Thomas Cook stands by hotel despite Salmonella case
Thomas Cook has pledged continued support for a four-star hotel in Turkey despite investigations into illnesses there.
It says it is confident that guests due to stay at the Hotel Marmaris Palace in Dalaman will experience ‘the excellent levels of quality and standards they would expect from Thomas Cook’, even though dozens of guests have reported falling ill, one diagnosed with Salmonella.
In the latest incident, a family of five from Barrow-in-Furness became ill after staying at the hotel in June this year.
Cheryll Jordan, 45, her husband Ian, 46, and their seven-year-old son Lewis, seven, started to suffer sickness, diarrhoea and abdominal pains a few days into the trip.
They claim they were forced to spend a lot of their 10-day holiday in their hotel room and were still suffering symptoms four months later.
Mr Jordan tested positive for Salmonella and had to take a week off work.
After reading reports in the press that as many as 25 children had been hospitalised and placed on intravenous drips over the summer due to falling ill at the same resort, the Jordans have instructed expert illness lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the incident.
According to Irwin Mitchell, the family reported that some of the meals, such as omelettes and scrambled egg, were served undercooked and runny.
"Some of the food was lukewarm rather than hot and fresh food on occasion was placed on top of old food. Sometimes the table linen and crockery were also found to be dirty with remains of food still evident on them," it said.
Jennifer Downing, an international personal injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell, added: "We have seen on numerous occasions the severe impact Salmonella can have on victims in the short and longer-term, as it can often lead to the development of long-standing health conditions, from which they may never fully recover.
"We are now investigating the cause of the illness and hope that tour operator Thomas Cook will work with us as we seek the answers to our clients’ concerns."
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: "Thomas Cook takes health and hygiene issues very seriously and maintaining the safety of our customers is our number one priority.
"We confirm that the Jordan family reported falling ill while on holiday in June 2014 at the Hotel Marmaris Palace in Dalaman, Turkey. We would like to assure customers that incidents of this type are rare, and Thomas Cook operates both a quality assurance programme and routinely undertakes independent third party audits to ensure that the very highest hygiene standards are maintained."
"However, we are aware that Mr and Mrs Jordan have approached a law firm to act as their legal representative. While our investigation into the illness continues, we are unable to provide further comment so as not to unduly influence any potential legal proceedings."
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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