A British holidaymaker is stunned when he discovers a new level of tanning madness in a Mallorca hotel.
In recent years, holidaymakers have increasingly been getting up early to put down a towel to ensure a spot at the pool.
In some popular holiday destinations, hotels have added some sort of rule to prevent towel marks.
In the holiday resort of Camp de Mar in Mallorca, Spain, hotels keep their pools closed until later in the morning to keep the early risers away.
But guests have found a way around the rules by laying out their towels as a form of queue.
In Spain’s Camp de Mar resort area of Mallorca, hotels keep their pools closed until later in the morning to keep the early risers away (file photo)
Photos show beach bags and towels being placed just outside the pool area for hotel guests to secure their sunbed as soon as it opens.
Holidaymaker Geoff told The Mirror: ‘In an effort to contain the sun bed craze, the door from the hotel to the pool was kept locked until 8am.
“So people put their towels on the floor in a queue at the door before it opened. I should add that these were not young people, but mostly elderly and middle-aged people.’
Discussing the behavior of the other guests at a four-star hotel in Camp de Mar, he said: “The towel line actually went back much further (than the picture shows) and the owners sat on the benches just out of sight, ready to fly out when the door was unlocked.
“I don’t know what time they started, but we got up at 6:30 one morning to have breakfast before an excursion, and a line of towels was already forming outside the door. Crazy behavior!’
Meanwhile, a vacation hero has spoken out against some “entitled” tourists who reserved sun loungers for nine hours while he and his wife vacationed in Bali.
Newlywed Thom Asland and his wife Lisa honeymooned at Bali’s Grand Barong Resort, where they were met at 6:30 am by unrolled towels on sun loungers.
After returning at 1 p.m. to find the seats untouched, the pair waited for another hour without movement, before finally discarding the reserved towels and taking their seats themselves.
They were met at 3:30pm by the shocked pair of ‘entitled’ tourists ‘iPads and books in hand’.
The pair were even sure they would teach their competitors a lesson by ushering other tourists in their place when they left.
Speaking to Yahoo News, Thom called the tourists “entitled” and expressed surprise at not being confronted by the pair.
“We definitely thought they were entitled, but were surprised they didn’t confront us,” he said.
His assumption was that the lack of confrontation was due to the fact that “they knew what they had done.”
Thom added details that revealed the hilarious extent of the couple’s pettiness when getting to bed in the first place.
“We didn’t even want the beds,” he said, but the urge to prove a point was too strong.
“A lot of places here have an hour rule, so we made sure to give them an hour once we were in the pool,” he clarified.
He revealed that he and Lisa watched from the bar for two hours before making their move.
A rolled-out towel on a sun lounger is seen as a sign that someone is reserving their spot at the pool (file photo)
He also gave comedic details about the approach of the two who thought they would get away with the nine o’clock reservation, saying that “they walked quickly to the seats, then stopped and looked at each other to pause.”
“They then frantically searched for their two personal towels” before leaving for their hotel room, never to be seen again.
The happy couple definitely made sure to prove their point when they left by passing the beds to a mother and daughter after telling the whole story.
Thom shared the “little revenge” online with throngs of followers who agreed it was “sunburn” and disrespectful to leave towels on chairs all day.
“Am I the only one who hopes there will be a second day for this situation,” one person said.
Another wrote: ‘Proof that not all heroes wear capes.
“I’d call you both a Bintang if I was there.”
“I would have done the same, but I wouldn’t have waited — if they weren’t there to use it, it’s free for everyone,” a third added.
Some also praised the pair for waiting the hour they did.
Thom then posted an update of the empty poolside seats the next morning as a sign of victory.
“Free all morning,” he declared.
A viral TikTok video from August shows tourists at the hotel in Tenerife taking a shameless flight to the best poolside spot.
Footage shows a crowd of vacationers turning up at a pool in Paradise Park just as it opens.
Then they drop their towels on the hotspot’s best lounge chairs – and some even look around guiltily.
TikTok user Sarah, whose clip has been viewed more than five million times in a single day, captioned it simply: “The Sunbed Race.”
Paradise Park spokesman Rafael Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo told MailOnline last year: ‘We were amused to see that our hotel has five swimming pools and areas with space and sunbeds for everyone.
‘Although we see quite a bit of talent among our guests for obstacle races.’
Weeks earlier, in July last year, hotel staff had their towels taken away at another resort in Tenerife.
Holidaymaker Amanda Proctor filmed the moment workers picked up dozens of towels left by guests on empty sun loungers in an attempt to reserve the best poolside seats at the five-star Gran Costa Adeje, in southern Tenerife.
Ms Proctor said staff at the hotel, which has four swimming pools, took guests’ bags and towels and left a note on the seats telling them where to pick up their belongings.
The holidaymaker said there was a sign at the hotel stating that guests were not allowed to reserve sunbeds before 10am.
A spokesperson for the hotel told MailOnline: ‘At GF Gran Costa Adeje we defend the right of all our guests to enjoy our swimming pools and we ask everyone to respect our policies.
‘All guests have their place in our solarium. In this situation, our colleague, like the whole team of GF Gran Costa Adeje, is a hero without a cape. We are very happy with the reactions to the video and from our customers.’