Hundreds of holidaymakers, including honeymooners, have won compensation totalling more than £2.5million after they fell ill when sent to a dirty Caribbean hotel.

Thomas Cook and its subsidiary MyTravel have been forced to pay one of the biggest compensation sums ever made following a landmark class action legal case.

More than 500 tourists will receive compensation after their holidays were ruined by a major outbreak of illnesses including Shigella  and Salmonella at a Dominican Republic hotel.

Holiday companies continued to send UK families to the four star resort, the Bahia Principe hotel, in 2007 despite the fact that a succession of travellers contracted serious illnesses.

The case included 12 couples whose honeymoons were ruined by sickness.

The 514 strong  group all fell ill while at the hotel in San Juan with a range of illnesses including  Shigella, Giardia, Salmonella and E Coli.

Many of them needed medical treatment,  29 were hospitalised - five after they got back to the UK - and more than 200  still suffer long-term effects two years after flying home. 

The problems at the Bahia Principe Hotel - which has a history of illness among guests - began  in early 2007 and continued throughout most of the year as more guests arrived  from the UK.

The Dominican  Republic Minister for Public Health, Bautista  Rojas, confirmed in August that year that tourists had become ill due to contaminated foodstuffs.

As the problems  mounted and more UK travellers fell ill, one plane flying back from the Dominican  Republic was quarantined at Gatwick while another landing at the same airport was boarded by doctors.

Other Bahia Principe guests landing at Manchester needed treatment from doctors on the  plane before they could disembark.

The travellers were represented by solicitors Irwin Mitchell. Head of the firm's travel litigation team, Clive Garner, said: 'This was an astonishing outbreak at a hotel which should have offered its  guests a dream holiday in the Caribbean.

'It was  a comedy of errors from start to finish but one which wasn't funny for anyone  caught up in it.'

He said: 'The scene at the  time was horrendous. Day after day, fleets of ambulances were ferrying people to  hospital and yet still tour operators carried on flying people out there.

'There  was a flagrant disregard for their customers' health and safety and every single  tour operator in the UK needs to look at what happened to  make sure something like this can never happen again.

'It beggars  belief to think that so many people can fall ill at one hotel without the issue being resolved and it's a shocking example of how not to treat your  customers.'

Thomas Cook and MyTravel decided to settle the compensation claim before it reached court. However, other tour operators who used the hotel have yet to do the same thing.

Irwin Mitchell is acting for a further 419 clients who travelled  to the Bahia Principe with the tour operator First Choice.

Mr Garner said: 'Our  clients suffered quite enough when they were caught up in all of this on their  holiday in 2007, although many are still suffering the after effects even now  and may well do for the rest of their lives.

'This settlement  will at least go some way to helping them put it behind them but it's hugely  disappointing that First Choice are continuing to drag their heels with the  settlement of claims by their customers.

'Those people also deserve to receive  fair compensation for their illnesses and for the shocking service they received  two years ago.'

The problems at  the Bahia Principe in 2007 followed a series of outbreaks at the hotel in  previous years.

Irwin Mitchell acted for more than 100 guests who fell ill there in 1997 and has also dealt with clients who stayed at the hotel in 2004, 2005  and 2006, as well as for guests who fell ill in 2008.

Thomas Cook said it insists on high standards at its partner hotels.

A spokesman said: 'We take all reports of illness very seriously and we were very concerned by the outbreak of sickness that took place at the Bahia Principe in 2007.

'We are pleased that the majority of legal cases have now been settled and we want to be able to reassure all our customers that we work with our hotel partners to continually monitor the hygiene standards in their properties.'

souce: DailyMail.co.uk

Here is some post from the UK DailyMail forum:

Don't go there it's awful, really awful.

- MCB, Tenerife, 18/6/2009 07:21

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