Family’s 70th Birthday Celebrations In Cyprus Ruined With Seven Guests Hospitalised Following Illness

A Northamptonshire family whose holiday to celebrate a 70th birthday was ruined when seven of them were hospitalised with illness have instructed specialist travel lawyers to investigate the conditions at the Holiday Village Aliathon resort in Cyprus.

Jason Sanders, 47, his wife Sadie, 35, and ten members of their extended family travelled to the luxury four-star resort to celebrate Sadie’s father’s birthday in May 2015. However, just days into their two-week holiday, which was booked through TUI UK Limited, 11 members of the party fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and a fever.

After they visited on-site medical facilities, seven of the party – including three children under the age of 10 – were then admitted to hospital for further treatment.

Sadie, who was among those hospitalised, continued to suffer symptoms on her return to the UK.

Following the holiday nightmare, the family has now instructed expert travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of their illness which, to this day, Sadie still suffers from.

Jatinder Paul, a Solicitor and expert travel lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

“The illness suffered by this family while staying at the Holiday Village Aliathon and their ongoing pain and suffering is extremely concerning and we have now launched an investigation into the cause of the illness.

“Gastric illnesses can be extremely serious for victims, particularly young children, which makes it even more worrying that some of those hospitalised following this illness were under the age of ten and that some members of the family are still feeling the effects.

“The illness Jason and his family suffered completely ruined what was supposed to be a special occasion for them and we are now investigating their concerns with the hygiene standards at the hotel to help provide them with the answers they deserve.

“We would urge anyone else who has had a similar experience at the Holiday Village Aliathon to come forward as they may be able to help with our investigations.” Jatinder Paul - Partner

Jason and his family told the legal team at Irwin Mitchell that the hotel rooms at the resort were not cleaned regularly, the food at the restaurants was on several occasions not served at the correct temperature and the swimming pool was temporarily closed twice due to faecal accidents.

Jason, from Wellingborough, said: “The illness suffered by the majority of our family completely ruined our holiday which we had been looking forward to for months.

“It was supposed to be a time to celebrate my father-in-law’s 70^th birthday with all the family around, but there was no way we could enjoy it as we were all suffering horrendous symptoms and seven of us were in hospital receiving treatment. This was quite a daunting experience for us all.

“The fact that some family members are still suffering  with  symptoms after coming back to the UK simply adds insult to injury.

“There’s no way of turning back the clock  to enjoy that special celebration again but we want to know why our holiday was ruined and what caused the illness we suffered at the resort.”