Gastric illness reported by holidaymakers at the Catalonia Bavaro
Author: Holidaymakers returning from the Catalonia Bavaro in the Dominican Republic have said in online reviews that they became ill during their stay in January, with their reports implying that a bacterial gastric illness may be to blame.
Catalonia Bavaro in the Dominican Republic
The Catalonia Bavaro, also known as the Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort and the Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Casino & Golf Resort, is located in the popular resort region of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The all-inclusive hotel is advertised by TUI-owned UK tour operator TUI as featuring a variety of restaurants as well as plenty of activities and facilities. From online reviews, however, it appears that the Catalonia Bavaro is in need of some attention.
Holidaymakers report gastric illness
Reviewers on sites such as TripAdvisor have commented on the standard of the Catalonia Bavaro, with some suggesting that the Dominican Republic hotel may be showing its age and is in need of renovation. Alongside these observations were complaints made by guests that they were sick on holiday:
‘J9719FWandred’ was a guest in January and they say that their “last three days were spent in-room, trying to recover from gastro-enteritis“, adding that it “affected, at one time or another, nearly half of [their] larger group of 30 people“. They also commented on “mysterious power outages” and say that and at one point they were surprised to find the “appearance of a bullfrog in [their] toilet, which had apparently made its way up the pipes“, meaning that they had to “forego going [to the toilet, which they needed to] badly when [they were] sick“.
‘Isabelle P’ reported similar problems following her stay at the Catalonia Bavaro in January. She says that the Dominican Republic hotel is “missing some hygiene procedures for the buffets“, and they “all ended with a bacteria from eating there“, adding that “everything needs some modernising“.
In his review titled “Avoid at ALL Cost!“, ‘Fred G’ who also was a guest in January reports that “the food was really bad and got everyone in the family sick“, commenting that while the Catalonia Bavaro “is nice enough“, “if the food makes you ill it’s tough to enjoy any of the extras“.
Possible problems at the Catalonia Bavaro
Reports that the Catalonia Bavaro is becoming a bit dated could be a concern, as sometimes there’s only so much that you can do to maintain a hotel before it requires updated and facilities replacing. Problems such as power outages that were mentioned in the reviews could be a possible cause of holiday illness.
The way that produce is stored before it’s cooked is in some respects as important as making sure that it’s cooked safely. Many high-risk foods need to be kept consistently chilled or frozen before being prepared. In instances when problems with the power supply occur and the contents of a fridge or freezer warm up for an extended period of time before being cooked, harmful bacteria could begin to spread.
Gastroenteritis on holiday
Gastroenteritis is the name given to a condition consisting of unpleasant symptoms that can be caused by food poisoning. It’s usually identified by an inflammation of the stomach and intestines, but as anyone that has suffered from it will tell you; it’s the symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea that affect them the most.
Gastroenteritis can be caused by a range of holiday illnesses, including Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E. coli O157, Salmonella and more, so it’s important that tour operators take steps to ensure that their guests don’t become unwell.
Claim compensation for your holiday illness
In the event that you tour operator lets you down and you suffer a debilitating illness that could have been prevented at your all-inclusive hotel during a package holiday, then under The Package Travel Regulations 1992 you might be entitled to compensation.
As part of your contract with them, it’s the responsibility of your tour operator to take reasonable steps to keep you and your family safe while you’re abroad, and by failing to do so they could be in breach of their contract with you.
Our travel law specialists can advise you within minutes if you’re able to make a claim as part of a free no-obligation consultation during which we can advise you of our ‘no win no fee‘ terms and how much compensation you could receive.