A tourist has claimed she was scared by a cockroach and covered in bug bites after a £2,500 TUI dream holiday turned into a nightmare, leaving her and her father in hospital.
Sara Palmer, 40, from Greenwich, stayed at the Venosa Beach Resort and Spa in Didim, Aydin in October. She claims she found at least a dozen bites on her body during her three-week vacation with her father Joe, 73.
Photos appear to show both covered in red bumps, with bruises and bleeding claw marks on their arms, neck and legs, and bed bugs on a mattress.
The ordeal left them both in hospital, with Sara on an IV for an hour while doctors assessed her reaction to bed bugs and her father treated injuries sustained after banging his head on a coffee table in a hotel room.
Sara was later prescribed creams and antihistamines to reduce swelling while her father needed six stitches for his head injury. The father and daughter were offered a £400 voucher by TUI but they said it wasn’t enough.
Sara Palmer, 40, from Greenwich, stayed at the Venosa Beach Resort and Spa in Didim, Aydin in October. She claims she found at least a dozen bites on her body as she was pictured on holiday together with her father Joe, 73, during the three-week holiday together in a happier moment before their alleged ordeal
Photos appear to show both covered in red bumps, pictured with bruises and bleeding claw marks on their arms, neck and legs, and bed bugs on a mattress
The 40-year-old, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, said: “We stayed at this hotel two years ago. It was okay then, but it went terribly downhill.
“The food was always pretty cold, but now it was freezing cold and always served from the previous day’s food. I’m disabled and can’t walk unaccompanied, that’s why we chose to do it.
Sara also claimed to have seen bed bugs at the hotel, including a 23mm bug she caught in a jar.
Sara also claimed to have seen bed bugs at the hotel, including a 23mm bug she caught in a jar, pictured
She added: “It’s unsafe. As I said, we were injured – me with the bed bug reaction. I was sent to the private hospital who just said it was a serious reaction to it [the bedbugs].
‘My father cut his head in the room on the very sharp-edged coffee table. He was taken to the state hospital for a head injury that required six stitches.
“There were four elevators, all of which were dangerous because the sensors weren’t working properly. If you manage to get on the elevator, you run the risk of being crushed.
‘Someone we knew there had his arm pinched. Luckily I was always in a wheelchair.
“There weren’t enough lifeguards at the various pools or at their private beach, old ice cold food was served. And if breakfast wasn’t ready, it was served for lunch and dinner.’
Pictured: A photo of an alleged bed bug on a mattress at Sara and Joe’s hotel in October
Her father is also unimpressed by her experience in October in the hotel.
He said: “It was two in the morning [when he hurt his head]. We always left the bathroom light on and the balcony light on.
“I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I lost my balance and fell backwards, hitting my head on the sharp wooden table. make a cut in the back of the head.
“My daughter called the front desk and they called an ambulance to take me to the state hospital. There I received six stitches and an x-ray.
Her father is also unimpressed by her experience in October in the hotel. Pictured: Joe on vacation
“My daughter had to go to the hospital alone. To pick me up.. I am completely disgusted with all the replies from TUI. At no point did TUI ask us whether we were satisfied with the way things were handled.
“For me, this is just an attempt by TUI to withdraw from its responsibilities. In addition, the legal department of TUI has not contacted us.
“We have sent our report and photos more than once with very little response from them.
‘To think £400 holiday vouchers would do [suffice] is ridiculous.’
MailOnline has asked TUI for a comment.
