Tui forced to pay £232,000 to 83 holidaymakers after ‘nightmare’ food poisoning in Lanzarote resort

More than 80 British holidaymakers who sued the tour operator Tui after getting food poisoning on holiday have been awarded total compensation of £232,000, London’s High Court heard this morning.

The group of 83 had taken action against the package holiday company after claiming they fell ill at the four-star Holiday Village resort in Lanzarote.

As there are six more claimants with cases to settle, the total compensation payout could be even more.

Although Tui denies liability - and the fact that the 89 claimants had food poisoning - it has agreed to settle the bulk of the claims.

The outstanding claims will be settled by a judge in an eight-day trial next year.

The complaints date back to holidays taken between May and August 2009, with all claimants having booked their packages through Tui, flying from UK airports.

The claimants reported poor hygiene standards at the Holiday Village resort in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, with some describing “maggots in milk”, animals roaming dining areas and “faecal accidents” in the pool.

Lawyers acting for the group said the 89 customers had suffered “acute gastrointestinal infection”, including nausea, diarrhoea and painful abdominal cramps.

Barrister Charles Crow argued that, because the claimants’ holidays were all-inclusive, most of them had only eaten and drunk at the hotel.

“Fresh food was added to older food, food appeared to be recycled/re-presented at later meals,” he continued.

“Food, restaurant and general hygiene standards were poor.

“A cloth used to clear up vomit was then used to clean the rest of the floor. Water was served via a dispenser rather than in sealed bottles, and there was an unpleasant smell by the juice dispensing machine.

“Pests, including wasps, insects, birds, cats and dogs were seen in the eating area,” he continued.

“Pools were insufficiently cleaned - the water was often dirty/cloudy, there was litter around the pool and faecal accidents were not dealt with adequately and/or quickly.

“There was an unpleasant smell of sewage from the irrigation water used in the grounds.”

Mr Crow summarised: “The claimants’ primary case is that, in relation to each of them, their gastroenteritis was infective, bacterial or parasitic in pathogenic origin, and likely to have had a food and/or drink source.

“The claimants suffered distress, anxiety, and loss of enjoyment of their holiday.”

The 83 compensation payments are set to go before the High Court next week for approval.

A Tui spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear of these experiences at the Holiday Village Lanzarote. As this is now a legal matter, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

“We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene.”