A mum claims her family was left covered in bed bug rashes on a five-star holiday.
Sarah Finch, 33, booked the luxury resort in Mexico as a last minute treat for her husband and two daughters.
But their TUI holiday was "ruined" after she was confined to her room for a chunk of the holiday, suffering from what she says was a severe allergic reaction to bed bug bites.
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Travel company TUI said an initial investigation had found no evidence of bugs but it was continuing to look into the family's concerns.
Sarah told the Mirror: "We really needed this quality family time together after the pandemic and working long hours but it has been ruined.
“I’ve been bed-bound and my husband has been so anxious about bringing the bugs home with us that he couldn’t sleep.
“My one-year-old was in the most pain with multiple bites all over her hands and face, she sleeps in baby grows so they were the only places exposed. She was put on medication to reduce the irritation.
The mum added: “My bites were so inflamed that I had to have an antihistamine shot. I felt wheezy and dizzy all the time.
“My four-year-old spent the holiday feeling very tearful with bites on her face and arms. She just wanted to have some fun but we were all so ill."
Sarah, her husband and their daughters Lily, 4, and one-year-old Charlotte flew back from Cancun to their home in Swansea, South Wales, on Monday.
But the couple said they were forced to fork out more than £2,000 for alternative accommodation in Mexico.
Sarah, a business account manager and self-employed interior designer, said: “We arrived at the Royalton Riviera Cancun last Thursday, on waking up the following day I had 18 bites all over my body.
"Then from speaking to other guests the next morning (Saturday) they asked me had I checked the bed for bed bugs as they bite in clusters and lines.”
She added the state of the bed was "beyond belief" and was "crawling" with bugs.
Sarah apparently gave the hotel the rest of the day to sort out another room or fumigate the one they were staying - but no arrangements were made.
She said: “My children slept in reception until 11.30pm when a new room was finally found. We met at least 12 other guests with the same problem.
“In the morning we raised this with the TUI rep. That was 9am Sunday. We asked to be moved from the resort with our health deteriorating.
“I had to see the hotel doctor by this point as I couldn’t walk and I had to have an antihistamine shot and remain in the room."
Sarah said she “cannot express” how angry she is at the holiday provider and accused them of “completely failing” them.
“I feel completely sick and traumatised that we were in this situation but more angry for my children,” she said.
Sarah found out from other guests that they had also found bed bugs in their mattresses and sheets.
Sarah said: "Another couple who were suffering in the hotel sent me a video of their bed with a bug on it.
"I am just in complete shock not only a five-star hotel could be so unsanitary and incompetent but that TUI feel it is acceptable to keep guests in such conditions for five days without even speaking to us we had to chase every time and eventually paid to move ourselves.”
The Finch family moved to alternative accommodation at Planet Hollywood.
The incident has left the family paranoid as they now have had to bag and isolate all of their holiday clothes and hot wash everything separately to kill off any hitchhiking bugs.
Sarah said: “We have had to be super careful, two of our cases are still in the car. I have opened them one at a time so far and put our clothes in black bags ready for a hot wash. Then I need to steam and disinfect each suitcase.
“We constantly feel like we are crawling. It’s been so stressful."
A spokesperson for TUI said the company was “sorry” to hear about the Finch family’s experience.
“Following an initial investigation by an independent company, no evidence of bed bugs has been found, and no other similar cases have been reported,” they continued.
“We are continuing to look into the family’s concerns which we will be addressing with them directly. We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of the hotels we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.”
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