A FAMILY’S dream holiday to Mexico was ruined when their hotel flooded and the father needed three weeks off work for a disease caused by eating food contaminated with human faeces.
The Madley family had to paddle through water every day after heavy rain brought down part of the ceiling at the Bahia Principe Coba Hotel in Riviera Maya, Yucatan.
Madison, nine, suffered a head injury after slipping on a wet floor during their £3,000, two-week stay.
To make matters even worse, Scott, 29, contracted cyclospora, a tropical disease usually caused by eating food contaminated with human faeces. The British Gas engineer said he only ate in the hotel’s restaurants.
Scott also claims the coffee machine, fridge and spa bath in their room was faulty, the air conditioning only worked intermittently, and the beach was smelly and bore little resemblance to the glossy brochure pictures.
He and his wife, Tammy, 27, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, are demanding that holiday firm TUI urgently investigate what went wrong for the health and safety of other holidaymakers.
The family travelled in June and complained immediately but claim TUI repeatedly ignored them.
Scott took to social media at the weekend to vent his frustration at the holiday company and share pictures of the hotel.
He wrote: “Upon arrival our room was flooded. We reported it immediately and it was mopped out.
“It became apparent that the leak was coming through the ceiling and a simple mop up wasn’t going to solve the issue.
“I reported it to the TUI representative who was not interested and stated everyone has room problems.”
He added: “Then a few days later at 5:30am I was woken by a loud crash. The ceiling had fallen down. The same one I had been reporting.”
Scott added that it took a full day for the ceiling collapsed to be cleared up, and that water was still coming through the family’s hotel room ceiling.
“We had to paddle through water in our room and waste all our towels daily to try to make the floor not so slippy.
“Two days before we were due to come home our nine-year-old daughter had an accident going to the bathroom – due to the flooded floor.
“This resulted in a head injury caused by your neglect. The representatives were still not interested.
“Upon returning home I then have a confirmed case of cyclospora caught from the hotel.
“If this is not investigated and a full report, along with an explanation and settlements within the next week, I will be starting legal proceedings.”
Scott attached a photograph of the hotel corridor when the ceiling had collapsed, left debris all over the floor and a gaping hole above.
In other images taken by the family during their stay, water can be seen dripping through the light fitting in the bathroom and show soggy towels strewn across the floor in an attempt to mop it up.
The family also used the bathroom bin to mitigate the leak.
On social media, Angie Horrigan said: “That’s terrible.”
Kerry Harrison added: “Bloody hell Scott Madley that’s vile. I hope you’re ok.”
While Sammy-Jo Spencer commented: “Blimey. That’s awful.”
Speaking today, Scott said: “Safe to say all in all the holiday was a complete disaster. This was supposed to be a time of relaxation and making memories.
“Not mopping up water and wasting our time constantly reporting issues and waiting for people that never turn up along with accidents.
“I will be looking to start legal proceedings if they do not have this investigated properly and provide me with a satisfactory response and resolution.”
Scott added that the family had to deal with many other problems which he believes were caused by the leaks – including constant dripping from the ceiling, intermittent air con and flickering lights.
He said: “It was interesting that all the electrical appliances within the room appeared to be faulty when water was leaking through. It was probably the cause of all this.”
However, Mr Madley believes he caught the disease after eating from one of the hotel’s restaurants.
He added: “There was a variety of buffets and a la carte restaurants all included in the package and where all based within the resort, as part of the hotel.
“I went to the doctors and got antibiotics, took stool samples for parasites and disease. The main ones came back and nothing was found.
“The doctor advised a lot of cases of Cyclospora have been reported and symptoms stemmed towards it being this.
“I had severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea and ended up taking three weeks off work. I’m still not great now. But much better than I was.”
The family were also annoyed by the pictures used by the travel company to advertise the Mexican resort against what it actually looked like, which was a beach covered in seaweed and was “rotten”.
Scott has advised TUI that he wants a full investigation “to be completed and compensation awarded along with acknowledgment of their neglect and an apology.
He said: “I would like to see what they believe is a fair settlement once they have completed their investigation. Legal action will only be taken if they do not comply with a full investigation and offer a fair settlement.”
A spokesman for TUI, said: “We are sorry to hear about the Madley family’s experience on their recent holiday to Mexico and we will be contacting Mr Madley directly to discuss the issues raised.
“We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of the hotels we feature in respect of health and safety.”
