British couple reveal how they nearly died after staying in Egypt hotel room with ‘horrendous’ smell

A British couple have described how they nearly lost their lives after staying in an Egyptian hotel room with a ‘horrendous’ smell.

Michelle Cohen and husband Arnold, from Liverpool, started vomiting within minutes of each other in the early hours in their room at the luxury Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort.

Mr Cohen, 64, was so sick he suffered a heart-attack while his wife, 58, slipped into a coma with heart and liver failure and sepsis on the eighth night of their stay in the hotel.

After they were rushed to hospital, Egyptian doctors told the couple’s daughter – who was also staying in the hotel along with her husband and ten-month old baby – that Mrs Cohen may not survive. 

Marriott International, which manages the hotel, told MailOnline they were unable to find a link between the Cohens’ sickness and conditions at the hotel after a probe.

The couple decided to reveal their 2015 ordeal after John and Susan Cooper, from Burnley, Lancashire, died suddenly just hours apart having stayed at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hughada.   

British couple Michelle and Arnold Cohen have described how they nearly lost their lives after staying in an Egyptian hotel room with a ‘horrendous’ smell. Mrs Cohen is pictured undergoing treatment in hospital in Egypt

Michelle Cohen and husband Arnold (pictured in a hospital bed), from Liverpool, started vomiting within minutes of each other in the early hours in their room at the luxury Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort

Michelle Cohen and husband Arnold (pictured in a hospital bed), from Liverpool, started vomiting within minutes of each other in the early hours in their room at the luxury Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort

Mr Cohen, 64, was so sick he suffered a heart-attack while his wife, 58, slipped into a coma with heart and liver failure and sepsis on the eighth night of their stay in the hotel

Mr Cohen, 64, was so sick he suffered a heart-attack while his wife, 58, slipped into a coma with heart and liver failure and sepsis on the eighth night of their stay in the hotel

The couple fell ill while staying at the Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort (pictured) where they had paid more than £1,000 per room

The couple fell ill while staying at the Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort (pictured) where they had paid more than £1,000 per room

Since then dozens of guests have claimed they were taken ill at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada and tour operator Thomas Cook has evacuated its 301 customers from the hotel as a ‘precautionary measure.’

The Coopers’ daughter Kelly reported a ‘funny smell’ in the hotel room before they died – though officials insist they died of natural causes.

Mr and Mrs Cohen booked two rooms at the Marriott resort, paying more than £1,000 for each one. But when they arrived, their sea view room had a ‘horrendous’ smell.

Mrs Cohen said: ‘It is hard to explain, it was like a cross between gas, onions and ammonia – it was a toxic smell. The next room where my daughter was in was beautiful’.

She said they made repeated attempts to change rooms, but were told none were available for them. Instead, she said, staff told them to open the doors and windows.

On the eighth night, they went to bed at about 10pm after dinner – but woke at 4.15am and within minutes of each other were violent sick.

‘Eventually, I said we needed to call the hotel doctor. He gave us a tablet and put us on a drip and said we were going to be ok in a couple of hours’.

The couple said decided to reveal their 2015 ordeal after John (left) and Susan Cooper (right), from Burnley, Lancashire, died suddenly just hours apart having stayed at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hughada

The couple said decided to reveal their 2015 ordeal after John (left) and Susan Cooper (right), from Burnley, Lancashire, died suddenly just hours apart having stayed at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hughada

Arnold Cohen

Michelle Cohen

Arnold (left) and Michelle Cohen (right) booked two rooms at the Marriott resort, paying more than £1,000 for each one. But when they arrived, their sea view room had a ‘horrendous’ smell

‘But I was becoming more and more weak through sepsis and I could not even reach for the phone’.

She added: ‘My husband was throwing up and we did not know it, but he had had a heart attack.’

In the morning, their daughter, Lisa O’Connor walked in and ‘screamed’ when she found Mrs Cohen in a coma. 

‘When the doctor came back in with a couple of members of staff, he said we needed two ambulances immediately because this lady is critically ill’.

‘At hospital they told my daughter I was not going to survive.’

Mrs Cohen’s sister and the couple’s other children flew over to be with her after being told of her condition.

She said she had suffered heart failure, liver failure and sepsis while her husband had suffered a heart-attack.

In the morning, their daughter, Lisa O’Connor, (centre) walked in and ‘screamed’ when she found Mrs Cohen in a coma

Mrs Cohen said she had suffered heart failure, liver failure and sepsis in the episode and doctors feared she would die

Mrs Cohen said she had suffered heart failure, liver failure and sepsis in the episode and doctors feared she would die

Arnold Cohen (pictured with his granddaughter on the holiday) suffered a heart-attack during the ordeal

The couple have so far been unsuccessful in their attempt to sue Marriott, which manages the hotel. But they are adamant the foul smelling room was to blame while a Harley Street doctor in Britain has told them they suffered acute gastroenteritis.

The couple said their experience was ‘uncannily like the Coopers’.  

Mr Cooper, a 69-year-old building firm boss, died in his hotel room earlier this month. Mrs Cooper, 64, passed away in hospital several hours later. The Coopers’ daughter, Kelly, said there had been a bad smell in the hotel room before they became critically ill.  

Mrs Cohen told MailOnline: ‘Something needs to be done, this was not from food this is much more serious, we were totally fine a few hours before just like Kelly’s mum and dad.’

A spokesman from Marriott International told MailOnline in a statement: ‘We take the wellbeing of our guests very seriously and were deeply concerned when we learned of Mr and Mrs Cohen’s health challenges in June 2015. 

‘An investigation was conducted into whether there were conditions at the hotel that would have caused the Cohens’ adverse health conditions. 

‘We were not able to identify any such connections from the review. It has been more than three years since the Cohens’ unfortunate experience. 

‘We understand, however, that recent news reports relating to a different hotel have caused the Cohens to become concerned about their own experiences in 2015. 

‘We are arranging for the appropriate Company representatives to respond to any questions that the Cohens may have and consider any information that they may wish to share.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk