A HOTEL in Whitley Bay is giving Fawlty Towers a run for its money, according to a Darlington family who suffered a "holiday from hell".

Following a hospital stay, Lindsey Walker was treated to an overnight stay at Rex Hotel, a once highly-regarded coastal getaway.

On Saturday (March 28), Ms Walker, her partner and two-year-old son set out for their only holiday of the year – only to have it ruined by a stay in a hotel that they say would put Basil Fawlty to shame.

At 4am, to the sounds of pounding bass from the nightclub below, the family surveyed their £82-per-night room and decided they would rather sit in the reception of the “hotel-from-hell” than attempt sleep.

Their surroundings were uninspiring to the point of “disgusting”, with wallpaper hanging in shreds, holes in the walls, broken tiles and lingering filth from previous occupants.

A promised sea-view turned out to be only visible “if we hung out the window like we were Michael bloody Jackson” while other guests proved to be somewhat insalubrious.

Ms Walker, 23, said: “The hotel looked lovely online but when we got there we found it was over the biggest nightclub in town and we were in the room above it.

“We went downstairs at 4am and stayed in reception because next door were trying to drag us into their room for a party – they had escorts and were asking if we wanted to join in.

“I was in my pyjamas with a two-year-old and was shaking and scared – we didn’t feel safe.

“This holiday meant everything to me. I’ve been in and out of hospital with anxiety issues and it was a get well present from my mother.”

She added: “We only realised what the room was like when we came back after a day out and it was too late to change it.

“We just want to warn others – this is a reveller place, not for families and that should be advertised.”

Criticising staff’s handling of complaints, Ms Walker said the family had been refused a full refund and accused of making up their story.

Rex Hotel’s manager, Karen Carmedy, said the issues were being investigated and that refurbishments were underway.

Accusing the couple of embellishing their story, Ms Carmedy also said the hole in the wall was not big enough to see into the next room, the damaged wallpaper was only visible because furniture had been pulled away from the wall and that the nightclub was mentioned on their website.

Hotel faces criticism on travel review website

THE Darlington family are not the only ones to have lodged complaints against The Rex, according to popular review website, tripadvisor.com.

One former guest said the bathrooms at the hotel were like a scene from gory horror film Hostel while another claimed a “tsunami from the sea would be the best option for this hole.”

One visitor renamed the hotel Guesthouse Pardiso, Whitley Bay edition while yet another disgruntled traveller rated the hotel as terrible and said: “If you have the choice of Chlamydia or a stay at The Rex, choose the STI.”

The hotel’s 70 ‘terrible’ reviews are peppered with comments from management, showing staff taking a hard line on criticism, calling one guest obnoxious, commenting on another’s vivid and peculiar hair and accusing another of covering their room in pizza and hanging a condom from the door.

Rex Hotel also enjoys ten excellent reviews, with happier visitors complimenting the friendly staff, location and breakfast.

One guest described it as quirky and fun while another said: “I visited Rex hotel in October in an Erasmus+ project and I find it very nice and welcoming. The atmosphere is like in old English movies, it is very traditional and nice decorated...makes you feel exactly like in a movie.”

Another said: “I was so impressed with this grand old lady of a hotel. The staff were so helpful and I had a wonderful stay. Its an old fashioned hotel, full of beautiful paintings and reminding you of the grandeur of an era long gone.”