£6,000 holiday to Turkey turned to disaster with gastric illness

A dream four-star holiday to Turkey which cost £6,000 turned into a disaster when holidaymakers battled severe gastric illness with IV drips in their arms.

Brits staying at the Holiday Village Hotel in Sarigerme said they all suffered from sickness and diarrhoea while on holiday.

One shockingly claimed he heard reports from hotel staff there were faeces and vomit in the swimming pool.

Melissa Davidson and Paige Pottinger, both 32, decided to take their families to the resort in May this year, after previously meeting on holiday in 2022.

But Paige's son Oakley, seven, quickly became ill with sickness and diarrhoea and was followed by his father Michael, 41, and brother Roman, three.

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Paige, from Norwich, Norfolk, then fell ill alongside her son Noah, four, who was placed on an IV drip.

The rest of the family started to recover after several days, but Paige remained ill and visited her GP with severe stomach pain when she arrived back to the UK.

Tests came back clear but Paige was forced to take a few days off work until her symptoms began to improve.

She said: 'We'd been planning this trip for some time and to bring our families together for one big joint holiday.

'It was supposed to be a great time for us all to catch up and for the kids to have a fun time together.

'This trip cost us a lot of time to organise, not to mention the cost and none of us expected to have the holiday from hell in return.

'All of us were so ill, but myself and Noah seemed to get the worst of it.

'It's awful to see your children so ill, and to try and comfort them when they're being placed on drips is heartbreaking.

'Not least when you're so ill yourself.

'Nothing can make up for what we all went through, but given the numbers of people who were ill, we deserve some answers and assurances.'

NHS worker Melissa and her two children Logan, 13, and Bella, six, began to fall ill with severe sickness and diarrhoea just three days into the holiday.

They all had to visit a local clinic and pay for IV drips but Melissa says she has 'never felt so ill.'

Melissa, of Exeter, Devon, said: 'This trip was one Paige and I had been planning for a while.

'We were really looking forward to getting our families together for a fun time abroad and I still can't believe the way things turned out.

'I've never felt so ill and it was shocking to see all the children become so sick as well.

'You feel so helpless in that situation and you just naturally begin to think terrible thoughts.'

The families, who paid £6,000 altogether for the trip, have said the hotel complex looked in a poor state of repair, with dirty upholstery and a general lack of cleaning.

They say staff added new food poured on top of existing ones in the buffet areas, without rotation, and that it was commonly left out for long periods of time.

Melissa said: 'I was just glad for all of us to get home. It all could have been much, worse.

'Now safely home, Paige and I want answers about what happened to us and our families.

'I'm sure other people were sick too and I think we need to hear what is being done to prevent this happening to other families in the future.'

Ryan Charlesworth, 39, paid £2,782 for a week-long stay at the hotel with wife Toni, 36.

But just a couple of days into his holiday, Ryan started suffering from a high temperature, aches and pains and headaches.

This developed into severe diarrhoea, with blood in his poo and delirium and when he returned to the UK last month, he was admitted to hospital.

The self-employed carpenter was diagnosed with gastroenteritis, which doctors believe was as a result of salmonella, and his liver and kidneys were also inflamed.

He claims he heard reports from hotel staff that there was poo and vomit in the swimming pool.

Ryan said: 'This was meant to be our annual relaxing break in the sun.

'By the end of it, I started to wonder if I'd make it through.

'This is the worst illness I've experienced and when Toni saw how ill I was in resort, the doctor was called in twice.

'I'm told I was delirious at that point and all I remember was the sickness and the pain.

'I was determined to make it home and somehow survived the flight but I knew I was far from right.'

Ryan, of Sidcup, Kent, feels he should have been 'warned in advance' that several other people were sick after staying in the hotel earlier in the year.

He said: 'I know I'm not the only person to have fallen ill at this hotel and we understand several others were sick earlier in the year.

'If there were issues that were known about I feel we had a right to be warned in advance.'

Jatinder Paul, an expert international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell said: 'The first-hand accounts we've heard from the families regarding their holidays at this hotel in Turkey are deeply disturbing.

'Particularly given the significant history of claims over the last 15 or so years.

'Worryingly, the latest reports of illness and substandard hygiene at the hotel appears to show history repeating itself once again.

'Gastric illnesses, particularly bacterial infections such as Salmonella, can lead to very serious long-term health complications and their impact should never be downplayed.

'While it's too late for these families, understandably they still want answers on how they all came to fall so ill.

'We're committed to providing them with the answers they deserve.

'If during the course of our investigations any issues are identified, action must be taken to ensure other holidaymakers don't continue to have the same experiences in future.

'As part of our investigations, we'd be interested in hearing from other guests who fell ill while staying at the same hotel as this group.'

TUI have been contacted for a comment.