A grandmother has described a family holiday in Turkey as "the worst experience ever" after they all fell ill with a sickness bug during a seven-night stay at a five-star hotel.
Tammy Turner, from Cramlington, Northumberland, said she "broke down crying" when she returned home with her family. She had booked the trip to celebrate her 50th birthday with her mum, daughter and one-year-old grandson, but the holiday was marred by illness, with her grandson needing hospital treatment.
Tammy said the family spent most of their holiday confined to their hotel room with severe vomiting and diarrhoea. She claims the hotel told them a seasonal bug was going around at the time of their stay.
Family falls ill during holiday
"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," Tammy told Chronicle Live. "You know, the first thing I did when I walked through my door was break down crying."
Tammy believes they became unwell after dining at the hotel or using the swimming pool. She claims that when she spoke to staff at reception, she was told they would wash the family's clothes if they did not 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."
Grandson hospitalised with dehydration
Blake, her grandson, was the first to become sick 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 a paediatric assessment.
Despite having medical insurance, the family was asked to pay almost £3,000 upfront. After paying some of the cost, Tammy says a holiday rep advised her not to give any more. In the hours that followed, other family members began to feel 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."
Hotel response and investigation
Reflecting on how the family may have fallen ill, Tammy 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. 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 added: "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."
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."
