Couple’s Tui ‘holiday hell’
‘WE HAD TO CUT SHORT OUR DREAM VACATION AFTER FALLING VIOLENTLY ILL WITH 530 OTHERS’
A GWYNEDD couple cut short their dream holiday and paid for an early flight home after falling violently ill.
David Watkinson, 55, tested positive for Campylobacter while his partner, Karen Edwards, 58, was so ill she still can’t return to work more than five weeks later.
They are among more than 530 British holidaymakers who have now instructed lawyers to investigate why so many people were struck down with gastric illnesses this summer.
All stayed at Tui hotels on Cape Verde, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa.
Some had booked five-star “holidays of a lifetime”, while others were on their honeymoons.
Among those affected was a man from Derbyshire who collapsed on his flight home, and a beauty therapist from Lincolnshire who doctors initially feared was suffering a stroke.
David Watkinson and Karen Edwards (pictured), from Pwllheli, both suffered severe stomach cramps during their stay at the TUI Blue Cabo Verde, an adults-only beach hotel near Santa Maria.
Having flown out on October 2, they caught an early return flight to Manchester on October 9.
They had seen a doctor at the resort, who prescribed anti-sickness tablets, and David was also given antibiotics for sickness and diarrhoea.
But their symptoms remained so bad they felt they needed to get home as soon as possible.
Karen, who has a shop on the Maes in Pwllheli, said: “Dave and I have still not fully recovered from what we suffered at that terrible hotel, and I think someone needs to explain exactly how the situation that left us so ill was allowed to develop.
“We still cannot believe that this is billed as a fivestar TUI hotel. “We felt there was no choice but to leave that hotel as soon as possible. We had seen the doctor at the resort, were forced to attend the medical centre and reported matters to the TUI representative, but nothing seemed to change. “Hotel management said they would do what they could, but that amounted to being offered room service; not much use when the reason you can’t leave the room is you’re too sick to do so.”
The couple had concerns over the standard of food at the hotel.
“They said flies were everywhere and the venue left them with a poor impression, with cats begging for food around buffet areas. On one occasion, having cut into a lasagne, Karen found the mince to be pink and uncooked.
They filled in a complaints form at the resort but, according to Karen, hotel managers only seemed to care once the couple announced they were leaving.
“We got an email from the hotel, and they appeared shocked and tried to persuade us not to leave,” she said.
Karen spoke out about the couple’s terrible experiences in the hope it will help future guests.
“It was clear that there were illness problems at the hotel,” she said.
“We were really worried about other people who would be arriving for their holiday, unaware of what was happening.
“Those arriving as we left looked to be older people and we genuinely feared for what might happen to them.
“The standards at this hotel were completely unacceptable and I’m not surprised others had similar experiences. Apologies at this stage aren’t good enough.
“I think those responsible for the state of affairs at that hotel have a lot of explaining to do. What everyone needs now is the reassurance that something is being done to see that this doesn’t happen to anyone else again.”
In some cases, symptoms among holidaymakers were so severe they cancelled excursions and were forced to visit the local hospital in Cape Verde.
Many tested positive for bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Shigella and E coli.
On their return to the UK, the holidaymakers asked specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate. They questioned why they were allowed to stay at seven hotels in the Sal area of Cape Verde where others had already fallen ill.
As well as TUI Blue Cabo Verde, the hotels identified were Riu Palace Santa Maria, Riu Cabo Verde, Riu Palace Boavista, Riu Funana, the Sol Dunas and the Melia Dunas. All were booked through tour operator TUI.
Jatinder Paul, who is leading the Irwin Mitchell team, said more holidaymakers are contacting the firm on a daily basis.
Irwin Mitchell said the firm hopes to work with TUI to resolve the claims “amicably”.
A TUI spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about these experiences in Cape Verde, however as this is now a legal matter it would be inappropriate to comment. We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene.”