A cheap March aparthotel in Corfu turned into a construction-zone stay, with about 20 workers on site, a pool filled with rubble and no other guests.
One daily tennis lesson collapsed almost immediately: the coach canceled with a fever after day one and never returned, leaving the couple with broken-string rackets and dead balls.
March timing compounded the problems, as a planned island boat trip was unavailable and a much-hyped family-run restaurant was shut for the season.
Two bright spots salvaged part of the break — yoga classes near the hotel went ahead, and kumquat spritzes in a sunny square made it feel like a holiday, if not the tennis trip they planned.