TUI food poisoning claims: Holidaymakers threaten legal action

At least 100 holidaymakers who say they fell seriously ill at a five-star hotel in Turkey are threatening legal action against tourism firm TUI.

Fourteen families who recently returned from the Rixos Sungate in Antalya tested positive for salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter, their lawyers said.

One hotel guest said at one point he thought his young daughter might die.

TUI, which confirmed it was paying some medical bills, said customer health and safety "is always our utmost priority".

Dominic Brackley, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, arrived at the hotel at the end of May. He and his six-year-old daughter Vdara were seriously ill, testing positive for salmonella once they were back in the UK.

"At one point I genuinely thought she was going to die, I'd never seen her so bad," he said. "We put her in an ice bath to bring her temperature down. She wasn't drinking and we were really worried."

Another holidaymaker told the BBC that his party of 16 had been diverted from the hotel. He said that because of "food poisoning and salmonella, people going to hospital, we weren't allowed to go".

Reports of food poisoning at the luxury resort started emerging in mid-April. At the time, about 30 families joined a WhatsApp group to inform each other about their symptoms.

Holidaymakers with bookings at the hotel for June said they were wary of the reported outbreak but thought that, given the apparent issues that had arisen, it would be likely that any problems would have been tackled by the time they arrived.

Anthony Laird, from Hornchurch in east London, returned home on 7 June after flying out a week earlier with his wife, in-laws and two children.

He said that after one meal at the hotel, within 24 hours he was suffering from fever, sweats, a painful stomach, sickness and diarrhoea.

Mr Laird went to the local medical centre to be told he had gastroenteritis. He was informed he had tested negative for salmonella.

"I just knew something wasn't right. I wouldn't normally ever gets the sweats like this. The medical centre was like a merry-go-round; people kept coming in and out, all queuing up with the same symptoms - that's not a fluke," he said.

Measuring a severely high level of infection, Mr Laird was hospitalised, with TUI "paying for all my medical bills".

"Normally they'd leave that to your insurance," he added. "I just thought that they wouldn't be stupid enough for this to happen again."

On returning to the UK still unwell, he was admitted to Queen's Hospital in Romford where he received further treatment.

About 10 other guests contacted the BBC with similar stories, reporting the same symptoms, having visited the resort in the past three months.

Liam Garnett from Failsworth, Manchester, travelled with his family to the Rixos Sungate in April. He said they saw food served uncovered at the resort, while cutlery, crockery and tables were often dirty.

He added that there were cats in and around the restaurant, chefs were smoking in fire exits, not washing their hands and not wearing gloves to dish out food.

Mr Garnett and his children spent five days in the hotel sick with stomach problems. He described the holiday as a "disaster", adding: "We want to know what went wrong."

The solicitor representing the families, Jatinder Paul from law firm Irwin Mitchell, said that all the cases he had seen appeared to have a "very common source," and featured a "bacterial outbreak caused by low hygiene standards".

He said: "It's very concerning that multiple families seem to have suffered from similar horrible illness symptoms at the same time, at the same resort. Naturally, they want answers as to how they have become so ill on a five-star holiday.

"No-one goes on holiday expecting to need medical treatment, either in the resort and even on their return home."

He added that the families' claims were on the basis of negligence and being sold a holiday not fit for purpose, and that court proceedings would begin if the situation could not be resolved amicably.

On 4 June TUI denied the allegations, telling the BBC that "hotel tests that have been taken do not show any signs of food-related sickness".

The firm said then that its guests' symptoms pointed to a viral infection transmitted through pool use and that the complainants were all UK nationals.

Presented with further evidence a week later, without confirming an outbreak, TUI said it was assisting guests from the hotel with their medical bills.

It added it is giving customers due to arrive at the Rixos Sungate the option of moving to an alternative hotel, or changing their holiday for free while its investigation continues.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware of a small number of customers becoming unwell at the Rixos Sungate Hotel in Antalya, Turkey.

"The health and safety of our customers is always our utmost priority, and we remain in close contact with anyone impacted, offering support where necessary and are working in close collaboration with the hotel."

Rixos, which runs the hotel, has been contacted for comment.

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