A mother was horrified to discover “blood-stained” bedsheets and “bedbugs” in a Blackpool hotel room. Julie Potter, 41, and her daughter Katie, 16, have had many wonderful trips to Blackpool, but their latest visit left them disgusted and vowing never to return.

Katie, who is autistic, wanted to spend a night in her favourite place during the Easter holidays. After reading several positive reviews on Booking.com, Julie booked a room at the Atlantis Hotel on Hull Road.

The duo travelled by train from home and were excited about their stay, but when they checked into their room they were confronted with what Julie described as “like a nightmare”.

“It was full of mold,” she said. “You could see it on the walls and it was growing up the side of the bed. I immediately sent a message and said we couldn’t stay and was told they could move us to another room.”

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Julie and Katie claim they were offered another room at the Astoria Hotel, which is run by the same owner. They left their luggage in the room and went out to get something to eat as it was getting late, reports LancsLive.

“I didn’t even look at the room at first,” Julie said. “When we came back, it was like a nightmare. There was blood in the bed, hair everywhere and the sheets were torn. It was even worse than the first room we had. By this point, my child was on her feet, but I said we can’t stay here.”

Julie demanded a refund so they could book another room in Blackpool, but when she called the owner, she says he started shouting at her – and refused to give her the money back.

She added: “I’m a single parent and I was alone with my vulnerable daughter next to me. I said, ‘I don’t know why you’re shouting at me’ and he said, ‘I don’t know why you’re telling me my hotels are disgusting’. When I said I wanted my money back to book somewhere else, he hung up.

“We were two and a half hours from home with a child with special needs. She hadn’t asked for anything fancy. We’ve been to Blackpool a couple of times – it’s one of Katie’s favourite places but we usually get a clean room. It might not be fancy but it’s clean.”

“The owner said, ‘What do you expect for £35?’ But I hadn’t booked the cheapest accommodation. It was somewhere in the middle. I just expected it to be clean.”

After walking around Blackpool trying to find accommodation, mother and daughter found the Royal Seabank Hotel on the promenade. Julie praised the manager’s efforts, saying: “The manager couldn’t do enough for us. I explained the situation and she said ‘I know our rooms are clean but I’ll check first and you can have a look before I confirm the booking’. Then once we had booked she said if we needed anything we could just come and ask. We went to the room and straight to bed.”

The next day, Julie and Katie enjoyed a horse-drawn carriage ride, one of Katie’s favorite activities, but Julie said the entire trip was marred by her first experience.

“Katie likes things that are familiar to her, so she always asks if she can go to Blackpool or Southport. She said she doesn’t want to go to Blackpool now. Although the hotel we ended up in was nice, the whole experience was ruined.”

When LancsLive contacted the owner, he confirmed he had not refunded Julie for the stay but insisted it “meant nothing”. He explained that after Julie complained, a cleaner was sent to the first room and they were offered another room at the Astoria.

“We’re doing our best,” he said. “Remember, we’re dealing with the cheapest accommodation in Blackpool. Of the 970 or so hotels in Blackpool, there are many that don’t care.”

A Booking.com spokesperson responded: “We take every complaint seriously and investigate the issues raised.”

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