A new study has revealed just what nasty surprises have laid in store for UK vacationers. A disappointing standard of accommodation and unwanted additional extra charges were the most annoying annoyances reported in the survey, undertaken by Britain’s premier car hire comparison website carrentals.co.uk.

Some 1,500 people were queried on their vacation experiences by the survey, with 40 per cent of British holidaymakers stating that unexpected costs were top of the nasty surprise list. From within this percentage, the most common cause for complaint was related to the car rental industry – highlighting the need for thorough and accurate booking information prior to contract signing.

Of those polled, 27 per cent said car rental was the worst offender for additional costs, with hotels placed second on 21 per cent. Excess baggage charges and medical treatment costs were also common gripes.

Of all respondents, 50 per cent told of unclean hotel rooms, including such nasty surprises as urine soaked duvets, used condoms on the floor and vomit on the sheets. In additon, 33 per cent said they had tried to use faulty appliances, and broken furniture was found by 25 per cent.

One in three people found some sort of unwelcome visitor from the animal kingdom at their holiday accommodation, including cockroaches, snakes, lizards, rats, termites, worms, ants and possums.

“We’ve all heard horror stories about infested hotels and nightmare resorts, but seeing just how many people had experienced such a thing was really quite revealing,” said Managing director for Carrentals.co.uk, Gareth Robinson.