Hotel RIU Touareg – guests share horror stories of sickness, cancelled flights

Dozens of TripAdvisor reviews from September and October claim that scores of guests have fallen prey to a “sickness bug” at the Hotel RIU Touareg in Boa Vista, Cape Verde.  We understand that some holidaymakers due to return from Cape Verde over the past week came home late as they were unfit to board their scheduled flight.

One review says that “hundreds” of guests had been affected and criticised food hygiene practices at the hotel.  Another claims to have contracted Shigella, a bacterial infection associated with contaminated food and says that the hotel has had previous issues with the illness:

Shigella can be transmitted by infected food, water and faeces.  Symptoms usually include fever, diarrhoea and painful stomach cramps.

In October last year, we reported upon issues at the Hotel RIU Touareg in summer 2018.   Now summer 2019 reviews from as far back as June are making similar observations with regard to sickness and hygiene.  Carol from Kidderminster says she is still unwell and that she is “lucky to have got home” after the flight following her own was cancelled:

“We arrived on 22 Sept and during our first week experienced poor hygiene practises by the cooks who handled cooked and uncooked food without gloves or washing their hands. Chicken was left in containers in the heat before being half cooked and put out. Flys were also on uncovered food…

“We along with literally hundreds of others have experienced severe diarrhoea and were unable to leave our room for a week. The reps didn’t want to know and reception was just as bad.”

Have you been affected?

Holiday Claims Bureau is keen to hear from any other guests who have had a holiday disrupted by events at the Hotel RIU Touareg.

If you become ill during your stay and are considering making a claim, we recommend that you take the following steps:

• Report your illness to your Tour Rep or, if necessary, the Tour Operator’s complaints department
• Seek appropriate medical attention
• Exchange contact details with any other people you meet who have experienced similar issues
• Keep any evidence that may help your case, such as photographs and correspondence from the hotel or tour operator
• Keep receipts or photographs of any medicines that you have to purchase

To see how we could help you recover the compensation you deserve, call us on 0161 813 2131 or use our online contact form and we will arrange to call you back.