A three-year-old boy is facing a year-long recovery after falling seriously ill during a family holiday at a five-star resort in Turkey – with his family now speaking out to slam the hotel’s ‘disgusting’ hygiene standards.
Isaiah had been staying at Xafira Deluxe Resort and Spa in Alanya with 24 members of his extended family to celebrate a 60th birthday when he developed an eye infection and stomach pain in late June.
His aunt, Pavern Gill, said that her four-year-old daughter and another child also became unwell during the last few days of their holiday, suffering with fevers and sore tummies.
But, she said, Isaiah was facing ‘the worst of it’, and when he eventually got home he had to be rushed to hospital, where doctors found he was suffering with gangrene in his appendix, gastroenteritis and E. Coli poisoning.
His appendix burst and he was rushed for emergency surgery, which his aunt said was a tense ‘life or death’ situation which he is still recovering from a month later.
His devastated mum has now told MailOnline how their happy life in Warwickshire has been upended by the horrific ordeal – and has warned other families not to repeat their mistake by going to the same hotel.
Isaiah, three, fell ill while on holiday with his family in Turkey in late June. He was admitted to hospital after he returned home to the UK
Isaiah had been staying at Xafira Deluxe Resort and Spa in Alanya with 24 members of his extended family to celebrate a 60th birthday
‘What was supposed to be a joyful holiday in Turkey has turned into a nightmare that we never imagined,’ Isaiah’s aunt Pavern said.
She and her sister – Isaiah’s mum – each paid around £1,500 for their families’ week-long stays at the resort, as they went out to celebrate their uncle’s birthday.
When they got there, Pavern said they began to notice a distinct lack of hygiene.
‘So many things were uncleaned,’ she said. ‘It was so dirty – the rooms, the toilets – the hygiene in that hotel was horrendous.’
Staff did not clean the pool and there was no chlorine in it, she claimed, adding that the only way they could get cleaners to use bleach on their rooms was to leave them a tip.
But, she said, the group had never imagined that their children would become ill, until they started showing symptoms towards the end of the holiday.
‘My daughter and two nephews started to get such a temperature and fevers, but we just thought initially that it was down to them being in the sun and in and out of the pool. We didn’t think anything of it.’
Isaiah then developed a really bad eye infection, she said, with his eye ‘bulging out and getting really swollen.’
‘The kids kept crying a lot, saying they had tummy pains. But I just thought, “maybe it’s just the food, maybe they’re not happy with the food?”‘
Pavern said they had already had concerns about the food after noticing that a ‘bad stench’ had been coming from the resort’s kitchen.
The language barrier with hotel staff meant they struggled to bring up their concerns over the hotel’s hygiene, she said, only speaking to one staff member who had limited English.
The family eventually flew home from Turkey on July 1, with the children still suffering from a severe mystery illness.
Doctors in Warwick realised that Isaiah was severely unwell, and sent him in an ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital
‘On the flight home my daughter was screaming in agony,’ she said, adding that the little girl had been burning up so badly that cabin crew asked passengers if anyone could provide medical assistance.
Back in the UK, the four-year-old went on to be hospitalised twice, her mum said, but doctors did not know what was wrong with her until she got stool sample results back.
She said these showed that her daughter was suffering from acute gastroenteritis and glandular fever. The little girl has now recovered, but her cousin Isaiah remains seriously ill weeks on.
The boy’s mum, who works for the NHS, took him to see medics while they were in Turkey, and he received drops for his eye and painkillers as his temperature soared to 39C.
But things got worse when they got back to the UK, she said, and she sought help from 111 and her GP. He was given a course of antibiotics, but these didn’t help.
After vomiting violently over and over again one day, the family decided enough was enough, and took Isaiah to Warwick Hospital.
Doctors soon realised that he was severely unwell, and sent him in an ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
One in five visitors who left reviews on Tripadvisor rated the hotel terrible – the worst rating – with other travellers also complaining of poor hygiene
There they discovered he had severe gangrene, and immediately sent him in for emergency surgery.
Isaiah’s mum said they had hoped to perform keyhole surgery, but the severity of the infection was so great that he needed to have invasive surgery and be completely ‘cleaned out’.
‘I honestly did not think he would make it the state he was in,’ his mum said, explaining that he had to be hooked up to an IV, morphine and a feeding tube post-surgery.
Isaiah was in hospital for more than two weeks after being admitted in mid-July, with his mum at his bedside throughout.
He was then discharged on July 30, but had to be rushed back to A&E a couple of days later, his mother said.
He is now back at home, but his full recovery is expected to take ‘months or years’, with doctors telling his mum he may need to be readmitted as he is still not ‘eating or drinking properly’.
‘He’s only three, this is so traumatic for him,’ said his aunt. ‘It could take anything up to a year for him to fully recover.’
She added that the illness has ‘taken so much’ from the youngster, who before it was a ‘joyful, spirited child who loved to play’.
His mum said: ‘I just feel like we’ve been hit by a bus… we have a wonderful life me and Isaiah.
Isaiah was in hospital for more than two weeks after being admitted in mid-July, with his mum at his bedside throughout
‘I go to work, he goes to nursery, I spend a lot of time [with him], he plays a lot, he goes to football every Friday, but I’ve had to stop that.
‘He’s a very active, boisterous boy usually, but everything is just on standstill at the moment.’
Pavern said: ‘The ordeal has left us devastated… The medical and financial burdens are overwhelming, especially for my sister, who is working part-time.’
The family have now set up a fundraiser to help support Isaiah and his mum, who has had to stop working to take care of him.
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The sisters said they wanted to speak out about their family’s horrific experience in order to raise awareness about the ‘the appalling conditions at this so-called five-star hotel.’
In a Tripadvisor review of the Alan Xafira Hotel, Pavern warned other travellers: ‘I strongly advise against staying at this hotel.
‘The health risks are severe, and their negligence has caused immense suffering for my family and me.
‘For the safety of your loved ones, please choose another accommodation especially if you have young children.’
One in five visitors who left reviews on the site rated the hotel terrible – the worst rating – with other travellers also complaining of poor hygiene.
Xafira Hotel has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
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