A family who “never” go on holiday has had their dream trip ruined by the Lanzarote floods in the wake of Storm Olivier that ravaged the Canary island last week. Tony Moran-Ambrose and his wife, Francesca, took their two children away for a rare break.
The family of four, who run their own restaurant, say they hardly ever get to go abroad due to the busy nature of their business. Tony booked the £2,500 trip to surprise their friends who were heading out to the Spanish island, reported Luxury Travel Daily. The couple, accompanied by their 8-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, flew from Bristol airport on April 6.
Tony, 37, also surprised his friend Phil and his two kids on the flight. The group arrived at the TUI SuneoClub El Trebol in Lanzarote, where they were booked to stay for a week.
However, their dream holiday soon became a nightmare as Storm Olivier hit, just four days into their trip. With the onset of torrential rain, the island was hit by horrific floods.
In just 24 hours, the hotel grounds were flooded with dirty water. The family’s room on the third floor also began to flood, leaving the group stuck on the sofa for hours before being able to leave.
The family, who run Moran’s Thai Restaurant in Westward Ho, Devon, were left devastated. Tony told Luxury Travel Daily: “We hardly ever get to go away because of our restaurant, it was really unfortunate what happened.
“The flooding water caused all the electricity to go off. We couldn’t get any food, the toilets didn’t work and we were unable to wash.”
Tony explained that the group were lucky enough to complete their full seven-day trip, with the last three impacted by the floods. People who arrived on the day they left, however, were not so lucky.
“People who arrived the day we left were having flights home arranged,” Tony added, “the hotel was forced to shut down and there was nowhere else to go.
“The receptionist who had lived there his whole life even said he’d never seen rain like it. The water was rushing in from everywhere, we were at the bottom of a mountain so the water was mixing with volcanic ash.”
Tony added that it was a nightmare trying to find milk for his three-year-old before he went to bed, as everything around the hotel was forced to close. The only thing he could get his hands on was alcohol.
“My heart really goes out to the locals and their livelihoods, it was awful to see the damage it caused to them.
The restaurant owner added that TUI sent a blanket email to guests informing them of the hotel’s closure and that they would be in contact with them this week.
A TUI spokesperson told Jam Press: “Due to unprecedented weather in Lanzarote over the weekend, a small number of hotels were significantly impacted by floods.
”As always, the wellbeing and safety of our customers and colleagues is our main priority, and our TUI resort teams were working hard with the local authorities and hoteliers to find customers in impacted hotels alternative accommodation during the busy easter period, or return flights back to the UK. We would like to thank customers for their patience and cooperation during the difficult circumstances.”