Those were the words of one woman who attended the Romsey Balloon Festival – also known as Balloons and Tunes – held at Broadlands from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20.
The weekend promised to be an “unforgettable experience” for all ages, featuring high-energy stunt shows, live music and great food, along with hot-air balloon displays.
However, several attendees found themselves disappointed.
One of those people was Carole Rabbetts, of Riverside Gardens, Romsey, who attended on Saturday with her family.
Describing her time at the event as a “rip-off”, the 75-year-old said: “It was supposed to be a balloon festival, and when we went there, there were only two balloons.
“And one of them was only inflated about 20 minutes before we left, about 4.30 to 5pm. My grandchildren were upset at the lack of balloons.
“You get other festivals where there are hundreds of hot air balloons and it is free to go and see them.
“I don’t think I’ve ever paid to go into a funfair. It was £20 to go into a funfair – that is a rip-off.
“And the food was absolutely disgusting.
“My son had one of their hot dogs, which cost him the earth, and he said, ‘Mum, this is foul. I’m only eating it because I’m hungry, but in other circumstances, I would have thrown it in the bin.’
“The hot dog was not properly cooked; the bread they had used was not cooked, it was only part-baked. They were supposed to finish cooking it, which they hadn’t done.”
Mrs Rabbetts said that she was also unimpressed with the stunt shows, saying that she had seen better stunts from children cycling around the town, calling it “absolutely pathetic”.
She added: “I don’t know how anybody enjoyed themselves; I think they were making the best of a bad situation and won’t be going next year.”
Mrs Rabbetts added that she would not be returning to the event in the future, saying that she would rather take her grandchildren to the balloon festival in Bristol.
She said: “It was an insult to the people who do it properly.”
Mrs Rabbetts was not the only person to raise complaints about the event, with comments on the Balloons and Tunes Facebook page also voicing dissatisfaction.
Ema Hutchings called the event “a nice day”, but raised concerns over the price,
She said: “Why did we pay for ‘cheap’ early bird tickets which were significantly more expensive than tickets sold within the last couple of weeks?
“I’m sorry, but that is false advertising.
“Balloons were half an hour later than advertised, and my daughter was shattered, so we had to leave after five minutes.
“There’s a huge feeling of being ripped off here, although we did enjoy the day.”
Amber Louise Newman said she was “very disappointed”, adding the event was “way overpriced, false advertisement, didn’t even check the tickets, so waste of money”.
Not all of the responses were negative, with Richard Cardy calling the launching of the balloons “a spectacle not seen in the town for some time.”
Balloons and Tunes did not respond to the Daily Echo’s request for comment.
