Irwin Mitchell is acting for over 40 holidaymakers whose holidays were ruined by a major outbreak of illness at the Riu Bachata Hotel, Bahia Maimon in the Dominican Republic in March 2010. The case is being pursued against one of the UK's main tour operators, Thomson.
Many of the guests fell ill with an unpleasant gastric illness, and three were hospitalised and placed on IV drips. Many of the holidaymakers are still continuing to suffer from their symptoms after coming back from holiday.
One group of 26 holidaymakers, including three generations of the same family, travelled to the hotel to celebrate a wedding, but they describe it as the 'holiday from hell'. Bride and groom Chris and Kerry Ward had to postpone their big day after Chris spent what should have been their wedding day in hospital attached to a drip. The couple had to rearrange their wedding for four days later, by which time Chris was able to go through with the ceremony although he still felt very unwell. His bride Kerry and two dozen of their friends and family also suffered as the illness swept through the Riu Bachata, with many of them still poorly after returning to the UK in March.
Other guests were affected by the problems at the resort, including North Wales couple Sonia and Jamie O’Hara, whose 18 month old daughter Poppy was also admitted to hospital with gastric illness. Sonia, who was also so ill that she was admitted to hospital, refused treatment so that she could stay with Poppy after being told her daughter was so dehydrated that she could die.
The holidaymakers noticed many worrying examples of failures in food hygiene standards at the hotel. Many of them have reported that the food often appeared to be undercooked, for example that chicken was pink in the middle and that burgers were well done on the outside but hardly cooked in the middle. Some of the guests also say that they saw the chef go to the toilet dressed in his "whites" and then come back without washing his hands and proceed to handle the food. One guest noticed that serving utensils at the buffet were swapped between meat dishes and vegetarian dishes. Insects were often seen around the buffet area, in particular flies in the mayonnaise and around the salad bar, and rats were seen running near the pool bar.
There were also complaints that the hotel rooms smelt of damp and some of the outside balconies smelt of sewage. One guest complained there were droppings on the balcony of her room which looked to come from a mouse or rat. Maids were seen to be cleaning the bathroom with towels identical to those left for the guests to use. Furthermore, the plumbing systems and air conditioning systems were in a poor state of repair. One guest reported a large mirror falling off the wall and on to her foot causing bruising and swelling.
Irwin Mitchell currently represent clients who were struck down with illness following holidays at the Riu Mambo, Riu Merengue and Riu Bachata Hotels (which are all part of the same complex) during 2005, 2006 and 2007.
If you have been affected by gastric illness following a stay at this hotel, you may be able to claim compensation for your ruined holiday and also the pain and suffering caused by the illness.
For more advice on making a holiday illness claim, contact us on 0800 056 0066 or complete our enquiry form and we will call you back.
Read our latest press release on illness at the Riu Bachata