Irwin Mitchell Instructed To Investigate Cause of Illness following Stay At Egyptian Hotel

A group of nine holidaymakers including a newlywed couple have instructed specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the conditions at an Egyptian resort after they all fell ill abroad.

Michelle Widdowson and her new husband Ryan travelled to the Tiran Island Resort, in Sharm El Sheikh for a last minute honeymoon in September this year which they booked through lowcostholidays.com.

Michelle and Ryan from Conisbrough, in Doncaster, fell ill just days into their romantic honeymoon, suffering from lethargy, fever, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting. Ryan had to seek medical attention when he got back to the UK and still has continuing symptoms

Another family, Michelle Ford and Anthony Staunton, from New Balderton, in Newark booked to go to the same resort through the Freedom Travel Group hoping for a relaxing family holiday but instead fell ill suffering from stomach cramps, diarrhoea, sickness and fever.

The families instructed specialist International Personal Injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate their illness in the hope they will get answers as to what caused them to fall ill and if anything could have been done to prevent them falling ill.

Expert Opinion

“We are concerned about the multiple reports we have had from our clients about their illness following their stays at this hotel and will be investigating the cause of their illnesses.

“Our clients were looking forward to going abroad with their loved ones for an enjoyable relaxing holiday, but instead the holidays were blighted by illness which ruined their breaks. In particular, Michelle and Ryan flew out to Egypt to celebrate their honeymoon and it is time they will never get back.

“It is important that all hotels and public places maintain the desired standards of hygiene and food safety to prevent their customers from falling ill. We hope that the hotel will assist in our investigations to identify what caused the families we act for to fall so ill.”
Clare Pearson - Legal Executive & Associate

The families also told their legal team at Irwin Mitchell about the conditions at the resort which included on occasions rats being seen by the poolside and entering drainpipes near the kitchen, members of kitchen staff wiping sweat from their faces with a cloth and then using the same cloth to wipe the kitchen surface and the smell of sewage in public areas and toilets around the resort.

Michelle, 30, said: “Ryan and I were really looking forward to getting away from it all and celebrating our first few weeks of the start to our married life. We were bitterly disappointed that we both fell ill during our stay which spoilt our honeymoon and we are both still suffering from continuing symptoms now.

“The conditions at the hotel did not justify it being rated as a four star resort. Parts of the hotel sometimes smelt like sewage which was absolutely disgusting and there were a number of times when we were in the restaurant that we saw undercooked food or were served lukewarm food.”

Anthony said: “We hoped for a relaxing getaway in the sun but instead the holiday was a disaster with Michelle and I falling ill meaning we had to spend more time than we would normally cooped up in the hotel room.

“We hope that with the help from our legal team at Irwin Mitchell that they will get to the bottom of the cause of our illness.”