Bristol Family Suffered Gastric Illness At Island Blue Hotel, Pefkos

A family of four from Bristol who all suffered gastric illness while on holiday at a four-star Greek hotel have instructed expert travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of their illness amid concerns that other holidaymakers had also suffered illness and that there had been illness present at the hotel before their arrival.

Alan and Susan Rimmer booked a week-long stay at the Island Blue hotel, in Pefkos, Greece in July 2014 with their two sons with Tour operator TUI UK Ltd.

During the holiday Alan, 63, and Susan, 57, as well as their sons began to suffer with symptoms, including diarrhoea, vomiting and lethargy, which meant they were unable to fully enjoy the facilities on offer in the hotel.

Both Alan and Susan continued to suffer with the symptoms on their return home to the UK with Susan’s illness continuing for almost two months, while Alan is still suffering with the effects of his illness more than a year after their holiday.

Expert travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have also been instructed by another family of eight who stayed at the Island Blue hotel in August 2014 for a wedding; the majority of whom also suffered similar gastric symptoms to Alan, Susan and their sons.

Clare Pearson, an expert travel lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the two families, said:

Expert Opinion

“We hope that TUI will provide our clients with the answers they are clearly seeking about the cause of their illness to allow them to move on and put the experience behind them.

“The effects of gastric illness can be long-lasting for holidaymakers, such as Alan, who is continuing to experience symptoms a year after his holiday.

“We would urge anyone else who suffered similar issues to come forward and provide us with further information about their experiences as they may be able to help with our enquiries.” Clare Pearson - Legal Executive & Associate

Alan, 63, a retired administration manager, said: “It is a real shame that my family and I became so ill on holiday. All four of us were affected and I still don’t feel like I’ve made a full recovery even a year later.

“Some of the food served for breakfast was not very hot and there were flies landing on the food. Some of the public toilets in the hotel had no soap available so guests could wash their hands properly.

“The holiday should have been a fantastic time for us but it was spoilt by the terrible symptoms we suffered. We would never have travelled to the hotel if we had have known that there was illness affecting guests at the hotel and we feel let down that we were never informed.

“We now want to make sure what happened to us at the hotel doesn’t happen to anyone else so we’re hoping to get answers about what caused our illness   so other people don’t have to go through what we have.”