My dream five-star Tui holiday turned into a nightmare when I was struck down with horrific ‘mystery illness’
A DAD’S dream five star Tui holiday turned into hell when he was struck down with a horrific “mystery illness”.
Liam Garnett was placed on a drip after being hit with suspected gastroenteritis while holidaying with his family over Easter.
The man from Oldham, was left suffering in hospital after what he claims was a food poisoning outbreak at a five-star hotel in Turkey, according to Manchester Evening News.
The 37-year-old was was on holiday with his partner Gabrielle, 30, and his two kids when he fell ill.
He claims his two children aged four and six also suffered from horrific symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting and one is still off school because of their sickness.
When Liam returned home from the nightmare trip, he needed further treatment and underwent tests including abdomen and chest x-rays.
The dad-of-two is now among dozens of holidaymakers allegedly taking legal action against TUI for the horror stay at the Rixos Sungate Hotel.
Liam said the family booked the holiday as they were hoping for a relaxing break from the stresses of work life and decided to stay at the 1,076-room resort in sunny Turkey.
The Rixos Sungate Hotel also boasts a water park and 12 swimming pools but the dream holiday soon turned into living hell when the family were struck down with the “mystery illness”.
Liam claims they saw food served uncovered at the resort, with cutlery and tables often left unwiped and dirty.
He also claims he saw cats in the restaurants and chefs smoking around the fire exits without washing their hands afterwards.
The man from Manchester said: “It’s been a nightmare.”
He arrived during the night last month and went straight to the 24-hour buffet.
A few days later, he began feeling unwell before coming down with stomach cramps, chills and vomiting.
He added: “I couldn’t leave my bed. I couldn’t eat anything. I got room service to get something in me but I couldn’t eat it.
“I’m gutted. I’ve never been so poorly.”
But even though Liam is back home, he claims to still be suffering from his prolonged symptoms following the illness.
Liam and his family stayed at the Turkey resort for two weeks, and a spokesperson from Tui said they were “concerned” to hear that customers staying at the hotel had been falling ill during the last month.
But they added as Liam Garnett and his family had now brought legal action, they were unable to comment on their specific case.
They said: “We were very concerned to hear of small number cases at Rixos Sungate in Turkey, as the health and safety of our customers is our highest priority.
“Our team at resort are in close contact with our guests and offering support where necessary.
“Our health and safety team are investigating in close collaboration with the hotel and we will remain in frequent contact with our guests.
“We’d like to reassure all customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene. As this is now a legal matter, we are unable to comment on the specific cases.”
This comes after more than 25 other tourists were left bedbound with suspected food poisoning after staying at the five-star Tui hotel.
They were originally told the weather was to blame for the violent sickness sweeping through the all-inclusive resort.
Holidaymakers were reportedly living off a banana a day after being too scared to eat at the 24-hour buffet, or too ill to eat at all.
They were also told they would be charged if they wanted to transfer to a separate hotel.