Illness At Blau Colonial Hotel

A couple from Liverpool who claim their honeymoon was ruined through illness are taking legal action against their tour operator.

Allen Poole (33) and his wife Christine (34) from Walton in Liverpool, had booked their all-inclusive dream honeymoon break with Thomas Cook, staying at the Blau Colonial Hotel in Cuba at the end of July last year.

The newly-weds fell ill only a few days into their honeymoon with severe diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

They claim the food they were served was undercooked, cold food was not kept chilled, meat was not served at the correct temperature and old food was simply being replenished with new.

Mr & Mrs Poole, who had to consume all their meals at the hotel, also saw dragonflies, mosquitoes and maggots in the hotel restaurant and bar area and they were aware of many other guests who were also suffering with gastric related illnesses.

The Poole's also claim the air-conditioning in their room was faulty, they encountered power cuts during their stay and that the public areas and toilets were dirty with sewage smells emanating around the hotel complex.

Mr Poole said: "After I became ill all I could eat was a few slices of toast in the morning and bananas, the food was terrible. The hotel came nowhere near meeting its 5 star rating.

This was meant to be a once in a lifetime honeymoon trip. I was especially upset as my wife was confined to her bed for 3 days which completely ruined our honeymoon. During the last few days of the trip we could not wait to get out of Cuba."

Guy Bailey, from law firm Irwin Mitchell, and who is representing Mr and Mrs Poole in their legal action said: "Outbreaks of illness at hotels result in misery for people who have spent a large amount of money, in this case this was meant to be a dream honeymoon."

"Tour operators must take all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of guests becoming infected and to control any outbreaks of illness that do occur."

"We are currently taking legal action against the tour operator as a result of this incident and we hope that such complaints will lead to improvements in basic health and hygiene measures at such hotels to avoid future holidaymakers suffering similar problems."