'Jet2 gave me a broom cupboard for a hotel room because I'm single'

A widow was left devastated after she turned up to her Jet2 holiday and was placed into a room the size of a "broom cupboard".

Alison Owen, from Colne Bay, North Wales, was looking forward to her annual holiday with her two sons until she arrived at the three-star accommodation earlier this year. Alison, 57, said when she opened the door, she was already "stood at the foot of the bed".

She added that the entire room was the same size as the bathroom in her sons twin room, despite spending £1,959 on the vacation. The mum-of-two was "left in tears" after Jet2told her there was nothing they could do. Her sons, aged 21 and 23, scrambled to find an additional 150 euros so their mum could move rooms.

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Alison believes she was given the "claustrophobic" room because she is single. The mum returned from the holiday in June. Speaking about the ordeal, she said: "As soon as walked in I opened the door and I hit the foot of the bed. I immediately felt really claustrophobic and I thought I can't possibly stay here for 10 days. I was cross and I was just upset because we'd travelled and we were looking forward to it [the holiday].

"The room is not fit for purpose. It was a cupboard room. I've worked in hotels and in my view it was more fit for purpose as a linen cupboard than a bedroom. For one night you could put up with it, but not for ten days." The semi-retired secretary says that even though they paid extra , she returned home feeling "depressed and scammed". The mum added: "It had an impact on the rest of the holiday. A Jet2 rep showed up on the second day and I was just sat there crying. I was upset and I felt the staff thought I was being fussy or something. I was glad to leave at the end of the trip. I came home feeling depressed and scammed."

Alison says the ordeal also left her sons feeling so upset that one of them even dipped into his savings so that she could move to a different room. Alison said: "Two days in my son confessed and said he used some of his savings to pay for the upgrade, which is the last thing I wanted them to do. It upset me so much that it upset them.

"Jet2 said they couldn't do anything, the manager said they couldn't do anything, the rep said they couldn't do anything. If I'd have been on my own, and perhaps not had any other income to pay for an upgrade, that would have been terrible."

Alison continued: "It made me feel like a second class citizen. There's a lot of single travellers out there and there's probably a lot of people my age in the same circumstances who want to get out. But to be put in a room, it's just not funny. It was fit for a five-year-old, not a grown adult. We did try and make the most of it after [I'd moved rooms]. I'm a widow so it's nice that my boys want to come away with me."

Alison says that even though the holiday was cheap at £690 per passenger, she expected Jet2 to have higher standards. "I expected it was going to be no frills but what I didn't expect was to be stood at the foot of the bed as soon as I got through the door - I don't think anybody if they paid over £500 would expect that," she said.

"It wasn't a budget, it was three stars. I'm upset with Jet2 for them thinking it's acceptable - I thought they would have better standards really, I did feel misled." When she shared photos of the room on social media, many were appalled at how small it was. One said: "I couldn't have stayed in that it's a broom cupboard." Another wrote: "It looks like a prison cell. I would be so disappointed too." A third added: "That's awful, people who commit a crime are given bigger rooms!"

However, some thought that the room suited the price that Alison paid. One said: "So £69 a night with breakfast and flights, I'm sorry but what did you expect????" A Jet2 spokesperson said: "As an award-winning holiday company, we always want our customers to have the very best experience when travelling with us, so it is disappointing to hear Ms Owen was dissatisfied with her holiday.

"We can confirm that our in-resort team and the hotelier did all they could to address the issues raised while Ms Owen was on holiday. As we have now received correspondence from Ms Owen since returning from holiday, we are investigating her complaint fully and will respond to the customer directly once this has come to a conclusion."