Fareham family says poo found in Mexico hotel pool left mum in hospital for five days and ruined £8,500 holiday

ENDING up in hospital because of sickness and diarrhoea is not the image conjured up when thinking of a luxury holiday to Mexico.
Malcolm McCloskey with wife Patricia and daughter Neola, 10, from FarehamMalcolm McCloskey with wife Patricia and daughter Neola, 10, from Fareham
Malcolm McCloskey with wife Patricia and daughter Neola, 10, from Fareham

But that was the reality for the McCloskey family from Fareham who spent the majority of their two-week holiday at the Riu Dunamar resort in Playas Mujeres, in their room after falling ill due to ‘faecal matter in the pool’..

Dad Malcolm said: ‘Our illness was horrific and my wife’s symptoms were so bad that she needed to go into hospital. That is simply something you should not expect to happen on a luxury family holiday.’

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Wife Patricia, 43, spent five days in hospital with medical bills running up to £4,000, which had to be paid up front but which the family have since managed to get back through holiday insurance.

Malcolm, 63, said: ‘I had to go on antibiotics after seeing the doctor and my 10-year-old daughter Neola was also really ill.

‘We spent most of our all-inclusive holiday in our room feeling awful and eating bananas.

‘When we read the hospital reports it said about faecal matter and we had seen men in white coats testing the pool and one had to be shut because a baby’s nappy had leaked. Faecal matter in the pool is disgusting.

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‘It could have been the food contributing as well because when we were out there Public Health England put out a warning on potential contaminated food. I was shocked when I talked to other holidaymakers who were also ill.’

Malcolm added: ‘When you book a trip costing £8,500 to a four or five-star hotel through an agent you would never expect something like this. They have failed in their duty of care.

‘At the hotel they were not helpful and almost made out like we had made it up and then when we got back they acted like they knew nothing about it and since admitting it did they have done nothing about it.’

The family, who booked the August holiday along with other frustrated holidaymakers who also suffered serious gastric illness during breaks at the Mexican holiday resort have now called on legal experts to help them gain answers and justice regarding the problems.

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Irwin Mitchell’s specialist International Personal Injury team has now commenced its own investigation into the issues that were raised to them including how the resort’s pool had to be cleaned after faeces were found in it.

Senior associate solicitor Jatinder Paul said: ‘We are very concerned by the first-hand accounts provided to us by our clients and are already working to develop a clearer picture regarding what they went through.

‘A case like this is a major worry as we have seen time and time again how illness problems of this nature can have a lasting impact on those affected.

‘With this in mind, we are determined to help our clients get justice in relation to their experiences and would be keen to hear from anyone else who may have also been involved.’

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Malcolm added: ‘We are all just so frustrated and upset regarding what happened and feel that we want our voices heard.

‘While nothing will change what happened to us, we now just want reassurances that the issues we faced will not be repeated in the future.’

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