Photographer’s car a write-off after rain floods hotel parking space
A Lincolnshire[1] photographer says she has been left stranded 84 miles from home after her car was written off due to torrential rain flooding a hotel car park. Lisa Harding, from Coningsby[2], had booked a stay at the Mercure Kenwood Hall Hotel in Sheffield on Tuesday, August 2 to show her aunt and uncle around the Peak District[3].
The plan had been to take Essex natives Peter and Lesley Whitty to the Ladybower Reservoir and Castleton - but a night of heavy rain and a 'poor' parking situation left Ms Harding in a 'nightmare scenario'. The 'livid' photojournalist said: "I got up this morning to take them out, and my car was sat in nearly three feet of water.
"I've tried to get it out myself but the water comes up to my knees. That meant I couldn't know the extent of the damage.
Poll: What's the worst road in Lincolnshire for traffic?[4]
"My aunt and I have just been left to sit here in the foyer. They're warning people not to park in the bottom end but it won't do much now."
She said the bay had been at a dip, which is why the car appears to be at an angle in the photos. She added: "I'm a self-employed photojournalist.
Her car has been written off. (Image: Lisa Harding)
"I need my car - and you know what it's like in Lincolnshire. People might ask why I don't have breakdown cover but, frankly, I can't afford it."
She said that hotel management told her she would need to call a breakdown company to have her car towed out of the water, and that reception could not have warned her as she had not left her number.
However, a spokesperson for the hotel said that she had left her car in a no-parking zone and disputed Ms Harding's account of events. He said: "Unfortunately the guest parked in a ‘no parking zone’ that was clearly marked by yellow road markings, despite other spaces being available. Since the car was discovered, our team have tried to assist the guest in several ways including trying to restart her car, and as a gesture of goodwill have offered her a complimentary dinner with wine and a spa treatment."
The hotel also offered to pay for Ms Harding to get back to the station so she could get home.
Ms Harding, 51, disputed the parking restrictions, saying there was no clear signage anywhere that she could see and that other cars had parked in adjacent bays. TripAdvisor reviews left by fellow guests mention flooding in the car park.
Lisa Harding, from time as marketing executive at Petwood Hotel. (Image: James Turner/Lincolnshire Live)
One holidaymaker wrote in July: "The car park was flooded and most spaces are under low trees, which need a good cut back and the slippery leaves need clearing up. Car ended up filthy."
Back in October, a disappointed guest from Dartford described the car park as 'flooded'. At around midday, two hours after her ordeal began, Ms Harding said that her insurance company had written off her beloved Renault Captur.
Fluctuating between 'feeling furious and bawling her eyes out,' the 51-year-old said: "The water's gone in the footwells and got into the electric gearbox and they've written it off. They're coming to take it away tomorrow and I've got to find my own way home.
"Luckily, a friend of mine is going to do the four-hour trip but I'll be going home without a car. It's not quite how I expected my holiday to go.
"Put simply: I've come on holiday and I've lost my car." She said the turn of events was only made worse by her sentimental connection to the car.
She added: "I'll have to get a new car, but it won't be the £22,000 worth of car that I worked really hard to pay for. And until I do that, I can't work and I'll just be at home.
"This is my worst nightmare. At some point, I'll be able to laugh about it but at the minute, I am just exhausted."
Accor, the France-based group which owns the hotel chain Mercure, also responded to Ms Harding via Instagram. A spokesperson told her at around 10am: "We are sorry to hear about your experience and this incident with your car.
"We have forwarded your message to the ALL [Accor Live Limitless] teams, who will help you with any questions or complaints you may have. An agent will contact you as soon as possible."
References
- ^ Lincolnshire (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Coningsby (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Peak District (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ What's the worst road in Lincolnshire for traffic? (xd.wayin.com)