Jade Rathbone, a mother of two, took her family to a holiday park in Nottinghamshire after she thought she had spotted a bargain online – but she was shocked at what awaited her
A mum has warned tourists to be vigilant with online offers after she “jumped to conclusions” when she thought she found her family a bargain.
Jade Rathbone, 32, took her family to a holiday park in Nottinghamshire on Friday with the hope to enjoy a luxury two-night break. She had booked what she thought was a high-end cabin for £116 but was saddened to discover it was actually an unfurnished “shed”.
And now Jade, of Lichfield, Staffordshire, has realised she hadn’t read the listing properly when making the booking. The mother of two said she only saw one picture and “jumped to conclusions” of what the cabin would look like inside – conceding she “didn’t read the full description or look at the other pictures”. Her gaffe comes after a traumatised” family were left stranded at Palma Airport after they were told they were unable to board their Jet2 flight.
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Jade, a marketing manager, said: “I was shocked at first and I thought it’d been ransacked especially because we’d driven past ones that did have stuff inside. When I went and looked at what I’d booked I thought ‘oh dear, this is actually it’.
“We originally looked at camping but I saw there was an upgrade option for the pods. I spotted a bargain and thought I found a good deal so didn’t research it anymore.
“There was one main picture of the outside of the pod so in my head I jumped to conclusions of what would be inside. I didn’t read the full description or go through the rest of the pictures and it wasn’t until we got there that I realised it didn’t actually have anything in it.”
Video Jade took of the wooden cabin in Nottinghamshire, which was completely empty, has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on TikTok. In it, Jade’s confused three-year-old daughter Pria Shakespeare asks “where are we going to sleep, Mummy?”
The red-faced mum forked out £32 on two air mattresses but “made the best” of the trip, which ended up being more expensive than a hotel stay.
“We all just burst out laughing. I don’t think I was too surprised because I see something and just go with it and don’t really read all the details. He [my partner] was just laughing about it, which was lucky for me. We made the best out of the situation,” Jade continued.
“The whole process of getting the airbeds [Pria] absolutely loved because we were all crammed in one room. My partner was pressed up against the wall most of the time.
“It wasn’t ideal when you’re all coming back drenched after having a water day and cramming into the smallest pod in the world but it was all part of the adventure. It ended up more expensive than if we’d stayed in a hotel but we had the best time.
“In the future I’ll spend a bit more time reading the description. I didn’t realise pods like that existed with nothing in them so I’ll be sure to check. If it seems too good to be true it is.”
Bemused social media users flooded her video with comments. One user wrote: “Booked a literal shed.” Another commented: “Hey, so that’s a shed.”