AIBU to wanting to claim for some of our money back?

[rosesarebeutiful]

We went away for a full 10 days, me Dh & 3 children. After 2 days the children all fell ill one after the other and were having to have blood tests, painkillers through IV and one of the kids had a bacterial infection so was put in antibiotics, which were taken through IV twice then changed to oral. After the initial 2-3 days we unable to enjoy the resort, having to order food from outside. Really bad sewer smell from the lead up to our room which I spoke to hotel about and they said they would change our room but it will be near the same location. Shower/toilet sliding doors which actually don’t stay shut! All in it was a horrible holiday and the kids are still unwell we got back yesterday, still suffering from really high temperatures, no energy!

we spent £5k on this holiday and I am absolutely fuming that all we were able to do was sit in our room and not be able to enjoy it as my kids health comes first.

If it’s claimable I have travel insurance can anyone guide me how to do this?

Contact your insurer would be the first step

If you have travel insurance you will be able to claim for the medical costs, but not sure they compensate you for the lack of enjoyment due to illness.

The other issues are with the hotel really.

I'm sorry you had a rubbish holiday.

Did you report it all to the reps? You won’t be able to prove the illness was caused by the hotel but might get a little something for the room.

Travel insurance does not cover you for compensation for loss of enjoyment or for parts of your holiday that were not delivered. If you have outstanding medical expenses and have a medical report make a claim. You’d need to take the rest up with the travel company. Did you complain in resort ?

We did complain to the resort. I have since departing received a email from the resort stating they are extremely sorry for the standards, kids illness etc. They offered if we choose to go again they will give us a VIP room, we will be able to use theyre a La carte restaurants unlimited instead of the once per stay (4 restaurants).

I will email both the travel insurance and travel company.

Was it a package? If so, which company?

Yes, Love Holidays.

the hotel had sever damp in our room, sewer smell on one side of the hotel (side we was on) asked them to move us however they said they can but the room will be in the same side! Bedding had not been changed the whole 10 days we were there! From reviews etc the rooms have towel art etc, we didn’t have any of that not even on arrival. Severe racism (which we read before going here) its a country in Africa however only like to swerve towards Eastern European. I highlighted this to the hotel and restaurant, as they would VERY RARELY come and ask our drink order.

im extremely disappointed

Unfortunately, Love Holidays is not strictly speaking a package tour company, so is not covered by the package tour regulations. Also, it's not a member of ABTA, so you have redress there.

I'm not in the industry, & don't know what to suggest.
Perhaps someone else might have some ideas.

Have you been to Cape Verde? If so there is a group on Facebook full of people that have faced illness during their stay that may be able help with claiming some money back.

How old are the children and what sort of illness was it?

There is a massive lawsuit by hundreds of people that stayed at the RIU hotels in Cape Verde. Sounds very similar to hundreds of these cases. One British woman actually died there recently. I believe it is Irwin Mitchell that is collecting the cases so they maybe able to help but I have no experience with them. If you google it the info instantly comes up. We ended up paying to move our holiday when finding all this out.

I'd call your travel insurer if you have medical expenses to claim, my little boy got really ill in the US and we called them whilst on holiday, when we were there, they were so helpful, explained what they'd be able to do and when to refer back to them (they were able to pay for medical treatment out there but we had to call them before agreeing it with the doctor, rather than us paying for it and getting the money back). They also explained they'd be able to provide free/paid for hotel stay for 1 parent if our child was too sick to fly home, but they wouldn't pay for 2nd child and parent to stay. This meant we knew where we stood and what we could claim for. They confirmed they wouldn't pay for our lost enjoyment of the trip, only the cost of care, a parent staying and any medical requirements or for a different flight home. Ring your insurer and they'll talk you through it and see if anything you had to pay for is able to be claimed back. If it ever happens again I'd recommend speaking to them at the time, they have 24 hour helplines normally. Love holidays aren't a package holiday company, they just book your transport and accomodation for you, so doubt they'll help but you never know, I'd also write another complaint email to the hotel, if you infer you'll leave bad reviews everywhere, they might be able to refund you something instead of offering a return visit. However, people can get ill anywhere, and it's unlikely you'll be able to prove it's the resort unless you've medical evidence. Sadly, this all might be one of those things you have to just put down to a bad experience, not go there again.

What were the diagnoses? Did you advise your insurers during the hospitalisations and what did they say?

Were you cleared medically to travel home despite the high temperatures that you say they are still suffering from?

I am a travel insurer by trade. You certainly should be able to claim for any medical costs incurred under your travel insurance policy. In terms of the smell, damp and other issues, I do not think you will be able to make a claim. However, as you purchased the holiday as a package you may be able to take action against the holiday company. I would collate any evidence (photos and letters you have) and be really clear about what you would like to happen. Initially I would look for a full refund initially and see what better offer than an upgrade they come back with.

Love Holidays won't accept any responsibility here and they have a complaints procedure in their terms and conditions that any issues must be reported immediately to their service provider. So whoever they used as the accommodation supplier should have been notified.
It's sharp practice but they get away with it.
Truthfully they are a nightmare of a company and give travel agents a bad name. There's loads of Facebook groups about them and their terrible service.
Sorry you've had a negative experience but my recommendation going forward is to use a fully bonded Abta and Atol agent with full financial protection.

Were you actually advised by medical personnel that the illnesses were caused by the conditions in the hotel? You might be able to get compensation for the smell, otherwise it doesn't sound like you'd be able to link anything to the travel conditions. No-one is going to compensate you for sitting next to someone with flu or a tummy bug on the plane or other public transport, that's just a risk you take when travelling, so you'd only be able to get compensation if you could show how the illness was caused by food or poor hygiene at the hotel. I think anyway.

Depends whether it was the resort that made them ill or they just caught a bug.

They may have caught a bug on the plane though which happens quite a lot. You can’t prove it was the hotel.

10, 7, 4. They all got really high temperatures which weren’t coming down to normal range with calpol/nurofen. Once they have it through IV they started to feel better. 2 of them had pharyngitis the doctor said and put on their medical reports.

I doubt you'll be able to convince anyone that that respiratory illnesses were caused by poor cleanliness in the hotel. Maybe raging tummy bugs or food poisoning requiring hospital treatment, but not pharyngitis. You could still claim something for the poor conditions, but nothing you've said sounds like the illness was really from the poor conditions, more likely from someone on the plane over which is beyond the hotel's control.