B.C. residents report falling ill after Sunwing vacation in Cuba

B.C. residents report falling ill after Sunwing vacation in Cuba
By Anne Drewa
Consumer reporter / Anchor Global News

B.C. residents like Ashlee Hanefeld are speaking out after falling ill
on trips booked with Sunwing Vacations. Hanefeld and her husband spent
over $5,000 and booked a family holiday to Cuba. They stayed at the
Grand Memories Varadero between December 26 and January 3 of this year.

It's rated as a four-and-a-half star resort, but 48 hours into the
vacation, Hanefeld says her six-year-old daughter became ill and then
her entire family. Her husband later tested positive for salmonella, a
bacteria that lives in the intestine often caused by eating contaminated
food.

"This was probably the worst food we we have ever had. We knew going to
Cuba that the food was going to be bland, but we did still expect to get
cooked food. The chicken was routinely undercooked," Hanefeld said.
Hanefeld also says the public washrooms and hotel rooms were well below
standard.

"There was mould in the bathroom and on the wall just under the air
conditioner vent, and they tried to paint it over."
It was a similar nightmare for Vancouver Island resident Kris Schill,
who fell ill at another Cuban hot spot, the Memories Varadero Beach
resort. Schill also booked her January vacation through Sunwing and says
the trip went downhill the moment she arrived.

READ MORE: Canadian travellers report illnesses at Cuban resorts
promoted and operated by Sunwing

"I went to the buffet and within five to six hours after that, I was
throwing up and I had pains in my stomach. The next day there was a time
when I was on the floor and I was wishing I was back home," Schill said.

A growing number of Canadian Sunwing Vacations customers are sharing
similar stories after travelling recently to Cuba and the Dominican
Republic. Memories resorts in Cuba are managed by Blue Diamond Resorts,
a company affiliated with the Sunwing Travel Group.

Sunwing Vacations would only provide a statement to Global BC that said,
"We cannot comment on individual cases, as each situation is different,
however we can confirm that should an issue be identified, we are swift
to take corrective action. We also negotiate appropriate compensation on
behalf of our customers."

When it comes to compensation, however, it may be an uphill
battle. Travel expert Claire Newell says travellers need to make sure
they have proper documentation to support their case.

"If you have the ammunition to show in pictures — what your room looked
like or what the food looked like — it's going to go a lot further than
a he said/she said."

Newell also says you can limit your risk of having a bad vacation by
reading reviews.

"Read a lot of reviews. If you consistently see a destination or
specific resort where people are getting sick…red flag. You don't want
to be there."
So far, Hanefeld has not received any compensation from Sunwing
Vacations and she worries about others planning a similar holiday.

"Clearly Sunwing is aware what is happening because they obviously watch
these reports. For them to keep sending people back, it's not good
customer service," she said.

Source: B.C. residents report falling ill after Sunwing vacation in Cuba
- BC | Globalnews.ca -
http://globalnews.ca/news/2467570/bc-residents-report-falling-ill-after-sunwing-vacation-in-cuba/