British family describe 'holiday from hell' after sliding door injury and 'egg-smelling' seaweed
Their 10-year-old son smashed his head on a glass door at the resort in Cancun, Mexico.
A British family has described a trip to Mexico as a holiday from “hell” after their 10-year-old son smashed his head on a glass door and their resort smelled of “eggy” seaweed.
The Johnson family, from Middleton in Leeds, spent £18,108 on the TUI package deal to the Azul Beach Resort Riviera in Cancun.
But when the seven family members got to their rooms, they discovered a foul stench that they claimed was caused by decaying seaweed stockpiled "10 feet high" on the guests' beach.
They added the most horrific event occurred when schoolboy Ollie accidentally smashed his head through the balcony’s sliding glass door.
“It was the hotel from hell. It was dreadful from day one,” grandmother Teresa Johnson said.
She travelled to Mexico with her husband Robert, their son Gavin and his wife Emma and their children Ollie, 10, Luke, eight, plus cousin Ashton, five.
The trip at the Karisma Hotels & Resorts complex was for 13 days, between 22 July and 3 August.
Teresa described the moment Ollie injured himself, claiming there was only “one tiny blue square” safety sticker on the door which was “hidden” behind a net curtain.
She added: “He was covered in blood, all over his head, feet, stomach and hands. His mum couldn’t bear to look at him, she was just crying.
“We had to pick glass out of the cuts and we couldn’t even put pressure on the cuts because of the glass that was in them. We still believe he’s got glass in his finger.”
Teresa said: “It looked totally different from the pictures online. We got shown a beach with a bar, swings and a blue sea.
"It was just churning mud over and over.”
The family came forward with their claims before reporting the incident to TUI after reading multiple recent reports of people having bad experiences with the travel firm.
TUI has said it its customers’ “health and safety is our highest priority” and vowed to investigate and follow-up with the family directly.
It said it would be “following up” with the family directly.
A TUI spokesperson added: “We are very sorry to hear about Ms Johnson’s family holiday experience in Mexico.
“We are working with our hotel partner to investigate some of the claims and we will be following up with the customer directly to update on the circumstances.
“At TUI we aim to give our customers an exceptional experience and we’d like to reassure customers that health and safety is our highest priority.”
Hotel owners Karisma Hotels & Resorts has also been asked for a comment.
How to complain about your package holiday
Firstly, speak to the tour operator or travel agent who arranged your holiday and explain your concerns. They may be able to offer a solution or compensation.
If you paid with a credit card, you may be covered for up to £30,000 under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, and those using debit cards could potentially claim money back through a chargeback.
If this doesn't work, you can escalate your complaint to trade associations, including The Travel Association (ABTA) or The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).
They have a Code of Conduct members must adhere to and can help with disputes.
If this doesn't work, you may consider taking your complaint to the travel ombudsman - an independent arbitration service.
You may escalate the complaint to a small claims court if these options don't work.
