A group of wealthy women from Barnes, west London who usually spend £18,000 each on glamorous holidays were shocked to discover how much ‘fun’ they can have on a budget after swapping trips with a trio of struggling mums from Harlow, Essex in the latest episode of Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday, which returns to Channel 5 for a second series on Sunday.
Retired pilot and mother Lorraine, flight attendant, model and make-up artist Andrea and mum-of-one interior designer Bally are used to flying first class and eating Michelin starred meals on luxury holidays to glamorous destinations such as Rio de Janerio, Hong Kong, Val-d’Isère and Barbados.
But after heading on a budget break to Paphos, Cyprus, the group discovered a taste for kebabs and cheesy chips – which they deemed ‘better than sushi’.
The trio, who met while working in the airline industry, swapped holidays with mum-of-four Kelly, who works at discount home store, single mum-of-three Jackie, and Ruth, who is a sole carer for her autistic son.
The Harlow mums usually spend around £400 on a holiday, and love boozy trips to the likes of Benidorm and Magaluf, where they party and relax on the beach.
But instead of their usual drunken adventures, the group were sent to Halkidiki, Greece for a teetotal wellness retreat, at the eye-watering price of £9,400 for six days – where they took part in yoga, dined on Michelin starred cuisine and had relaxing private yacht trip – which left them ‘bored’ and ‘missing the banter of a booze cruise’.
Meanwhile, Lorraine, Andrea and Bally were a world away from their usual trips as they flew to Paphos for a week of bar crawls, supermarket shopping and kebabs on a budget of £862, which included £184 accommodation, £228 flights and £450 spending money.
Retired pilot and mother Lorraine (centre), flight attendant, model and make-up artist Andrea (left) and mum-of-one interior designer Bally (right) are used to flying first class and eating Michelin starred meals on luxury holidays to glamorous destinations such as Rio de Janerio, Hong Kong, Val-d’Isère and Barbados.
The London trio, who met while working in the airline industry, swapped holidays with mum-of-four Kelly (centre) who works at discount home store, single mum-of-three Jackie (left) and Ruth (right) who is a sole carer for her autistic son.
The group are shocked to discover they have to share a bed, make their own food, pick up their own sun loungers and even took homemade sandwiches to the beach for the first time.
In one scene, the women – who are in the top five per cent of UK earners – head for a night out on the Paphos strip and are perplexed by the range of cocktails and food available, at bargain prices.
Meanwhile back at their budget hotel a lack of good electricity makes getting ready a struggle.
‘If you’ve got a hair dryer and hair straighteners the whole room goes into pitch blackness,’ Andrea explained.
‘Then you have to ring a man who drives here and has to push a button to fix it’.
After glamming up and heading out on the town, the women are bewildered by the noise and lack of table service in the bars.
‘Do you have to get your own drink here?’ Andrea asked as they sat down at the bar, ‘Or does somebody serve you?’
Further confused by the cocktail list, Andrea says she’s never even heard of the booze on offer, including a Cheeky Vimto, and a WKD Blue.
The group are shocked to discover they have to share a bed, make their own food, pick up their own sun loungers and even take homemade sandwiches to the beach. During a night on the Paphos strip the London trio are perplexed to discover the range of cocktails and food available, at bargain prices, and while back at their hotel a lack of good electricity makes getting ready a struggle. Left to right: Lorraine, Bally and Andrea
The group are then offered a free shot of Apple Sourz, which model Andrea described a ‘like Benylin’.
‘It tasted like the worst mouthwash I’d ever had,’ Lorraine added.
After leaving the bar unimpressed, the group headed for dinner, but are upset to discover they can only find kebabs.
‘I’ve have never heard before of chips with cheese,’ Andrea said, before complaining that her kebab was served without Greek salad.
Meanwhile, (left tor right) Kelly, Jackie, and Ruth, miss the excitement of the strip while at their luxury Greek resort. Sitting down for dinner on the first night, they say they wouldn’t have ordered the Greek salad they were served as ‘they don’t know what it is,’ but do say they enjoy a break from the booze.
‘It was very loud and quite dark, I felt uncomfortable,’ Bally explained,’ added the view [of the strip] and the atmosphere, is not for me’.
