A man’s £2,500 ‘trip of a lifetime’ after he fell ill and ended up ‘bleeding on the loo’.
Jamie Foy went on holiday to a five-star resort in Cape Verde with his partner, Leanne Lynch, on 12 December last year.
He’d been surprised with the TUI trip for his 40th birthday but soon ended up with worries before they even arrived.
"When I found out I Googled the place and news articles started coming up about people going to Cape Verde and getting ill,” the dad explained.
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"I asked my local travel provider about this and they asked TUI and TUI said it was a load of nonsense. Then I ended up ill and it ruined the holiday.”
The Scot said he’d eaten exclusively in the main buffet restaurant for the first three days after arriving on the Thursday night, before beginning to experience sharp stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
“Every time I ate I was in pain,” Jamie said. "It was a sharp pain like someone was poking my belly with a needle, sharp cramps and I felt my belly churning.”
By the Sunday night, he had ‘cold sweats and was shivering uncontrollably.'
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“On Tuesday night my missus had booked me a private dinner on the beach for my birthday,” he said.
"I ate three chips as my stomach wasn't up for it. It was a three-hour dining experience and I went to the toilet eight times.”
Jamie says the holiday ‘was ruined’ by this point and he was starting to get worried.
"On Wednesday, I started passing blood. I was going to the toilet 20 or 30 times a day,” he added.
The plasterer went to visit the on-site doctor as his illness continued, who claimed he had contracted gastroenteritis and was prescribed antibiotics, probiotics and electrolytes.
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But having returned to the UK, Jamie spoke to a doctor and nurse who said, while ‘it was too late to tell’ as he had begun felling better, ‘they thought it was shigella’.
Shigella is an infection of the bowel that can cause diarrhoea. It is typically spread if someone with it doesn’t wash their hands after going to the toilet and then touches food, surfaces or another person. Infection can then occur through eating any food contaminated with the bacteria.
"[In the hotel] I noticed how many people weren't washing their hands. It could have been caused by poor food hygiene,” Jamie claimed.
"The dinner halls are all buffet styles and I didn't see one single bottle of sanitizer.
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"As soon as people left their table it was given a quick wipe ready for the next person to use."
The man says that after returning home, he reached out to TUI individually and through a local travel provider that Leanne had booked the holiday through.
But following back-and-forth emails, Jamie claims TUI won’t take responsibility due to a lack of ‘pathological evidence' and not being able to provide stool samples.
"TUI's response has annoyed me. It's my first TUI holiday and my last. I have never been this ill on holiday and I've never complained before,” he said.
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"What annoys me more is I raised my concerns about being ill [because of other news articles I had seen] and was told by TUI it was a load of rubbish."
A hotel spokesperson said the health and safety of their guests is their 'highest priority' and they follow strict health and safety protocols and regulations at the resort.
They also said they work closely with local health authorities to ensure a safe environment for both their guests and employees is maintained to prevent health issues.
A TUI UK&I spokesman said: "Our priority is to ensure customers have the best possible holiday experience, which is why we were very sorry to hear that Mr Foy was ill during his holiday to Cape Verde.
"As this is now a legal matter, we are unable to comment any further at this time."
Topics: Health, Holiday, Travel, Food And Drink, UK News
Jess Battison