Activity holiday specialist, Alpine Elements, was sued by David Matthew amid claims that pursuits promised as part of his £1,300 getaway bought through the company were not available during his trip.
According to the Worthing Herald, Matthew filed for legal action after being unsatisfied with the operator’s response to his complaints.
Problems arose after the Worthing native had taken his son on an adventure getaway to the French Alps for the boy’s 18th birthday in June last year.
When the pair arrived at their resort in Morzine, many of the activities advertised on Alpine Elements’ website were shut or hard to reach due to transport links being closed during the off-peak season.
Matthew told the newspaper that he was disappointed with the break as it was a chance for him to spend time with his son, who lives in Kent. “I don’t get to see him very often. For an 18-year-old, sitting in a hotel with no ice rink, no swimming pool, and no buses to visit nearby towns is boring.
“Some people can only afford one week away a year, and they try and make it as special as possible. I could’ve chosen hundreds of other holidays but I chose theirs because of what was advertised. They shouldn’t have sold that holiday.”
He was awarded £560 at Worthing County Court.
In response, Alpine Elements blamed third party suppliers for the problems and said it had been unaware that the facilities were shut.
Furthermore, it believed it had acted responsibly in its dealings with Matthew.
Managing director, James Hardiman, said: “Our holidays are planned many months in advance using tourist office and local supplier information made available at the time of programme planning.
“It has become known to us that certain third party suppliers may make amendments to opening times of some activities without informing tour operators.
“We have now reduced our operating weeks for activity holidays and made the website and promotional literature more clear for our clients, for whom we strive to be as accurate as we can and committed to providing the finest holiday experience possible.”