The Turkey vacation was nearly £4,000 and ended up in ruins.
A British family vacation that cost nearly £4,000 turned into a disaster when the children fell ill and a baby had to be hospitalized due to suspected food poisoning.
Holly Parkin, a resident of Dagenham in east London, traveled to Turkey with her partner, Matthew Morris, and their children Kaidan (4) and Mireya-Grace (1). Additionally, Holly's eight-year-old daughter Amelia, from a previous relationship, also joined them on the trip.
The family was ‘traumatised' by the £3,700 trip, as all of Holly's children fell ill from a suspected tummy bug and now they never want to go on holiday again.
During their all-inclusive eight-day vacation, things went downhill when Holly mentioned that her partner and kids got sick with possible food poisoning on the second day at the luxurious Granada Luxury Belek Hotel.
The hotel denies that the family fell ill due to food poisoning.
Holly, who is 27 years old, mentioned that everyone in her family, except for her, became bedridden due to diarrhea and vomiting for approximately five days. This situation was particularly distressing for Amelia and Kaidan, both of whom have autism, as they found it difficult to cope with the concern of witnessing their loved ones in such a heartbreaking state.
Holly's partner began to feel better when they returned to the UK a day earlier than expected. However, her children remained unwell for an additional 15 days and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. The youngest child received treatment through an IV drip.
Loveholidays booked the trip and apologized to the family for their experience. They have asked Holly for medical documents to support her compensation claim.
Holly mentioned she couldn't give medical proof because even though doctors suspected food poisoning, tests on the children's blood and stool didn't show conclusive results to confirm it.
Holly informed the PA news agency that they are still somewhat traumatized from the experience and have no desire to go on vacation again.
We had been saving money for it, and it felt like a holiday of a lifetime.
Holly thought the hotel was ‘great' at first, but on the second day, her partner and three children were suddenly ‘bedbound'.
She explained, “There was diarrhea, there was vomiting, there was a lot of it. I felt a little nauseous, but I didn't really get sick myself. It mostly affected my partner and our three children.”
She mentioned that her two older children, who have autism, struggle when they are sick and become very confused.
Holly mentioned that her family members consumed food from the hotel buffet before getting sick.
After her family fell ill, she declined to have food from the hotel and instead opted for ordering pizza from a nearby Domino's.
She mentioned that her family wasn't eating at all. The only option she had was to go to the store and buy them beverages and bottled water since they didn't want to drink from the hotel.
She mentioned that they were offered an additional free night, but they declined as everyone was already leaving. They were given the manager's email, but when she tried to contact them, the email bounced back as invalid.
The family's vacation was supposed to be eight days long, but Holly mentioned that they were able to return home one day earlier by paying an extra £351 because they simply wanted to come back sooner.
Holly mentioned that upon her return to the UK, she scheduled a doctor's appointment. During the appointment, she received sample bottles to test her children's stool.
Holly called for an ambulance when her baby, Mireya-Grace, developed a persistent rash. The children were then taken to Queen's Hospital in Romford. At the hospital, Mireya-Grace received an IV drip to restore her fluids.
She said that you shouldn't feel like that when you go on vacation, going from being extremely happy and excited, eagerly counting down the days, to suddenly wanting to come back home.
Loveholidays regrets to learn about Ms Parkin and her family's experience at the hotel. Unfortunately, we were not informed of their concerns during their stay, which prevented us from addressing the issue or offering assistance.
Upon learning about Ms Parkin's complaint when she returned home, we promptly initiated an investigation with the hotel and asked Ms Parkin for documentation to back up her compensation request.
Ms Parkin's claim was closed because the necessary documentation was not provided. We have contacted her to request the required documents and will continue to stay in touch during this process.
Granada Luxury Belek Hotel, on the other hand, disputed the claim that the family suffered from food poisoning and proposed alternative reasons for their illness. They mentioned possible factors such as altered eating habits, sunstroke, excessive consumption, ingestion of chlorinated pool water, and reactions to changing weather conditions.
A representative mentioned: “Our hotel is among the pioneering hotels in Turkey to be awarded a safe tourism certificate.”
Our state-accredited organizations conduct regular inspections on all of our food and beverage units and pools.
The inspection reports' results can be accessed and openly shared with any tour operators who ask for them.
Featured Image Credit: Collect/PA Real Life
