When it comes to spoiling the ultimate getaway, dirty linen and grubby towels are top of the list for British holidaymakers.
Not so fussed about drunken hotel guests disturbing a holiday snooze or pushy tourists hogging all the sunbeds around the resort pool, dirty linen is what annoys British jetsetters more than anything else.
Building works close to the hotel bothered 72 per cent of Brits while poor-quality hotel food was enough to put off 70 per cent of them while on holidays according to a recent survey.
What annoys Brits most on holiday: Dirty linen and grubby towels according to some 77 per cent of holidaymakers in a recent survey
Travel reps flogging excursions was also particularly annoying but other guests bagging the best sunbeds annoyed only 31 per cent of the 2,004 survey participants.
Despite the British obsession with talking about the weather, rain ranked only eighth on the list.
Commissioned by Direct Line travel insurance, company boss Tom Bishop said: 'We put a lot of thought, effort and money into our annual breaks, so it’s not surprising that we expect the hotels, guest houses, restaurants and travel companies to put the same amount of effort in.
'Once you arrive on your holiday, if there is any aspect of it that you are unhappy with, don’t be "typically English" – make sure you get something done about it.”
WHAT ANNOYS BRITS ABROAD THE MOST
1. Dirty bed linen and bath towels (77 per cent)
2. Drunk / noisy neighbours late at night (72 per cent)
3. Building works by accommodation (72 per cent)
4. Poor quality food at hotel (70 per cent)
5. Being hassled by reps to go on excursions (51 per cent)
Brits also try to save their cash while on their break by sneaking food from the hotel breakfast buffet for lunch, not tipping and lying about their child’s age, a survey by the International Currency Exchange (ICE) has found.
Some 32 per cent of the 2,000 survey participants did not leave tips at bars and restaurants while 29 per cent said they used their room’s mini bar fridge to keep store-bought drinks and snacks cool rather than consume the hotel’s supplies.
Tom Johnson, Head of ICE's online business said: ‘We can understand how holidaymakers often feel entitled to the food from the breakfast bar. ‘We seem to be relaxing our British reserve as far as this cost saving trick is concerned but it was shocking to find out that tips are falling by the wayside in a bid to save money.’