Holiday At Turkish Resort Ruined By Illness Problems

A retired police officer and teaching assistant who were hospitalised after suffering serious gastric illnesses while on holiday in Turkey have received a settlement from tour operator Thomas Cook.

Christopher Edwards and Beverley Fuller, both from Glenfield in Leicester, were looking forward to a luxurious and relaxing holiday together at the La Luna Hotel in Gumbet, Turkey, where they stayed for two weeks in July and August 2011.

However, the couple started to feel unwell just a few days into their trip. Their conditions deteriorated so badly that they were both admitted to the Medlife Clinic where they were treated for sickness, diarrhoea and dehydration and put on intravenous fluid drips for 24 hours.

Travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have now secured the couple a four-figure settlement from tour operator Thomas Cook following their ordeal.

Tonia Kingsley, an expert lawyer in Irwin Mitchell’s travel team who is representing them, said: “Christopher and Beverley booked their holiday expecting a luxury, relaxing break where they could spend some quality time together. Sadly, they were both struck down with serious gastroenteritis, which resulted in them being hospitalised for dehydration and sickness.

“The travel law team at Irwin Mitchell has represented thousands of holidaymakers affected by illness problems at many holiday resorts and on cruise ships.  Illness problems of this kind cannot be underestimated; we have seen numerous cases where victims have been left with long-term health problems after being affected by outbreaks.”

“Thankfully Christopher and Beverley’s cases have now been settled so they can finally start to put this terrible ordeal behind them.  We are delighted that they have been able to recover fair compensation, having fallen ill and been hospitalised in a foreign country which is a scary prospect for any holiday maker.

Christopher and Beverley travelled to Gumbet in Turkey and stayed at La Luna between 18 July and 2 August 2011. Christopher and Beverley started to feel unwell days into their holiday with cramping pains followed by diarrhoea.

They both had to sleep in reception on their first night at the hotel because the condition of their room was so poor, with overgrown bushes invading their balcony and a sewage smell coming from the toilet block outside their room.

On occasions they also saw ants scurrying around the hotel kitchen, cats and birds eating from dirty plates in the dining area.  The couple recalled frequently noticing some food being left out for long periods of time as well on occasions some hot food being served cold.  They also reported witnessing new servings being added to existing ones and described the food as ‘terrible.’   

Christopher, 61, of Glenfield, said: “Beverley and I were looking forward to a relaxing holiday in the sun. We had been to the same hotel before, but this was a completely different experience.

“Our room was so bad we refused to sleep in it on the first night but the hotel staff wouldn’t do anything about it and we ended up sleeping in chairs in reception. The balcony was small and overgrown with weeds and there was a foul smell coming from the toilets immediately outside our rooms on occasions. To get to the pool from our room we had to walk past the kitchen door and we saw loads of insects scurrying about.

“We also sometimes saw birds and cats eating food in the restaurant and the food on the buffet were not very nice. The food was often left out for long periods of time, the salads were not in chillers and the meals which were meant to be served hot were usually lukewarm or cold.

“Ending up in hospital is every holidaymaker’s worst nightmare.”

Beverley added: “Both of us are so relieved that our cases have settled so that we can put this behind us. It was one of the worst experiences of our lives and I really hope that Thomas Cook has learnt from our experience so that standards at the hotel are improved for other tourists in future.”