'Our TUI holiday was ruined by illness but they say we might've eaten too much'

A couple say horrific food poisoning ruined their romantic five-star holiday, but their company is refusing to help as the couple couldn't prove they hadn't simply over-indulged. David Lofts jetted off with wife Julia for a 10-day trip Cape Verde with to celebrate his 65th birthday in January.

But the couple claim they started experiencing sickness and diarrhoea three hours after eating at one of the hotel's restaurants - and say they only ate within the hotel prior to becoming ill. Julia says they spent the entire night on the toilet and had to ask other hotel guests for help the next morning, as their room phone was not working.

The 52-year-old said the pair had to be taken to the local medical centre in an ambulance and had to use wheelchairs as stomach aches left them unable to walk.

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The Lofts reportedly had emergency treatment with IV fluids and were given anti-diarrhoea and anti-sickness tablets, forking out £713 on medical bills. But when they raised this with the resort manager, Julia claims he dismissed the complaints as he said they were the only ones affected.

After returning home on January 23, Julia said she researched the hotel on social media and claims to have found other holidaymakers reporting they had food poisoning at the resort.

TUI responded to their complaint by saying the food poisoning could not be proven without a stool sample or photos showing they were ill. The holiday giant also told them there was 'no causal link' between their symptoms and any action from the hotel.

The company's customer services team said people can get ill for many reasons on holiday and suggested that it could have been due to the climate, humidity, 'stress' or even 'overindulgence'.

Julia, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: "It was a really nice restaurant on the beach, we had salmon, some basic salads and one mojito each. We went to bed and I started being sick. My husband started being sick soon after and we spent all night vomiting. We couldn't sleep because we just went back and forth to the toilet, it was horrendous.

"In the morning I had to walk outside and knock on people's doors to ask for help because the phone wasn't working. An English-speaking couple stopped and went to reception for us. They called an ambulance and got wheelchairs.

"We couldn't walk at all from the pain, it was awful. We had to pay over £700 to get an IV emergency treatment and medication. We made complaints to management and they said they expected more people to be ill in order to do something about it. That was quite shocking to hear.

"The manager took no responsibility and said it doesn't happen very often. When we came home I investigated online and found a whole group on with similar situations. I sent a complaint to TUI and they refused to deal with it all together. They said it could have been stress, overindulgence and that was just taking the mick.

"They said we should have provided stool samples. At one point would we do that? You can't have solid evidence at that time. They asked if we took any pictures. I wasn't going to take pictures of me sitting on the toilet and throwing up.

"When they got back suggesting it could be anything, it was like emotional abuse. To suggest the experience is not true or that we're making it up was very hard to hear. We don't drink too much, we don't eat too much, we exercise, we look after ourselves."

The couple said they had to cancel their planned activities such as scuba-diving and snorkelling as they were too ill, while they were nervous to eat at the resort and had to fork out money on eating out.

Although David felt better after the treatment, Julia claims her symptoms lasted up until her return to the UK. She added that she experienced diarrhoea for seven days after the holiday, and went to her GP where she was given the all clear, but it took her two more weeks to recover.

Julia said: "We were nervous to eat there after and had to go out and spend extra money on taxis and restaurants. We had to cancel our plans, we couldn't go scuba diving or snorkelling. It just properly ruined the holiday. It's not cheap, it's quite a lot of money, we don't earn that much and then all the money we spent at the medical centre.

"It's really disappointing, I try not to be upset about this but it was heartbreaking, it was a special occasion, it's his 65th, it's a big day. It's something we were looking forward to, it's a huge holiday for us.

"I still had diarrhoea seven days after that and went to the GP surgery. Thankfully there was no salmonella and I had to buy some probiotic drinks. All of that was taken away, it wasn't just a few days ruined, for me it took a month to get better.

"We went to an all inclusive hotel to be safe and protected. I would never go anywhere with TUI again. If anything goes wrong you're on your own."

TUI confirmed their customer service team had been in direct contact with the customer but they were unable to help as the customer has not been able to provide any evidence of the cause of illness.

The has contacted TUI for comment.