Golden Wedding Anniversary And 70th Birthday Break To Riu Merengue Ruined

A father and his two daughters who suffered severe gastric illness at the ClubHotel Riu Merengue resort in the Dominican Republic has instructed expert lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of the illness after a golden wedding anniversary and 70th birthday break was ruined.

Adrian Race and his children, from Ware, Hertfordshire, fell ill four days into the two-week holiday, suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting, shakes and fever. The father-of-two was unable to drink very much and could not leave the resort.

He went to A&E on his return to the UK in February after he began suffering with stomach cramps at work. There he was attached to an intravenous drip and had blood and urine tests. He had to take two weeks off work as a scaffolder and lost two stone in weight.

Adrian has now instructed expert International Personal Injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of his illness at the four-star resort in Bahia de Maimón, Puerto Plata.

The 47-year-old was on holiday from February 11 to 26 with wife Lisa, also 47, and the couple’s two children 12 and 15 to celebrate his in-law’s 50th wedding anniversary and mother-in-law’s 70th birthday, when he and his children began to fall ill.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist holiday illness lawyers, who have vast experience from helping thousands of victims of illness outbreaks across the world to gain answers and access vital financial support to aid their recovery, have now begun their own investigations into the reported problems at the resort.

In 2013 106 holidaymakers successfully took action against the tour operator TUI UK Ltd after their holidays were ruined by gastric illness between May and June 2013. Irwin Mitchell recovered over £150,000 for the holidaymakers after investigating complaints to include the pool at the hotel being closed due to faecal matter being found in the water. Some guests even reported witnessing people urinating and defecating in communal areas.

Expert Opinion

"The illness Adrian and his children suffered during and after their trip to the Dominican Republic has obviously been extremely difficult for them to deal with. The symptoms continue to impact Adrian who was off work for a few weeks and he is keen to find out exactly how he and his family came to fall ill.

“This was supposed to be a celebratory holiday and the last thing the Race family expected when they booked the break was to miss most of it due to illness.

“Adrian has told us of a number of hygiene concerns he had about the resort and we have begun an investigation into what caused the families illness.

“We would urge anyone else who suffered with illness or has similar concerns during their stay to contact us as they may be able to help with our investigations.” Elizabeth Tetzner - Partner

Adrian said: “The hotel was not what you’d expect from a four-star resort. On occasions the food tasted out of date and food was often left uncovered for a significant period of time during the sitting. There were often lots of flies in the restaurant and on a number of occasions we saw cockroaches running across the floor of the restaurant. In addition, there were times when birds were seen pecking at food off the tables.

“Golden wedding anniversaries and 70th birthdays are major life milestones and we had been looking forward to an amazing double family celebration, but ended up just wanting the holiday to be over so we could go home and recover.

"It was a nightmare and ruined the whole holiday.”

Three months on, Adrian continues to suffer from an altered bowel habit, stomach cramps and lethargy.

Adrian said the hotel swimming pool was very dirty and murky and on one occasion was closed suddenly without explanation. The hotel toilets were unhygienic.

Adrian described how on a number of occasions they had faeces smeared across the toilet seats.

He said: "My family and I had been really looking forward to the holiday but it was spoilt by the illness suffered. I just want to know what caused the illness.”