However, by the end of the week they develop a taste for the end-of-the-night cuisine, with model Andrea saying it’s her biggest discovery from the trip.
Meanwhile, Kelly, Jackie, and Ruth, miss the excitement of the party strip while at their luxury Greek resort.
Sitting down for dinner on the first night, they say they wouldn’t have ordered the Greek salad they were served as ‘they don’t know what it is,’ but do say they enjoy a break from the booze.
‘It’s actually really nice to do something different together,’ Jackie said ‘I can’t remember the last time we went out without wine.
And while many would pay hundreds for the luxury dinner they were served, the trio struggled to get down the cuttlefish, that was cooked for them by a Michelin starred chef.
‘It’s probably a really nice dish over here,’ Kelly explained, ‘but it’s not steak and chips’.
Kelly, Jackie and Ruth are seen preparing to leave their home in Harlow, Essex. The trio had a luxury teetotal holiday to wellness resort in Greece
‘Usually when I go on holiday I’m quite a plain eater, half a chicken and chips, five nights in a row, I think I might have even had it one day for lunch and dinner,’ she added.
The next day, the mums take a trip on a luxury private yacht on an idyllic blue waters.
‘I don’t think – I’m just being honest here – I miss the banter of people we get on a party boat. We always talk to everyone don’t and we have the banter with a group of us, I’m missing that,’ Jackie told her friends.
‘Normally when we go on a boat trip it’s full of people, there’s about 50 people on a boat. And it’s all running for the beer, running for the cheap cocktail they got on board. And we’re all sitting there getting drunk,’ she added.
Kelly agreed, saying that all three of them would pick a party boat over a private yacht.
After the trip Bally (left), Lorraine (centre) and Andrea (right) say they will budget more in the future
Bored of the resort, where they are doing yoga and getting massages everyday, the mums make a break for it and head into the local town for a boozy night.
‘Yoga teacher not here tonight, so it’s a night on the town,’ Kelly explained, ‘we’re going to bust some moves and hopefully get very drunk and have a good night.
‘I’ve never drunk so much water on holiday. Who does that, drinks water on holiday?’ she continued.
‘We’re gonna get drunk tonight, do shots, fall up the stairs, we’re having it’.
After ordering a vodka, rum cocktails, and two bottles of wine, tequila and more, Kelly said their yoga teacher would be ‘devastated’ as she’s ‘done so much hard work with us’.
The Harlow trio said they would ‘head to Benidorm’ for their next holiday and weren’t a fan of the Greek resort
‘We will carry it on,’ she added, ‘but not tonight. Sorry, f*** your health, we’re having a good night’.
The next morning, their yoga teacher discovers them hungover in bed and whipped up a recovery smoothie, but the women said they’d prefer bacon and eggs.
Escaping their holiday was also on the mind of the London group, who splashed out 40 euros on hiring a car for the day to explore the island of Cyprus and drive to Aphrodite’s bath, where the Greek goddess of love is said to have bathed in magical pools.
‘I think we get itchy feet beaus we travel so much,’ Lorraine explained, as the group reflected on their time on the budget holiday, adding: ‘I’m so grateful for our friendship’ .
‘It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, the thing is it’s the people that you share it with,’ Andrea added.
Later she adds her ‘biggest takeaway’ from the trip was her newfound love of cheesy chips.
‘Normally everything we do tends to end up costing a lot,’ Andrea added. ‘But I think this week we had such fun, and we did this on a budget. We laughed a lot, and it was fun.’
After discovering their trip came in at less than £1000 – a £50,000 saving on their usual holidays – Bally is shocked, and says she’s going to ‘be more cautious about spending money’.
‘It’s about the friends your with and the journey you take,’ Andrea added.
Meanwhile, the Essex group are equally astonished upon discovering their trip cost nearly £10,000.
‘I think we need to give these girls a lesson on how to budget their money,’ Jackie said.
‘For the activities we’ve done, I could never justify £10,000, never.’.
While admitting they learned things and have experienced a lot more than they usually would, the Harlow group didn’t change their mind amount the kind of holidays they’d like in the future.
‘Next year, definitely Benidorm, here we come!’ Kelly said.
- Rich Holiday, Poor Holiday Ep.1, Sunday 17th at 9pm on Channel 5