Father Claims he saw 'Yellow Scum' Floating on Top of Hotel Swimming Pool

Children as young as 10 months old were treated for gastric illness after falling ill at a luxury Spanish resort, Arenal D'en Castell in Menorca, according to press reports today.

One father told the Mirror newspaper how he and his family returned from their two-week break a week early after his young daughter ended up on an IV drip in hospital.

Kevin Kiernan, from Cardiff, booked into the 180-bedroom hotel with his partner Sarah and 10-month-old daughter Keira, travelling as a group of ten with other friends and family, however, after they arrived at the hotel, Kevin said the cot the First Choice-run hotel provided was filthy.

It has been reported that waitresses at the resort restaurant failed to wipe down high chairs between sittings, instead leaving them outside for the birds to scavenge crumbs from. The 28-year-old said he also saw “yellow scum” floating on the pool’s surface.

He told the Mirror: "It was near the edge of the deep end of the pool and we had not been down there as we had a blow-up paddling pool which we had filled with some of the pool water for our daughter, but it looked very unhygienic and yellowy so I took a picture and showed the reps to try and get them to shut and clean the pool. But they weren’t interested.”

The following day little Keira was vomiting and she was rushed to hospital by taxi where Kevin said they were soon joined by other families from the resort with sick children.

“They were put on drips and then more and more families came in. They all said they had been told by the reps in the hotel that their children were an isolated case but I do not understand how they could be as my daughter and other children were already in hospital.”

He said the hospital then took a stool sample but refused to disclose the results to them but said they would pass the findings to their tour operator instead.

After returning to the UK 10 days ago [May 14], and having Keira checked out at his local hospital, Kevin contacted First Choice who offered him a £50 travel voucher for his family’s ordeal.

He said: “It was a complete kick in the teeth and a disaster from start to finish. I have never experienced such appalling customer service.”

Jatinder Paul, an Associate Solicitor and expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Expert Opinion

The reports we have read from Kevin are very worrying. Appropriate standards of hygiene in the swimming pools of hotels are crucial if infections and illness are to be prevented. <br/> <br/>“I hope TUI, who own the First Choice brand, are working quickly to resolve the problem. Giving out holiday vouchers to those affected simply is not good enough as we have first-hand experience of our clients being offered derisory vouchers by tour operators but then recovering significantly more in compensation. I would now expect to see appropriate measures in place to avoid this happening again. Jatinder Paul - Partner