Leeds couple's five star honeymoon dream wrecked

Joanna Tully and fiance Craig Liddle of Moortown were looking forward to staying in a luxury five star hotel in Sorrento, Italy, next week after tying the knot at Leeds Registry office today.

They paid £960 for the hotel earlier this year after booking it through Lowcostholidays and only discovered on Wednesday that the four-night stay had been cancelled by Lowcostholidays.

Not only had they lost the cash, but the hotel said they would need to pay again and that the price had rocketed to £1,290.

The couple have had to book in to a cheaper hotel in Sorrento in order to rescue their honeymoon plans. Miss Tully, 37, and partner Mr Liddle, 38, are due to fly to Naples from Leeds Bradford Airport on Monday.

She said: “We booked the flight directly with the airline, so that still stands, but we have lost the £960 for the hotel.

I just feel that they (the hotel) are being really greedy. I can kind of understand having to pay the hotel again. But I’m angry that they decided to put the price up by £400.

“I am really angry with Lowcostholidays because they were still taking money off people last week, knowing they weren’t going to be able to honour the holidays they were booking.

“It has been an absolute nightmare and one of those things we could have done without.”

Miss Tully and Mr Liddle are among thousands of travellers whose plans were wrecked when holiday booking company Lowcost Travelgroup went into administration last week.

The company said uncertainty ahead of the EU referendum and the fall in the pound were blamed for its demise. The company had 27,000 holidaymakers in resorts and 110,000 more with bookings to travel in the future.

Smith & Williamson and CMB Partners were appointed administrators after the firm’s rescue attempts failed. In 2013 it was reported that Lowcost Holidays had resigned from Abta, the Association of British Travel Agents.