Familiy seeks compensation after holiday illnesses
A mother from Stirling who was forced to cut her holiday short after her autistic daughter fell ill, is taking legal action over the conditions at her hotel in Majorca.
The woman has criticised hygiene standards at the Hotel in Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, which were so bad that she left the two week holiday a week earlier than scheduled.
The mother as well as her two daughters, were taken seriously ill with gastroenteritis during their stay at the hotel, and one of her daughters had to go straight to hospital when they returned to the UK.
On the family’s return to the UK, the mother had instructed travel law specialists from a legal firm to look into making a compensation claim against the travel company that provided the holiday.
A catalogue of problems throughout the hotel
The family alleged that there was a 'catalogue of problems' at the hotel, including raw or cold food in the restaurant, flies in the eating area, dirty water in the swimming pool and smells of sewage throughout the resort.
Jenny Fewins, a personal injury lawyer, who specialises in travel law cases, represented the family and said that the girl was not the only person to report problems at the hotel.
She stated: "It seems that the girl and her family were not the only people who were adversely affected by the terrible conditions at the resort and she has told me that a number of people were ill at the same time as them."
She also said: "Having been advised that the hotel would be suitable for her and her children it is understandable that she was furious to discover it was anything but. Her daughter fell ill after just two days there and all three of them are still suffering from symptoms now."
She went on to say: "Sadly this is a typical example of the kinds of problems we see at so many hotels and resorts as a result of poor standards of health and hygiene conditions."
We weren’t expecting five-star luxury
The mother said: "We booked with a travel website and didn't expect to see five-star luxury, but I did expect a clean and safe environment for me and my children. This was the worst holiday I've ever been on and many other people at the resort were saying the same thing."
She added: "My daughter fell ill very quickly while there - and we eventually all suffered from stomach cramps, diarrhoea, high temperatures and vomiting."
She furthered: "There was no tour rep on site to complain to and the staff were either unfriendly or downright rude. I never thought I'd find myself paying out of my own pocket to return from a holiday a week early, but it was so bad I felt I had no choice for the sake of my children's health."
Jenny Fewins concluded by saying: "We hope that the travel website will work with us to provide fair and prompt compensation of our clients, otherwise formal legal proceedings are inevitable. We hope that this can be avoided."
Updated on 04/01/2010