Tour Ref 218EC, Eastbourne 03SEP23 In a heatwave, Alfa supplied a coach with broken air conditioning. Most passengers were pensioners, but Alfa did NOT supply free bottles of water, and the driver, Russell, did NOT open the roof hatches, thus denying us adequate ventilation. Russell was selling water for 80p (other Alfa drivers charge 50p). On the 5th day it was so hot that I was gulping air and crying on the coach. I told the driver on the 6th day that I thought I was going to die. He was rude and said “it’s not just you, everyone is hot” and we were “lucky to have the blowers (vents above the seats)” as he “didn’t even have that”. The single open window was next to his seat. The coach manual says the cabin temperature is displayed on the dashboard. It was obvious how much everyone was sweating. Travelling home, the outside temperature reached 33 C. We only had the small vents giving weak, warm airflow. We travelled for 2.25 hours without a break, then stopped for an hour when we were 30-40 minutes from the interchange. I was now gulping air, crying, and having stomach cramps, thinking “is this how dogs feel in hot cars?” The trauma stayed with me, and I had to have CBT/EMDR therapy. We complained to Alfa who apologised for the “discomfort” and claimed that "the driver did everything he could to try and provide additional cooling to the coach". Having asked repeatedly why the roof hatches were not opened, and what steps Russell did take to cool the coach, they repeat the same nonsense script (given to them by their lawyer, no doubt), ignored, or told they have “responded appropriately and thoroughly”. They have not. There is a dispute. We asked twice to enter arbitration. They refused. They even implied that I am the liar. They claim we are the only ones who have complained. (I read that the Post Office (scandal 2024) tried that one on, too). We asked about the feedback cards from the hotel which had a section about the coach, that question was ignored. Our holiday was ruined unnecessarily. We could have had a full day in Brighton, as advertised, if Russell had wanted (we had less than 3 hours off the coach). We could have been comfortable, if he had opened the roof hatches. He could have been concerned, not confrontational, when alerted that a passenger was finding the extreme heat distressing. We hope our fellow passengers stayed well, did not suffer dehydration from sweating, or any complications from the heat. All we wanted was a nice holiday, as advertised. Our only recourse is legal action. If you want to gamble with your time, money, and wellbeing, then do book an Alfa holiday. So much can go wrong, and if it does you will not see your money again unless you go to court. Alfa practices this tactic all the time judging by the reviews, so best book with a decent company that does care about its customers.