Going on holiday is all about spoiling yourself and enjoying luxuries you’d normally forgo.
Whether that’s tucking into a slap-up buffet breakfast, or booking yourself in for a well-earned massage.
And yet, one 4-star hotel in France not only offered guests the option to splash out on a spa treatment or bottle of wine for their room, but they also suggested a very unique kind of perk…
A fart.
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Yes, you read that correctly. A US-based travel agent made the eyebrow-raising discovery when she was booking a room on behalf of a client.
Jaclyn D'Esposito was checking out on the hotel’s website when noticed that its add-ons included a rooftop aperitif, a 30-minute back rub, and a special indulgence labelled simply as “fart”.
D’Esposito shared her bewilderment on TikTok, telling viewers that she thought she was “seeing things” when she spotted the offer.
Addressing the camera, she said: “You know when you go to check out at a hotel and sometimes there's that page that pops up before you put your credit card in and it's like, ‘Enhance your stay with these other things’ – and it's always like, flowers, champagne, car service, massage, whatever… I truly, I truly thought that I was seeing something.”
She then focused in on her computer screen and ran through the “totally normal” extras on display – “Bottle of wine, massage…” – before pausing at a picture of a dog accompanied by the title “fart”.
“What is fart?” she asked, before noting that it was being offered “for free”.
Clicking on the icon to find out more details, she discovered that “the rate is per day”.
“What is happening?” she said before asking followers if she should “book [her] client a fart.”
@heartfelttravelI couldn’t pull the tigger guys I’m sorry ? #travelisaprivilege #heartfelttravel #wheretostaysputhoffrance #southoffranceitinerary #southoffrancetravelguide
D’Esposito’s video racked up more than 1.6 million views in four days, as commentators shared their glee at the mishap.
“It’s a vacation, you should splurge,” one joked.
“I like how you said “for FREE?!?” as if you were more shocked that the fart was free than that there was a fart in the first place,” remarked another.
“Call and inquire about what’s included in the fart package. You will make that front desk person’s week!” said a third.
Others attempted to explain the bizarre scenario by pointing out that “pet” is the French word for “fart”– which would explain the dog pic.
And a number suggested that “fart” had been written on the webpage by one of its designers as a jokey placeholder for the pet section, but they then forgot to remove it. Oops.
@heartfelttravelReporting live from Fartfelt Travel ??? #heartfelttravel #travelisaprivilege
The travel agent confirmed their theories in an update which, beaming, she began: “I cannot stop laughing at these comments, you made my week, and I'm here to answer all your questions.”
She then admitted that she had decided not to book the fart for her client but said it was a decision she now regretted.
Naming the hotel as Les Bords de Mer in Marseille, she stressed that they had now fixed their website and it “now says pet everywhere”.
(A quick check by indy100 shows this is, indeed, the case:)
D'Esposito ended her debrief: “For everyone who commented saying that fart is French slang for pet, you were correct.
“To me though, it's still hysterical. Thanks for laughing with me.”
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