Holiday Illness In Majorca

A mother who was forced to cut her holiday short after her autistic daughter fell severely ill is taking legal action over the ‘shocking’ conditions at the Majorcan hotel at which they were staying.

June Spark, 37, has blasted the hygiene standards at the Hotel Piscis in Puerto Alcudia which were so bad she left the two-week holiday – her first break for three years – a week earlier than scheduled.

Miss Spark and daughters Brione, five, and Morgan, eight, were all seriously ill with gastroenteritis while at the resort, and Brione was hospitalised upon their return to the UK.

Miss Spark has now instructed travel litigation experts at Irwin Mitchell to investigate a claim against the company they bought the holiday from, Lowcostholidays.com. 

Miss Spark, from Stirling, blames their illness on a catalogue of problems at the hotel, including food in the restaurant often being served raw or cold, flies swarming in the eating area, dirty water in the swimming pool and sewage smells throughout the resort.

The family’s lawyer, Jenny Fewins, a travel litigation specialist at Irwin Mitchell, said Miss Spark was not the only person who had reported problems at the hotel.

She said: “It seems that Miss Spark and her family were not the only people who were adversely affected by the terrible conditions at the resort and she has told me that a number of people were ill at the same time as them.

“Having been advised that the hotel would be suitable for her and her children it is understandable that she was furious to discover it was anything but. Her daughter fell ill after just two days there and all three of them are still suffering from symptoms now.

“Sadly this is a typical example of the kinds of problems we see at so many hotels and resorts as a result of poor standards of health and hygiene conditions.”

Miss Spark added: “We booked with Lowcostholidays.com and didn’t expect 5* luxury but I did expect a clean and safe environment for me and my children. This was the worst holiday I’ve ever been on and many other people at the resort were saying the same thing.

“My daughter fell ill very quickly while there – and we eventually all suffered from stomach cramps, diarrhoea, high temperatures and vomiting.

“There was no tour rep on site to complain to and the staff were either unfriendly or downright rude. I never thought I’d find myself paying out of my own pocket to return from a holiday a week early, but it was so bad I felt I had no choice for the sake of my children’s health.”

Jenny Fewins added, “We hope that Lowcostholidays.com will work with us to provide fair and prompt compensation of our clients, otherwise formal legal proceedings are inevitable.  We hope that this can be avoided.”