Alberto Lejarraga
A LEADING Costa del Sol hotel has hired a bouncer to prevent Brits and other tourists from fighting over sunbeds.
Sunset Beach Club, a four-star hotel in Benalmadena, near Marbella, has made the decision to hire a security guard to keep holidaymakers under control, according to the Sun.
The drastic measures have been implemented after a number of fights over the desired pool chairs took place.
“When the gates open it’s like a stampede. I’ve seen a fair few fights when people try to claim beds first or they push in the queue,” Wendy, a 44-year-old Essex woman who has been coming to the resort for 15 years, told the Sun.
The swimming pool does not open until 9am, but this does not prevent hundreds of Brits from forming in a massive line in front of the gate.
Some early birds reportedly start coming around 6.30am to secure a spot in the front row.
One hour before the opening, at 8am, there are already dozens of UK pool lovers waiting outside the fence.
And when the security guard arrives, around 20 minutes before 9am, over 100 holidaymakers are in the queue.
When the gate opens, the scene reminds of a San Fermin bull run, with hotel guests running and jumping over the beds to reach their very much wanted spot.
“You can’t hesitate. You need to know exactly where you are going because that second of doubt could cost you your bed. The towels are being chucked so quickly. The security guard has to come down now because I have seen it get so heated,” Wendy said.
She insisted: “Earlier in the week someone dropped their phone on the way to their sunbed during the rush and decided to leave it behind and carry on running, deciding the bed was more valuable.”
But after securing their place, many people just leave their belongings on the sunbed and take off.
“There’s a lot of people here who leave their towels for hours and hours. That’s not on,” Chris Williams, a construction worker from Oxford told the Sun.
That day, all the pool chairs were covered with towels but there were no sunbathers on them.
The resort has a policy of removing items from any unoccupied sunbed by 10am, but this does not seem to be enforced frequently.
The Olive Press has contacted Sunset Beach Club to ask about the pool battles, but we have not yet received a reply.
Read more:
- Beach hoggers planting early morning umbrellas face fines on Spain’s Costa Blanca
- Spain’s Malaga declares war on unattended beach umbrellas
- Malaga is one of Spain’s top destinations for luxury tourism
