Hotel illness family 'too traumatised to holiday again'

The trip was meant to be "the holiday of a lifetime", Holly Parkin said

A woman has said she and her family never want to go on holiday again after illness left them all bed-bound and her baby in need of hospital treatment.

Holly Parkin, 27, from Dagenham, east London, went to Turkey in September with her partner, Matthew Morris and their children Kaidan, four, Mireya-Grace, one, and Ms Parkin's daughter, eight-year-old Amelia.

All of the family, other than Ms Parkin, came down with suspected food poisoning.

On their return to the UK, the children were unwell enough to be taken to hospital where Mireya-Grace was put on an IV drip.

Diarrhoea and vomiting struck the family on the second day of their all-inclusive holiday at the five-star Granada Luxury Belek Hotel.

Travel agency Loveholidays, through which the trip was booked, said it was "very sorry" about the experience and requested documentation to support a compensation claim.

Ms Parkin said she could not provide such proof, as although doctors told her the condition was likely to be food poisoning, diagnostic tests on the children were inconclusive.

“It was horrible and heartbreaking, they were crying and, even now, they are sort of traumatised from the experience in the sense they never want to go on holiday again,” Ms Parkin said.

'First family holiday'

The eight-day holiday, which cost nearly £4,000, was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Ms Parkin said.

“We were so excited, my eldest daughter had already been on holiday with other family but Kaidan had never been on an aeroplane so he was really excited,” she said.

“Mireya-Grace was only a baby at the time so it was going to be her first experience.

“It was our first full family holiday together.”

She added that the first evening was "great" but by the following morning her partner and children were all suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea.

Baby Mireya-Grace was given an IV drip for rehydration

Ms Parkin said after her family became unwell she refused to eat from the hotel and ordered pizza in from an international chain.

She said she spoke to other families at the hotel who also reported they were feeling unwell.

“I ended up speaking to four other families who were also ill and also stayed in their rooms thinking it might just be them.

“They had the same sort of vomiting and diarrhoea.”

The family returned to the UK a day early.

'Systematically inspected'

Ms Parkin made GP appointments but after Mireya-Grace developed a rash, she phoned for an ambulance and her children were taken to the Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where Mireya-Grace was put on an IV drip to replenish her fluids.

She said her children’s tests were “inconclusive” but that her doctor put the family’s illness down to food poisoning.

A Loveholidays spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear of Ms Parkin and her family’s experience at their hotel.

“As we were not made aware of their concerns while they were on holiday, we were unable to investigate or provide them with support during their stay."

The spokesperson added that the company opened an investigation as soon as Ms Parkin complained but because she had not provided documentation supporting her claim, the case was closed.

The company has said it has now reopened the case.

Granada Luxury Belek Hotel contested whether symptoms experienced by guests were from food poisoning, suggesting instead they could have a number of other causes including changed eating habits, sunstroke, over-consumption, swallowing chlorinated pool water and responses to a change in weather.

A spokesperson for the hotel said: “Our hotel is one of the first hotels in Turkey to receive a safe tourism certificate.

“All our food and beverage units and pools are systematically inspected by state-accredited organisations.

“The results of these inspection reports are available and are shared transparently with all tour operators upon request.”