BY PHIL TODD From Mirror UK

Kirstie and James Willett spent £5,000 on “dirty hotel” and beach littered with wood and seaweed for what was meant to be their dream wedding.

When Kirstie and James Willett saw photos of a beautiful beachside wedding spot in St Lucia they set their hearts on it.

They spent £5,000 and two years planning to tie the knot on the dazzling white sand amid a backdrop of blue water and swaying palms.

But their Caribbean dream turned into a nightmare as soon as they arrived at the spa resort described as a “true Garden of Eden by the sea”.

They claim their hotel room was dirty and the shoreline was strewn with mess, and the day of their ceremony was changed so often they had to have the honeymoon extras they’d booked – such as breakfast in bed and a romantic candlelit dinner – BEFORE the ceremony.

And their wedding night was spent in the air flying home.

Kirstie, 26, said: “Since I was a little girl it was my dream to get married on a white beach. But it was nothing like it was advertised.”

The couple, from Tunbridge Wells , Kent, had forked out £1,000 for the wedding day extras at Sandals Halcyon Beach resort.

But care home PA Kirstie said: “The hotel we arrived at was dirty, there were ring marks from coffee cups and the lampshades were dirty.

“And the beach looked nothing like the pictures. It was small and full of dirt and clutter.”

Dad of three James, 28, a removals worker, added: “In the brochure it was all white sand and blue sea but we couldn’t believe how much stuff was on the beach – bits of wood and seaweed.”

After complaints the couple were moved to a different hotel but the wedding was put back from Friday to Saturday.

Then, due to a tropical storm, it was switched again to Monday, their last day.

Kirstie said: “It was booked at 9am. But all the honeymoon extras we’d paid for had to be done earlier.

“We had our wedding then had only half an hour to look through 300 photos to choose 24 before the taxi came to take us to the airport.”

The fed-up couple are now asking Sandals for a refund. Kirstie added: “We’re not the sort of people to complain. It has been so stressful.”

But a Sandals spokesman said staff had done everything possible, adding: “Sandals has no control over the weather and at times waves deposit seaweed and other debris on the beach. Sandals employs staff to clean the beach frequently.

“The colour of the ocean is dependent on the sun, clouds and weather on that day.”

IMAGES:
James and Kirstie Willett

Halcyon Beach, St Lucia The couple said Halcyon Beach was littered with wood and seaweed

Sandals Halcyon Beach, St Lucia How Halcyon Beach was displayed in the brochure

For more on this story go to: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/couple-tell-nightmare-caribbean-wedding-8434813