Eilat vacation turns sour after guests report rusty bathroom, sewage smell and ants

Hadar and Stav Hasson say their stay at Nirvana Suites, a hotel in Eilat owned by Astral Hotels, turned into a nightmare after they arrived at the suite they had booked. In a television interview, they described rusty bathroom fixtures, a smell of sewage, and a balcony that opened onto pool beds. They said they paid NIS 4,375 for four nights.

The couple told Niv Raskin on Keshet 12's "HaBoker HaZeh" that they first noticed the balcony only in the evening. "We did not realize at first what the balcony and bathroom were like. Only in the evening we opened the balcony and were shocked," they said. After they posted a video online, they said the hotel called and told them, "We did you a favor by giving you a balcony, we are not obligated."

They said the bathroom was "all rusty" and had a sewage odor. On their final morning, they woke up to ants crawling on them, and later found ants throughout the room. Stav Hasson said they were too stunned to film it. They added that they complained at reception on the first or second day, but were told the hotel was fully booked and there was nothing to do. Because the reservation was nonrefundable, they said they could not cancel and had "no moment of peace."

The couple said a front desk manager later called and asked them to remove the video, saying people were canceling their stays because of it. They said they received no apology and no compensation. Astral Hotels responded that it would immediately address the defects, saying it was committed to providing a quality and pleasant hospitality experience and noting that Nirvana Suites has a high rate of repeat guests, which it said reflects customer satisfaction and trust.