A couple claim they were ‘bitten alive’ by bed bugs following a dream five-star holiday in Cape Verde.
John Bowe, 54, and his partner Sharon Murray, paid £2,400 for their 10-night holiday on the African island in October.
The couple stayed at the Hotel Riu Touareg, on the African island for 10 nights from October 9.
But seven nights into their stay at the five-star hotel, Ms Murray and Mr Bowe noticed that they both had bites appearing on their skin.
John Bowe, 54, and his partner Sharon Murray, paid £2,400 for their 10-night holiday on the African island in October
The bed bugs caused painful bites all over Ms Murray’s body which the couple say prevent them from enjoying their holiday
The couple stayed at the five-star Hotel Riu Touareg, on the African island for 10 nights from 9th
They presumed that they were from sitting outside and enjoying the hotel’s night time entertainment — not from bed bugs in their room.
The couple, who were there to celebrate Sharon’s 50th Birthday, claim when they approached management about the suspected bed bugs, they were only offered a free bottle of prosecco.
Both Mr Bower and Ms Murray, from Kendal, Cumbria, were covered in bites.
She was horrified to discover that a month after returning to the UK that she still had bites all over her body and some had scarred.
Mr Bowe, a factory worker, said: ‘Sharon was unable to sleep with the discomfort. In the morning she was covered in bites and felt miserable with the itching and lack of sleep.
Ms Murray was horrified to discover that a month after returning to the UK that she still had bites all over her body and some had scarred
‘Sharon had to spend all day in the shade or in the pool to try and keep the itching at a minimum, I was experiencing the same thing with the bites but not as extreme as Sharon.
‘On the 10th and final night of the holiday we hardly slept as we were constantly itching and the bites were surfacing on our skin.
‘By the time we were going home we were completely covered in bites. It ruined what was meant to be a special holiday for Sharon’s birthday.’
The couple awoke ‘shattered’ and went to reception before 6am to speak with the manager.
Staff stripped their bed down to discover the bed bugs faeces, which looked like ‘small black dots’.
After speaking to the manager Ms Murray and Mr Bower were sent to a doctor, who confirmed that they had been bitten by bed bugs and gave them some cream to use
Mr Bowe added: ‘The manager asked us if we had let a cat in our room as they thought we had been bitten by bugs brought in by a cat, but we had definitely not let any cats in our room.
‘He then said it was a pity we were going today because he would have got us a complimentary bottle of prosecco to apologise.’
After speaking to the manager Ms Murray and Mr Bower were sent to a doctor, who confirmed that they had been bitten by bed bugs and gave them some cream to use.
However, the couple feel that their holiday has been tarnished by the bed bugs and claim that the room next door to them also looked like it was in the process of being fumigated.
Mr Bowe said: ‘It’s a shame because it was a nice holiday until the bites started to appear. They were really painful and itchy- they just made everything uncomfortable.
A spokesperson for TUI UK apologised to hear about the couple’s experience and said their customer services team would be in touch
‘We are so annoyed and upset we hadn’t reported things earlier but we never thought it could have been bed bugs because in all my 50 years we have never had to deal with them and knew what to look for.
‘Nobody advised us either that bed bugs are easily transported on luggage and belongings from an infested area and we only discovered this by reading it on the internet.
‘When we did arrive home we had to strip off and leave our luggage outside till the morning where we had to deal with it.
‘The clothes had to be washed at 60 degrees to kill the bugs and that temperature has ruined quite a lot of our clothes.
‘All other belongings had to be steamed before being brought back into the house. We have visited our GP twice since returning home as a month later Sharon is still covered in bites.’
A spokesperson for TUI UK said: ‘We’re really sorry to hear about Mr Bowe and Ms Murray’s experience.
‘Our customer service teams are in direct contact with Ms Murray to investigate the matter and reach a satisfactory resolution.
‘We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all accommodations we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.’