British Tourists Fall Ill Whilst Holidaying at Zante Hotel

Two British tourists were treated for a possible outbreak of E. coli after a severe stomach bug spread through the hotel they were staying at on the Greek island of Zante.

The pair had booked their holiday, a week’s stay at the 2* Savvas Hotel, through Thomas Cook Club 18-30. Upon arrival Becky Robson, 22, and Millie Schofield, 21, saw that their room was dirty; with stained bedding and vomit on the balcony walls. They claim that they could also audibly hear other guests being violently ill.

The two students became severely ill with vomiting and diarrhoea themselves, during and after their stay at the hotel. Becky was treated with anti-sickness injections, stomach settlers, anti-biotics to treat E. coli and put on an IV drip at Iassis Medical Centre.

Chronic sickness and diarrhoea

Becky has said of their experience:

‘On arrival the hotel smelt like sewage, it was nothing more than a glorified cow shed. When we walked into our room I was shocked it was dirty, the bedding and pillows had stains on, the towels smelt horrible and were not clean, even the balcony had sick on the walls.

‘Our room was bang next to the drainage system and a farm, it stunk. Not even 24 hours into our stay my friend fell ill with violent sickness and diarrhoea.

‘I demanded to the reps to move us as it wasn’t just my friend that was ill.

‘All you could hear in the hotel was people being sick, I think that’s why they blasted out loud music all the time to disguise what was going on.

‘I knew straight away I couldn’t stay there with everyone else already violently ill.

She added:

‘By the Saturday morning Millie was very ill and continued to be. By this point I had begged the reps for a flight home or to move hotels.

‘Up to 95 per cent of all other guests at the Savvas Hotel had the same thing.

‘We were finally moved to a different hotel on the Saturday evening but by this point I started with the illness. I had chronic sickness and diarrhoea. We had just got to the new hotel when I fell chronically ill.

‘Whilst in hospital there were so many people from Savvas Hotel with the same illness, the staff didn’t even have to ask where they were staying in the end. I was the most ill I have ever been in my life and became severely dehydrated.

‘The drugs prescribed to me at the Greek hospital were specifically to treat E.coli, nothing else. I have blood tests that show a gastric infection.

Complaint & Response

Since arriving back in the UK, the pair have complained to Thomas Cook, however according to Becky, the firm have denied any allegations that Savvas Hotel was the cause of their illness. Thomas Cook has released the following statement:

‘Club 18-30 routinely undertakes independent third-party audits of all its hotels. We can confirm that there were reports of gastric illness in the resort of Laganas last August, which was believed to have been of a viral nature.

‘The Hotel Savaas management immediately put into place internationally recognised Prevention of Spread of Infection (POSI) procedures, and those customers in resort were offered every assistance by our dedicated resort team.

‘We take all reports of illness extremely seriously, and did everything we could to help Ms Robson and Ms Schofield after they fell ill. Since their return, our customer services team have advised Ms Robson and Ms Schofield that we have launched a full and thorough investigation into their illness.

‘We know how upsetting it can be when our customers fall ill while on holiday.

‘As no other confirmed cases of e-coli have been reported, we have asked Ms Robson and Ms Schofield to provide medical evidence of this, so that we can continue our investigation and look to resolve this matter with them as soon as possible.’

Holiday Illness Claims – Expert Advice

Shiamli Mehta-Cronie, expert Travel Law solicitor at Hampson Hughes, has said:

‘The reports of the illness outbreak at the Savvas Hotel in Zante are distressing.

‘It is vital that tour operators be held accountable for the failings of their hotel providers.

‘If you have fallen victim to poor food and hygiene standards while on a package holiday, contact us today to find out whether you are eligible to claim’

For more information as to whether or not you are able to claim compensation following illness whilst on an all-inclusive package holiday, contact Hampson Hughes today for free and friendly, no obligation advice on 0151 236 1222 or email

Source: Mail Online