Reported Illness Continues Into Sixth Month At Notorious Egyptian Hotel
Published date:
20 Jan 2011
Leading travel law experts have repeated calls for an urgent investigation into hygiene standards at a luxury Egyptian hotel as yet more horrified holidaymakers joined the hundreds of guests already taking legal action after falling ill at the resort between June and December last year.
Law firm Irwin Mitchell today confirmed that they are helping victims who suffered at the Holiday Village Red Sea resort in Sharm El Sheikh for FOUR consecutive years, and have demanded travel giant First Choice take immediate action amidst ‘grave concerns’ for the safety of holidaymakers.
Ian and Maureen McGregor, both 61 from Stirling became the latest to contact the travel specialists for help after their dream to celebrate Christmas abroad was left in tatters when they contracted severe gastric symptoms which left them facing painful, invasive medical treatment. And they say they were not alone in their suffering.
Reviews posted on the TripAdvisor website claim that other guests who have stayed at the hotel also fell ill with severe gastric symptoms this Christmas with one posting on January 3rd claiming that eight adults, four children and two infants had paid £15,000 to ‘enjoy Christmas together only to be made ill’.
The latest reports echo those made by over 100 people pursuing claims arising from illness at the resort since last summer, and those made by over 200 people who have stayed at the hotel over the past four years. The Maione family, from Bristol, were left terrified when they were told one son had been struck down with the potentially fatal illness Shigella and another son was left battling Salmonella.
Mr and Mrs Maione stayed at the Holiday Village Red Sea between 28th August and 11th September 2008 with their children Roberto now aged 12 and Leonardo now aged 4.
Mr Maione described their experience as truly horrifying: “My children and wife were so ill, I thought I could lose them. As a restaurant owner I know what should go into certain types of foods and how it should be cooked. All they were doing at the Holiday Village Red Sea was covering the uncooked chicken with sauces, that’s no way of providing good service – it’s asking for people to be ill.”
The family are currently continuing with court proceedings against First Choice, which has denied responsibility for the problems experienced by guests at the Holiday Village Red Sea in 2008.
Mr Maione added: “I am truly shocked that First Choice continues to send families to this resort, knowing of the problems in the hotel. I feel for those families who have small children, children can die out there. It is atrocious. To think they’ve done nothing for two years is terrible.”
Mr and Mrs Undy, from Wigan, travelled to the resort on 18th June 2010 with their two daughters Ellie, 7, and Chloe, 2, and have expressed shock at the problems continuing in the hotel over six months later.
Commenting on the continuing outbreak, Mr Undy said: “I am surprised that First Choice allowed themselves to be associated with the Holiday Village Red Sea due to the many problems at the hotel. First Choice should close down the hotel or at the very least conduct a thorough investigation. The fact that people are still experiencing problems is shocking.”
Now Irwin Mitchell is urging holiday giant First Choice – the firm sending tourists to the 500-room five-star resort – to ‘get to the root of the problem this time’, with serious cases of illness having been confirmed at the hotel every year since 2007.
Suki Chhokar, from the firm’s travel team, said: “The fact that we have been contacted by holidaymakers who all stayed at the hotel in June and every consecutive month right through to December 31st last year, and who all became ill, is of grave concern, particularly as we raised serious concerns about Holiday Village Red Sea at the very start of last summer.
“At the time, we asked for fundamental changes to be made to the hotel’s food hygiene standards and for procedures to be put in place, maintained and carefully monitored. It appears that our concerns have not been considered thoroughly enough and as a result more people have suffered needlessly.
“Our reaction – and more importantly, that of our clients, is just one of utter dismay this time. It is beyond belief that First Choice continues to get away with sending its customers to Holiday Village Red Sea when illness at the resort has been rife for so long and continues to be so.
“We are not talking about one or two people here. We now represent hundreds of people throughout the last four years, many of whom still suffer as a result of their illness today. Some were diagnosed with serious conditions such as Salmonella, E-coli, Shigella and Cryptosporidium.
“Things have to change and they have to change now. First Choice needs to do the decent thing by its customers and there must be an immediate investigation and this time, for everyone’s sake, they need to get to the root of the problem.”
Mr and Mrs McGregor, from Stirling, were staying at the Holiday Village Red Sea between December 17th and 31st last year when they both fell very seriously ill with diarrhoea, stomach cramps and extreme lethargy which caused them to lose weight rapidly and forced them to seek urgent medical help.
Commenting on his ordeal, Mr McGregor said: “The conditions at the hotel were appalling. It stank of sewage everywhere, the swimming pools had faeces floating in them and our room was filthy.
“We both fell ill and felt absolutely dreadful, but I was particularly concerned for Maureen. She visited the resort GP and was referred to the hospital. That in itself was scary enough, especially in a foreign country, but they had to carry out all sorts of medical procedures including a rectal examination. It was terrifying.
“We had been looking forward to our holiday so much; it was our Christmas too which made the whole thing almost too much to bear.”
The couple, who learnt about the hotels history of illness on their return to the UK, are now demanding answers from tour operator First Choice, who they say should have told them about issues at the resort.
Mr McGregor said: “To find out that people stayed at this resort before us and were poorly, and that First Choice was aware of this, is unbelievable. I am furious that they could have easily prevented what we went through.”
Suki Chhokar continues: “It is totally unacceptable that Mr and Mrs McGregor ended up so ill whilst on holiday at Holiday Village Red Sea. Our experiences indicate that gastric illnesses can have long-term health consequences or even permanent problems, especially for young children and people who have existing health conditions.
“The history of illness at this hotel is indefensible and it is difficult to believe that in spite of this First Choice has continued to allow people to travel there this summer and now, once again, we are seeing guests being struck down with illness.
“Tour operators have a duty of care to ensure that the hotels where they send their customers meet health and safety standards that are in place for a very good reason. If they cannot ensure holidaymakers’ safety, they must stop sending people there. Urgent investigations are required to identify the cause of the problems at this hotel and any actions required to improve the standards of heath and hygiene must be taken as a priority.”
If you have been taken ill while staying at the Holiday Village Red Sea, please contact us for free advice on 0800 056 0066 or use our contact form.
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