I got a reply from ABTA yesterday - as suspected they have said that Direct Holidays are not protected by ABTA so they won't provide any help. :-(

Why not have a chat with Ros Fernihough who assists our members. She is a travel law lawyer and will offer you free advice on where you stand legally.

She can be contacted on 01922 621114.

One thing I learned from a similarly terrible experience in the middle east is when booking anything use credit cards. The reason why is that if the hotel does not live up to their end of the bargin, like what was described earlier, you simply report the incident to the credit card company as a fraudulent charge due to breach of contract and their lawyers will fight it for you. Now Visa and MC are both ok but American Express is wonderful they even got me a suit at the King David in Jerusalem when another hotel gave away my room even though I wasn't late to check in. I called Am Ex and within an hour they had a suite ready for me at no extra charge. I was so glad I used my card as I have gotten really taken to the cleaners in the past when I payed by cash or check.