Couple And Son Struck Down By Gastric Symptoms Two Days Into Sissi Trip

A Redditch family have instructed lawyers to investigate after they suffered illness during a stay at a four-star hotel in Greece.

Terence Browne, 57, travelled to the Maritimo Beach Hotel in Sissi, Crete, with his wife Amanda, 56, and their son in July this year.  Their two-week trip was booked through tour operator JET2Holidays.

Around two days into their holiday, all three fell ill with gastric symptoms including diarrhoea and vomiting.  They have now instructed international serious injury experts at Irwin Mitchell to investigate.

Expert Opinion

"Terence and his family were excited to be going to Crete and spending some quality time together. However, what was meant to be a dream holiday turned into a complete nightmare.

They’re understandably upset by their experience and have many questions over how they developed illness. Gastric symptoms can be long-lasting, the effects of which should never be downplayed. We have heard reports that a significant number of holidaymakers developed illness following their holidays at the Maritimo Beach Hotel, indicating a wider outbreak.

We’re now investigating and if any issues are identified, we urge for lessons to be learned to help prevent others from falling ill in the future.

We would be interested in speaking to anyone who may have been impacted by illness at this hotel who would be able to assist with our investigations.”
Sarita Sharma, International Serious Injury Lawyer

The Browne family arrived at the Maritimo Beach Hotel on 23 July.  On 25 July, Terence, Amanda and their son were all suffering with symptoms of diarrhoea, abdominal pain, vomiting, lethargy and a lack of appetite.

Following their return to the UK on 6 August, their symptoms continued.  To this day, they’re still not 100 per cent, they say.

Terence said: “When we landed in Crete, we couldn’t wait to start taking in the sights and enjoy some sun.  Just two days in, we were all unwell and ended up spending more time than we intended to in the hotel room.

“It turned out that there were a lot of other hotel guests complaining of being sick and we saw ambulances coming to the hotel on a frequent basis, which was worrying. It was obvious that something was seriously wrong at the hotel.

“I recall guests – in particular children – picking food off the buffet and then putting it back with their bare hands.  There was a sign asking people to use gloves, but clearly they were not.

“The worst part of the holiday was seeing our son ill and knowing there was nothing we could do about it.  It’s more than two months since we got back, yet we’re still not fully recovered.

“While there’s nothing that can be done to change what’s happened, we deserve some answers so we can at least help stop others from going through a similar situation in the future.”

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling holiday illness cases