To expect goodwill gesture from hotel after food poisoning on honeymoon?

[1Wanda1]

DW and I are currently on honeymoon. We chose to book a few days at a hotel at which the restaurant is highly regarded for its fish and seafood cooking. We both work hard and it’s rare for us to have time alone together to relax properly so we were really looking forward to our honeymoon.

Last night DW had oysters at dinner, in the hotel restaurant. She was then violently ill all night and we have been unable to leave the hotel room today as she’s still so ill. I reported the matter to the general manager this morning and spoke to her about it. She was sympathetic but offered no reparation for what has happened, saying simply that “everyone knows that eating fresh oysters is a risk. 40% of all oysters carry norovirus no matter where they come from and ours were fresh.” I did not know that oysters carry norovirus and the menu carried no warning that you have a 40% chance of consuming norovirus if you eat them. GM suggested that if we wanted to leave early, the hotel would not charge us for the unused nights, though recognised not practical to travel in DW’s current state.

DW and have lost a day (hopefully it will be only a day and not more) of our short honeymoon, which we can never get back. The hotel is expensive. AIBU to expect some sort of goodwill gesture for this?

With oysters, it’s a risk you take. It would be different if it was food that the hotel had prepared. Sympathies, though - it sounds awful. Hope she gets better soon.

It is less common to get an abjectly apologetic response now. Apparently we British are notorious for pulling the food poisoning card and most hotels in Spain etc, routinely ignore or fight back, legally!

And she was right. NHS advice is it will last for a couple of days, stay hydrated www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/winter-vomiting-virus-found-in-most-oysters/

Oh how awful Norovirus usually takes a day or two to become symptomatic after infection so it may be difficult to prove the sickness came from the oysters and not an alternative source. I have never had oysters nor even ate in a restaurant that serve them, but I know that they are high risk for causing sickness. Horrible, dirty, things - I have never understood the appeal.

It certainly would have been fair for her to refund the meal, but I don't think there is actually much you can do unfortunately

Oh dear. I didn't realise that either. Altho I agree that eating raw seafood especially abroad seems a huge risk. I hope she is feeling much better soon but I don't think the restaurant owe you a gesture as they'd potentially have to do that with 40% of the people who eat oysters there!

Well if there is a 40% chance of ANY oyster making you ill then you don't need to eat many to virtually guarantee being ill...
40% chance with one oyster.
64% chance with 2
78% chance with 3
87% chance with 4
92% chance with 5
95% chance with 6
(How many oysters in a serving???)
If there are 10 then there is a 99.4% chance of getting a dodgy oyster! Only a 0.6% chance of none of them carrying the bug...
So you can eat 10 oysters 1,000 times and will be ill 994 of them!
(I don't like them anyway)

Hope she feels better soon.

Surely the statistics don't pan out like that with increased consumption?

< disclaimer - statistics not my forte >

No, the probability would stay at 40% no matter how many oysters you ate. Eating a second oyster doesn't increase it's chance of poisoning you.

If there are 10 then there is a 99.4% chance of getting a dodgy oyster! Only a 0.6% chance of none of them carrying the bug...

That isn't how that works. And there is NOT a 40% chance of getting noro from any oyster, thats rubbish. If they are grade A, properly tested and purified, then your chance of getting sick is miniscule.

more people get sick from unpasteurised cheese and barbeques than from shellfish.

whilst unfortunate it is a risk you take
hope she feels better soon

Did your wife drink alcohol with the oysters. If so could well be a common allergic reaction and not the restaurants fault.

I have had the reaction and it is seriously unpleasant. Hope she feels better soon.

If 40% of all oysters carry a virus (which seems unlikely anyway) that means 4 in 10 of all oysters in the world. It does not mean that if you eat 10 that exactly 4 of them will always carry a virus

A majority of British grown oysters do I believe carry norovirus. However, the levels can be very low, and you may not develop the bug from eating them. Eating raw seafood does carry a risk though. This isn't food poisoning through poor hygiene practice by the hotel. Horrible for you both though.

I had no idea oysters had norovirus either. Why the fuck would they put oysters on the menu if they are hoaching with disease carry noro?

Yep, alcohol and oysters does it to me too, even one glass of fizz and I am horrendously ill! its a risk you take unfortunately. My husband had an unfortunate incident while in Rome last year.......however, we can laugh about it now! hopefully she feels better soon!

Because people like them and the risk of getting ill is low. But not zero. There is also a risk from raw veg.

Thank god others cam to correct that statistical nightmare

40% carry the virus, not all that carry it will cause illness. Just as we carry bacteria that could cause septicaemia, but very few ever develop it.

Not sure how it must be bad hygiene on behalf of the hotel... it's just as likely to be bad luck!

What’s the thing with oysters and alcohol - is it a thing? That’s my favourite combination. Although I do have an iron constitution. I eat oysters regularly (I know I sound like a knob, but a bar near my work does them for £1 each on Fridays, so I go for six oysters and a glass of wine most weeks ). I’ve never been ill yet. I don’t think that 40% statistic is right.

If you can prove it's food poisoning then Es I'd expect compensation however it's v unlikely to be.
More likely to be a virus either on the oyster ot picked up anywhere.
Proving one way the other is so difficult. The only way is to get a stool sample tested . Even then proving where the poisoning if it is that occurred is a joke.
Hope she's better soon

Ew, I had no idea oysters were so revoluting germ-ridden.

So sorry this is wrecking your break, OP. I hope your wife feels much better soon.

Shell fish allergies / intolerance is pretty common - people often dont' realise that they have it until they eat oysters

That said, it's a shame that the hotel weren't more sympathetic

What goodwill gesture did you have in mind, though?

AIBU to expect some sort of goodwill gesture for this?

The hotel have said they won't charge you for any unused nights if you leave early. What kind of gesture did you have in mind?

To be honest, any money-back at this point (which I assume is what you mean) won't change your DW's health or your honeymoon, so I'd just focus on enjoying as much of it as you can.

In fairness, the hotel apparently haven't done anything wrong, assuming the oysters were fresh and stored properly.

Warning on the menu, possibly, but I doubt they are required to do so.

The difficulty is, that it can take weeks for some types of food poisoning to become symptomatic. As likely as it seems that the issue came from the oysters, you really have no way of proving that.

Oh, and yes, I would expect a fancypants hotel to offer something as a goodwill gesture, if only a bottle of champagne for you both to take home with you and enjoy when your DW felt a bit better.

I've been v ill the last couple of times I've had oysters. It's not the restaurant's fault.

Spirits exacerbate the likelihood of them making you ill.

Given that neither of us slept after 2am last night, and the GM agreed that the oysters were almost certainly the cause, I would expect the cost of last night here refunded. We are in England, not abroad, and this is a very high-end hotel. I could not take DW home today or probably tomorrow either,given the state she is in, so we have no option but to stay here at considerable cost. Which would be fine if we were out and about doing what we intended on honeymoon but not confined to the floor of the bathroom.

To make matters worse, I've just started with diarrhoea myself. It seems you can also catch norovirus from someone who has eaten a grotty oyster.