cyprus – for an extra £200.

She added: ‘I’d always thought about my dream wedding and Honeymoon. Our wedding was amazing, we did it all on a £2,000 budget.

Mr and Mrs Lanning had originally booked their £1,600 honeymoon for the Tunisian island of Djerba, but the trip was cancelled due to July’s shootings. They were offered the Atlantica Golden Beach hotel – for an extra £200

This is a poster created by Mrs Lanning after she returned from her trip to Cyprus

‘We had gone in to Thomson and booked our dream honeymoon which was such a luxurious place. All I wanted was a beach, somewhere luxurious – we had never had anything like that before with the children.

‘We read that people were still actually going to Djerba but we weren’t allowed, it wasn’t that we cancelled it – we didn’t have a choice. Alun drives lorries and is away every week from Monday morning to Friday night so it was going to be quality time for us before we had to go back to reality.

‘We had the VIP lounge booked, extra leg room seats, a bottle of champagne on the plane and even our car park. We went from having all that to going to a different airport and sitting away from each other on the plane.

‘They rung and told me they had found a holiday which was on par with Djerba, it was in Cyprus and was a Thomson Gold hotel. They said it was an exclusive one and that they had put all their money into it – it was top of the range. They told me it was adults only and all inclusive – we thought “brilliant”.

‘We felt put under pressure because they told us we needed to go in and pay the extra money for it because they were going as we spoke. We got there and looked at the brochure. I saw it only had one pool and asked if we could change it and cancel and she said no and got the manager who reassured us it was brilliant. We went on TripAdvisor and it had excellent reviews.

‘But when we arrived, I ran in and left Alun getting the luggage. I went up to reception – then an old lady walked over, kissing and cuddling the receptionist. She asked him which room she got and when he told her she replied saying “you know I don’t like that floor”. When I asked why, the reception man said: “You are different to her, she comes every year and is superior to you.”

Mr and Mrs Lanning (pictured during the honeymoon) complained that their romantic a la carte meal was ruined by OAPs bashing furniture with their mobility scooters. ‘We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry,’ said Mrs Lanning

‘I burst into tears, this was supposed to be my dream honeymoon. Later on we were sitting by the pool and saw an old couple, she was incontinent and he had to take her to the toilet. They would be walking back but she was still in difficulties and to cover it up she was telling him to hurry up and get her in the pool – the pool in the hotel.

‘We spoke to the couple who told us they come every year and have been coming for 12 years because they know they cater for the older generation – they even supply them with incontinence pads if they run out.

‘The entertainment was just old tribute bands for the older generation. We weren’t allowed music on during the day, I just wanted something relaxing but the only music was in the morning when all the old ladies did exercises in the pool.

Mrs Lanning likened some of the hotel’s guests to Benidorm’s Madge (pictured)

‘We tried to find the nearest beach, which was a 20 minute bus journey. Because we were all inclusive we didn’t really take any extra money but by the time we had got a drink and got sunbeds we had spent 60 euros and that was just to get away from there.

‘We went for our a la carte meal one night, if you can imagine Benidorm with Madge on a scooter this is the hotel. The restaurant was next to the entertainment, so while we were having our romantic meal, Des O’Connor music was blaring in. Then people started coming in on their scooters, bashing everything and everyone. We just didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘They are all the same people that go there and that’s fantastic. But that’s not what I wanted and it’s not what I booked. They go to the same room and sit in the same place and meet the same friends.’

Thomsons have since offered Mrs Lanning a £300 voucher – to be spent on a fully priced summer holiday.

But she added: ‘I want a full refund because they didn’t deliver. My dream honeymoon didn’t happen. When we landed in the UK I cried with relief.

‘We had saved for it for a year. We could have taken our children on holiday but because we wanted to spend that money on ourselves for our special time we didn’t and that’s what we feel so guilty about. That money was a waste.’

Thomson said the company was ‘looking into’ the matter.

It said in a statement emailed to MailOnline Travel: ‘While our priority was offering all possible support to those affected by the tragic events in Tunisia we also did all we could to help customers find alternative holidays. This included the opportunity to cancel booked trips to Tunisia and receive a full refund or amend their holiday without incurring a fee.

‘Thomson is sorry to hear of Mr and Mrs Lanning’s experience. We have since been in contact with these customers and offered a gesture of goodwill.

‘We would like to reassure customers that the Hotel Atlantica Golden Beach remains a popular choice, and the majority of customers staying at the hotel at the same time as Mr and Mrs Lanning would recommend the hotel.’