A grandmother from Cramlington said her first family holiday abroad turned into the "worst experience ever" within hours of arriving, with the family left stuck in their hotel room suffering severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
Tammy Turner booked a seven-night stay at the five-star Granada Luxury Belek in Belek, Turkey, to celebrate her 50th birthday with her mum, daughter and one-year-old grandson Blake. She said: "I'd only ever been on holiday once when I was 13 to the south of France via boat so it was an experience I was really looking forward to. But it was the worst experience ever." She added: "You know, the first thing I did when I walked through my door was break down crying."
Family fell ill on second day
Grandson Blake was the first to fall unwell with sickness on the second day of the holiday, appearing lethargic and dehydrated. Tammy said Blake was taken to hospital, where doctors wanted him to remain overnight for IV treatment, blood tests and paediatric assessment. Despite having medical insurance, the family were asked to pay almost £3,000 upfront, she added. After paying some of the cost, she was advised by a holiday rep not to pay and to take Blake to a local pharmacy.
In the hours that followed, other members of the family started to become unwell with "severe vomiting and diarrhoea". Tammy said: "The following day the whole family came down with it. While I had Blake being poorly, I had my mum and my daughter violently being sick and my daughter screaming out with pains in her stomach. At one point I had to try and hold my grandson to my daughter's breast so he could feed while she was throwing up because she was so poorly."
Claims of hygiene issues and review request
Tammy believes the family became unwell after dining at the hotel or going into the swimming pool. She said: "When we did go for food at the hotel on one occasion I saw a lady with her hand in the food. I did say to her 'no, you shouldn't be doing that' and I showed her the utensil but she just looked at me rather angrily. I did then speak to the chef and I tried to explain to him but he just laughed and walked off, which I think was down to a communication barrier." She added: "I then approached one of the more senior members of staff but he just put the lid down [on that tray] and walked away."
She also noted: "The only areas my grandson had been in were the dining area and the swimming pool. There were stray cats coming in and out of the dining room. We went in the swimming pool for about 10 minutes."
Tammy claims the hotel said there had been a seasonal bug going around at the time of their stay. She also claims that when she spoke to staff at the hotel reception, she was told they would wash their clothes for them if they didn't write a negative review about the hotel. She said: "I said to them that I've found a post on the internet [of people experiencing sickness during their stay] and I've put my comment on that with everybody else and they got me to delete it. Because I had mentioned that we had no clothes because everyone was being sick and going through their clothes, they said if you delete that post we'll do your washing."
Tour operator response
A spokesperson for loveholidays, the company Tammy booked her holiday through, said: "We are very sorry that Ms Turner and her family’s experience at their hotel in Turkey fell short of our usual high standards, and we are investigating the issues raised as a matter of urgency. We have been in touch with Ms Turner to offer our apologies and will remain in contact with her whilst we work towards a satisfactory resolution."
Granada Luxury Belek was contacted for a comment.
