WARNING Graphic image. Dad-of-two Keeran Rolls has travelled to and from Turkey for almost a decade but says he won’t be returning after he was allegedly attacked twice at a hotel in front of his traumatised children
A dad has vowed to never set foot in Turkey again after claiming he was attacked twice in front of his young children and left with bloody gashes on his head.
Keeran Rolls, 32, says what was supposed to be a “lovely family holiday” soon turned into a “nightmare” after he was allegedly punched in the face in what he suspects was an attempted robbery. The dad-of-two, from Nottinghamshire, claims he was set upon while leaving the bingo at Senza the Inn Resort and Spa in Alanya – with the attack happening in front of his young children and leaving him with slashes on his brow and head.
“I believe it was for the gold I was wearing at the time,” he said. “As I’m leaving [the toilets] a man’s following me and seems quite aggressive. I got hit as I was leaving and my brow split straight away. I went for him then and defended myself and hit him a couple of times.
“We’d played bingo later in the evening, I got up and a bloke put his hand out. I went to shake it and he hit me in the side of the face,” he added.
Keeran’s partner, Lucy Welsh, said the family had originally booked a different hotel but were moved to Senza at late notice after the first hotel delayed its opening. She claims hotel staff told her the attackers were known for their troublesome behaviour, but had apparently refused to call the police. “It was an absolute nightmare. I have never experienced something like that where we were scared for our lives,” she said.
Lucy, 30, said Loveholidays – the company the family booked through – is putting “young kids and parents at risk” by continuing to send families to the hotel. A Loveholidays spokesperson said it had looked into the complaint and was “confident the correct action was taken” by the hotel. They also refunded the couple for their accommodation costs as a “gesture of goodwill”. The Mirror has contacted Senza the Inn Resort and Spa for comment.
Keeran described the trip as the “worst holiday I’ve ever had”, adding: “We intended this to be a lovely family holiday. It was really out of the blue and quite scary. It’s knocked me back. The kids are traumatised by it. I’ve been going for eight or nine years. I used to go with my daughter’s mum who’s died. I won’t go back again. It was too scary for me.”
A Loveholidays spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear of Mr Rolls and Ms Welch’s experience on their recent holiday. Unfortunately we were not made aware of their complaint while they were on holiday, so we were unable to offer them support while they were abroad.
“We take the safety of our customers seriously and, in line with our usual processes, have thoroughly investigated their complaint with the hotel. While we are confident the correct action was taken by the hotel, we have offered Mr Rolls and Ms Welch a full refund for their accommodation as a gesture of goodwill. This was accepted and processed prior to the Nottingham Post reaching out.”