Sunbed Scramble: Tourists Race for Loungers in Tenerife Hotel
Dozens of holidaymakers queued for over an hour before a frantic dash to claim poolside sunbeds at a Tenerife hotel.
More than 100 tourists were filmed sprinting to secure poolside sunbeds at the Paradise Park Hotel in Los Cristianos, Tenerife, after waiting for over an hour. The chaotic scene unfolded on July 29 when the pool area opened at 9 a.m.
Nick Hughes, a 49-year-old from North Wales, witnessed the event while on holiday with his wife and two sons. He reported that guests began gathering behind a barrier near the pool around 7:45 a.m. The queue grew to more than 100 people over the next hour.
When hotel staff removed the barrier, guests rushed from both sides to claim loungers. Some tourists were seen throwing towels onto empty beds from a distance to reserve them.
"The moment the barrier came down, however, everything changed," Hughes said. "What had been a calm queue suddenly became a sprint, with people rushing in all directions to secure their preferred spot." He estimated that individuals had been waiting for up to an hour and fifteen minutes.
Hughes, who had heard stories of similar "sunbed dashes" but never witnessed one himself, found the situation "bizarre but very entertaining to watch." He noted that the hotel had signs asking guests not to reserve sunbeds, making the rush seem even more peculiar.
He suggested that hotels could improve the situation by allocating sunbeds at check-in or implementing an app-based booking system. Hughes pointed out that there appeared to be ample loungers available, indicating the rush was driven by competition for prime locations rather than a scarcity.
Hughes and his family opted to have breakfast and then head to a different, larger pool area that opened later, enjoying a stress-free start to their day. The video of the sunbed scramble has since garnered over 2,700 views online. The Daily Mail has contacted the Paradise Park Hotel for comment.