Illness In Tenerife

Angry British tourists are demanding answers from their tour operator as to why they were not warned about ongoing health problems at the Los Gigantes Hotel.

The holidaymakers are among more than fifty who contacted travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell after they were struck down by illness while staying at the hotel in Tenerife between late 2009 and early 2010.

One member of the group was so ill that they had to be admitted to hospital on their return to the UK where they were diagnosed with salmonella food poisoning.

Tour operator Thomson last night came under attack from tourists demanding to know why they were not warned about the problems at the hotel before leaving the UK.

Neville Fisher from Cardiff said: “It’s bad enough to have had our holiday ruined by illness while we were there but it’s outrageous to know that Thomson knew there had been problems for a while and never bothered to tell us.”

Complaints about the Los Gigantes Hotel include food being served that was past its sell-by date, hot food being tipped into food that had gone cold, serving utensils being swapped between dishes, dirty tablecloths and crockery and a smell of sewage.

Juliette Eden, a holiday illness lawyer at Irwin Mitchell said: “We are very concerned about the illness outbreak at this hotel and equally concerned that our clients claim they were not told of the risks before travelling.

“We’ve heard reports of Thomson staff giving misleading information to prospective guests about the hotel and other guests not being given any information about the illness problems.

“Thomson should have known about the illness outbreaks but they still sent holidaymakers to the hotel with no warning. We think that is unacceptable.

“The diagnosis of salmonella for at least one of our clients, combined with what we’re hearing about health and hygiene standards mean it is possible that other guests also suffered from the salmonella. Salmonella can cause significant long term health problems for those unfortunate enough to be infected.

“Alarm bells should be ringing at Thomson HQ. Tour operators must ensure that the hotels they send guests to are safe and meet all hygiene standards.

“We are already helping more than 50 former Los Gigantes guests and we expect that number to grow. On the basis of current forecasts there could be dozens of other British holidaymakers joining this group claim.”