'Experience and a half': family returns after disastrous resort trip

A New Brunswick family is happy to be back in the Maritimes, able to charge their phones, after what they call a "trip from hell."

Claire Wright says her grandmother's description isn't an exaggeration.

"The experience was terrible but we're pretty easygoing. We had to make doand we had a pretty good time as a family," the 16-year-old said. "But I wouldn't suggest anybody go."

On Monday, CBC New Brunswick reported the family was allowed to board a plane to the Dominican Republic by the travel company Sunwing, despite power being out at their resort for days.

• Sunwing 'apologetic' for 'trip from hell'

• Dominican resort without power 'worst vacation of my life,' says Nova Scotia woman

The family arrived at the resort on Feb.28 and flew out Tuesday evening.

Sunwing apologizes

In an emailed statement, Sunwing said it first heard about the outages on Feb.25, three days before the family arrived.

It said destination representatives for Sunwing brought this to the attention of the hotel management who advised they were "rectifying the problem."

"We are extremely apologetic for how this has affected our customer's vacation experience and have been negotiating compensation for the impacted customers directly with the hotel," wrote Rachel Goldrick, a spokesperson for the company.

All other hotels and resorts were booked, meaning the travellers couldn't be relocated, Goldrick said.

Nova Scotians stuck too

On Wednesday, another story came out that 25 Nova Scotians were stuck at the same resort, booked through Sunwing Airlines, and had arrived Feb. 21.

"There was no hot water the entire time," said Michelle Murray, one of the vacationers. "I never had hot water, not once."

Carolyn McCarthy, Wright's grandmother, said she heard a fire had brokeout on the resort's generator, causing the outages.

The family vacationed at the resort two years ago, but with little electricity, broken water pipes, and unpleasant odours, they said it wasunrecognizableon this trip. McCarthy described the visit as an "experience and a half."

"We're happy to be home. The grandchildren are very happy to be home, to have power and water...and of course all the computers," she said.

McCarthy said Sunwing contacted her and offered compensation,but she is still negotiating.

"All I really wanted to see done was that they should notify anyone before they leave and let them know the conditions when they know four or five days prior to people leaving on their trip," she said over the phone from Nova Scotia. "They should be informed at the airport before they board what the conditions are."