Cyprus hotel defends itself against sickness claim
A Cyprus hotel featured by First Choice has denied liability for the illness of a family in a case being investigated by law firm Irwin Mitchell.
Owners of the Holiday Village Aliathon say that during the time the family was staying with them, there were around 900 guests and staff in the hotel, using the pool and facilities, and there were no other reports of sickness.
In a statement, the hotels owners said: "We are sorry that members of the Sanders family were ill on holiday at our holiday village Aliathon in Cyprus, however we do not accept liability for their illness.
"The family arrived at our hotel late in the evening on May 13 2015 and the following day it was reported in our restaurant log book that a member of the family was sick and wished to eat in their room.
"A member of the family also reported to the First Choice representatives on May 24 that a child in the party had been ill with the same symptoms before they had arrived at the hotel.
"During the time the Sanders family were with us, approximately 900 guests and members of our staff and TUI UK staff were also using our facilities and pools on a daily basis and we had no other reports of sickness. If there was any issue with the facilities, we would have had more complaints or outbreaks reported.
"It is of top priority for us to offer enjoyable and safe holidays to our guests and therefore we have in place policies, practices and quality management systems in order to ensure that our guests receive a high level of services in every aspect of their holiday.
"These procedures are strictly followed by us and full records are kept. In addition, internal and external audits (from both the Cypriot Authorities and from Health & Safety Auditors) are carried out in order to make sure that all necessary procedures are followed.
"This matter has now been passed onto our legal advisors and all necessary legal actions will be taken from our side in order to protect the reputation of our holiday village Aliathon and our partners."
Earlier this week, law firm Irwin Mitchell reported it had taken on the case of 11 members of the Sanders family who claim they suffered serious gastric illness at the Cyprus resort.
Jason and Sadie Sanders claim seven of their party – including three children – were taken to hospital.
At that time, First Choice parent TUI issued a statement which said: "We are sorry to hear of the Sanders family’s experience at the Holiday Village Aliathon earlier this year.
"First Choice closely audits all resorts to which we operate to ensure that health, hygiene and comfort levels are maintained in line with industry standards.
"As this case is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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