Brit family left unwell after trip to five-star Mexican hotel
A British family claim they were left bedridden and suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea when they became ill while on holiday in Mexico.
Six relatives from Shardlow, Derbyshire, had been staying at the Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Resort and Spa in Cancún when they became ill back in July.Some members of the family are said to be suffering still from the effects of the illness weeks after arriving back in the UK.
Katie and Ashley Richards travelled to the resort with their daughter to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary, and they were later joined on the two-week trip by other loved ones.
However, Katie, a nurse, began to feel unwell just six days into their trip, suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea.
Within three days, Ashley, 34, their daughter Ruby, six, and a nephew also fell ill with Ashley being bed bound for three days.
Katie, 33, said: “When we landed in Mexico, we were looking forward to two weeks of sun and relaxation.
"Ashley and I had honeymooned in the Riviera Maya area, and we had such a fantastic time back then that we agreed to bring our daughter on holiday on our ten-year anniversary.
"Sadly, our trip was nothing like that. Instead, most of us spent most of the second week unwell.“I recall some of the food, including chicken, appeared undercooked and was served lukewarm.
"New food was added on top of the existing buffet and some items were totally dried out and inedible.
"I also noticed that salad, yoghurts and cottage cheese weren’t kept chilled, and the cutlery and crockery were often dirty or stained.
"We also saw a lot of flies around the food, as well as cats, birds and raccoons hanging around."I even found a maggot in the salad one evening. It’s really not the standard you expect from a five-star hotel."The family returned to the UK on August 3 but both Katie and Ashley's symptoms have continued and they've been forced to go to see their local GP.
Katie's parents, Alison Whitmore, 60, and Philip Whitmore, 61, also fell ill during the holiday.The pair have also been to see their doctor, with Philip testing positive for cyclospora, a pathogen contracted by drinking unclean water or eating food that hasn't been cooked properly or washed with clean water.
Philip said: “I was shocked when I was told by the doctor that I had cyclospora and learned about how it can be contracted."Being a retired chef with 40 years of professional catering experience, I did notice some concerning issues around food hygiene as the holiday went on, but I never thought that most of my family would become so unwell.”The family has now instructed lawyers to investigate the resort to try to find answers as to why they got so ill, what the cause was and who was the blame.Sirenis Hotels, which owns the Grand Sirenis Riviera Maya Resort and Spa, has not responded to requests for comment.