Holidaymakers Ill At Jaz Mirabel Beach Resort

A group of holidaymakers have vowed to continue their battle for justice after they were struck down by illness while in holiday in Egypt.

The tourists have instructed travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to help them take legal action after their stays at the Jaz Mirabel Beach Resort were ruined due to poor hygiene standards.

Helen Cheshire is representing the group who all stayed at the hotel between May and August this year.

She said that guests described health and safety breaches that would not be acceptable at any hotel, let alone one with a five star rating.

Complaints included faeces in the swimming pool and food being served that was not properly cooked, contained hair and was left exposed to birds and insects.

Irwin Mitchell has acted on behalf of holidaymakers taken ill at the Jaz Mirabel for four consecutive years. All of the holidaymakers travelled with TUI UK Ltd, the owners of Thomson Holidays and First Choice.

Ms Cheshire said: “This is not the first time complaints have been made against this hotel. It is disappointing to see that standards have apparently not improved at all.  We urge anyone who has suffered similar experiences to come forward so that we can continue to lobby for tour operators to take action and rectify this poor situation.”

Rita McDougall Taggart and her husband stayed at the hotel in May having booked with Thomson Holidays.

She said: “"When we arrived we both commented that the resort looked beautiful, but it didn't take long for first impressions to be proved false.  When we went for dinner in the evening the food had been left uncovered and birds, which could have been scrabbling in absolutely anything, were free to hop all over dining tables and round the food.

"The staff preparing our meals were obviously not wearing hygiene equipment like hair nets, as we often found hairs in our food. On another occasion we were served a burger that was completely raw in the middle. It was utterly disgusting.

"Spending time relaxing in the pool wasn't an option either, as we soon noticed that the water was very dirty. We even saw faeces floating round at one point, we just couldn't believe it. The conditions were simply horrendous and so undignified - you wouldn't inflict them on an animal.

"Unsurprisingly, despite being very careful about what I ate and not swimming in the pool, I became very ill after only four days. I had severe abdominal pains and terrible nausea and diarrhoea throughout the rest of our holiday.

"As I am a nurse on a gastroenterology ward I knew what to do to alleviate my symptoms a little, however despite this I am not recovered.  I have no energy at all, whereas I used to be such a lively person.  It’s shocking that Thomson Holidays and other tour operators are still sending people to hotels like this when it can potentially ruin lives."

Ms Cheshire added: "It is a matter of great concern that the conditions that our clients were exposed to at this hotel were far below acceptable standards.  With several years of previous illness and resulting legal action it is remarkable that problems of this severity are still occurring.

"Meanwhile we also invite TUI UK Ltd to enter into early and constructive negotiations with us to enable the fair and prompt compensation of our clients. If this cannot be achieved, formal legal proceedings are inevitable. We hope that this can be avoided."