Holidaymakers from North Tyneside who claim they were struck down with food poisoning at a Lanzarote hotel have asked lawyers to investigate the incident.
Kazimierz Kurowski and Nicola Kurowska and their friends John and Joann Williams, booked an all inclusive holiday to Hotel Rio Playa Blanca to celebrate New Year through TUI, costing £3,000.
But the holiday turned into a nightmare when the group, from Wallsend, were struck down with gastric symptoms that included vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
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But the hotel has denied the group's food poisoning was as a result of their hospitality, saying "unfortunately people get sick on the holiday, it doesn't mean it is the hotel".
John and Joann saw a pharmacist abroad and were given medication before seeing a doctor when they returned home, while Kazimierz and Nicola also visited their GP once they got home due to ongoing symptoms.
The couples claim staff were putting new food on top of old food and cockroaches were crawling about - but this has been denied by hotel bosses.
Now, they have asked specialist international serious injury lawyers Irwin Mitchell to investigate their illnesses.
Sarita Sharma, a specialist international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the couples, said: “John and Joann, and Kazimierz and Nicola, travelled to the Rio Playa Blanca and were all thoroughly looking forward to their break.
“However, the first-hand account we’ve heard from them about the symptoms they suffered is concerning but what is most worrying is that this is not the first time we have helped holidaymakers returning from this hotel.
"We represented almost 100 holidaymakers, including more than 50 children, who returned from this hotel in the summer of 2019 with serious bacterial illnesses such as salmonella and E.coli.
“Gastric illness is serious and can lead to long-term health issues. The effects of it should never be downplayed.
“Understandably, the couples have many questions over how they became sick and we’re now looking into those questions. If during the course of our investigations, any issues are identified, lessons need to be learned to help prevent these illnesses from becoming a regular feature for people staying at this hotel.
“If you also stayed at this resort and think that you can help with our enquiries into the issues faced by John, Joann, Kazimierz and Nicola, we would like to hear from you.”
The all-inclusive holiday took place between 25 December, 2022, and 1 January, this year.
Two days in, Joann, 55, a kitchen assistant began suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, headaches and nausea. John, 56, a chef, fell ill the next day.
Meanwhile, 56-year-old Kazimierz, a maintenance engineer, began to suffer illness on 29 December, with Nicola, 41, an onboarding supervisor, falling ill two days later. They complained of diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and sweating.
The pair called 111 on their return to the UK and were advised to go to the hospital. Kazimierz began to feel better on 3 January, with Nicola’s symptoms lasting until 14 January.
Nicola said: “Whilst we were there, we all came down with food poisoning. The standards in the hotel were horrendous; they were putting new food on top of old food at the buffet and the food was only ever lukewarm at best. There were cockroaches crawling on the food and birds flying around and landing on tables and food, and the water in our rooms was brown.
“We were there for seven days and at least one of us was poorly for five of the days. We complained to the TUI representative at the hotel, and they did nothing for us; only completed complaints forms. We went to see her twice.
“When we got home, we called 111 who advised us to go straight to hospital. When we got to see the doctor they confirmed we were suffering from gastroenteritis, which really isn’t something you expect to pick up on holiday.”
John said: “We were all looking forward to escaping the hustle and bustle of daily life and getting away for Christmas and New Year, but within the first few days we became so unwell.
“It got so bad, that we just wanted to be back at home as we weren’t able to enjoy anything. On our return, we went to see our GP.
“We’ve also heard of others that were ill. I remember some of the food being served undercooked, cold and uncovered, and there were also cockroaches and bugs around it. The cutlery and plates were always dirty. It was just horrendous, I’ve never been ill like that in my life.
“While we can’t change what happened, we feel we deserve to know how it did.”
Kazimierz said: “When you stay a four-star resort, you don’t expect to fall ill
“Our festive break was ruined and our symptoms continued when we got back to the UK. Nicola was still unwell almost two weeks later.
“We’d spent so long planning our trip, but we now wish we hadn’t bothered and just spent Christmas and New Year at home. All we want now are some answers.”
A spokeswoman for the hotel said: "We had 1,000 people in the hotel and no one got sick. If it was something with the food and there are 1,000 people staying at the hotel then 200 of them should be sick.
"I can assure you that comments about cockroaches are not true. We are in the Canary Islands and it is a tropical environment, there are cockroaches on the islands but if we have any reports we would fumigate.
"We normally have the door closed to keep birds out but when it is open birds do come in.
"Unfortunately people get sick on the holiday, It doesn't mean it is the hotel."
A TUI spokeswoman said: "We were very sorry to hear about this family’s experience and would like to reassure customers that situations like this are extremely rare.
"Although there were very few reports of TUI customers being ill, we organised a full external audit of the hotel.
"Unfortunately, as this is now being investigated by our legal team, we are unable to comment further."
