A newly-married couple who went on a luxury honeymoon to Cape Verde, an island off the coast of Africa, say their dream holiday quickly turned into a nightmare.
Chris France and Amy Jacklin, from Cheshire, booked a three-week all-inclusive stay in a hotel on the island of Sal but things took a turn for the worse when bride Amy fell ill two days into the holiday.
The 29-year-old started getting stomach pains and diarrhoea, and her symptoms were so bad she ended up spending a day in a hospital on a drip. Just when she started feeling better her new husband Chris was struck down by the same symptoms, and also had to seek medical help.
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The couple said they still felt unwell by the end of their three-week stay on August 28 but managed to catch their flight home. They said they were both prescribed with anti-sickness medication, probiotics for gut health and a rehydration formula.
Speaking to Cheshire Live, Amy said: "Chris and I had such a fantastic wedding and to complete it with a honeymoon in Cape Verde was meant to be our dream come true. I’ve never felt so ill, and instead of enjoying our honeymoon I was in hospital with Chris at my bedside.
“As I started to improve, Chris then started to be sick. Our honeymoon was ruined and turned into a three-week nightmare we’ll always remember now for all the wrong reasons."
They are now taking legal action against travel operator TUI as they have concerns that their illness may have been brought on due to the conditions of the hotel they were staying in. The couple says they had concerns about the hygiene in the restaurant area, and Amy says she'd even seen a cat in there.
Chris and Amy are not alone in their legal pursuits, last week it was reported that 500 holidaymakers were taking legal action against TUI after being struck down with sickness bugs during stays at seven hotels in Cape Verde over summer.
Jatinder Paul, leading the team of specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We are supporting more than 500 people, including more than 200 people who stayed at the Riu Palace Santa Maria alone, who at best had their holiday ruined and at worst had their health seriously affected following stays in the Sal area of Cape Verde."
According to Irwin Mitchell, the affected hotels, all booked through TUI, are Riu Palace Santa Maria, Riu Cabo Verde, Riu Palace Boavista, Riu Funana, TUI Blue Cabo Verde, the Sol Dunas and the Melia Dunas. The firm said holidaymakers have questioned why they were allowed to stay at their hotels 'when it was known others had already fallen ill'.
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 the health and safety of our customers and colleagues is our highest priority and we take matters like this seriously."
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