Mum ‘rushed to hospital unconscious’ on 5 star Turkey holiday after being struck by ‘extreme bug’

A 41-year-old mum who dished out almost $15,000 to stay at a 5-star resort says her dream trip turned into an absolute nightmare.

A mum says she was rushed to hospital unconscious after falling ill on an all-inclusive five-star holiday.

Jennifer Bowditch was staying a stunning resort in Turkey, with her family, when she was struck with “severe food poisoning”.

The 41-year-old claims she experienced “extreme diarrhoea and sickness” after eating chilli chicken at the hotel’s buffet a few days into the week-long trip.

She says she was the only one of her family to have the dish, and it took just a couple of hours to fall ill.

After being stuck on the toilet, Ms Bowditch allegedly began to lose consciousness and was taken to a local hospital and put on an IV drip.

The mum-of-two, who had booked the AU$14,500 getaway through UK-based travel agency TUI, later discovered the BBC’s Watchdog had investigated the hotel for food poisoning and hygiene complaints in 2023.

During the family’s stay, Ms Bowditch filmed staff seemingly fishing faeces from the communal swimming pool with a net – in the same way as documented in the Watchdog report.

A mum claims a holiday 'nightmare' saw her hospitalised with 'severe food poisoning'. Picture: Kennedy News Copy.

When approached in 2023, TUI said it was “aware of a small number of complaints” in relation to illness at the resort.

Ms Bowditch, who was away from August 2 to 9, wants to warn others against visiting.

The football coaching company director, from Ware, Hertfordshire, said: “It is sold as a five-star hotel. It is not.

“It was a holiday from hell. It makes me feel sick that we spent all that money on a nightmare. It was scary.

“People are screaming out for this to be noticed but the hotel is covering it up. I don’t think TUI is dealing with it greatly.

“I’ve never been so ill. It’s totally unacceptable.”

Ms Bowditch is convinced it was a chilli chicken dish she ate on August 5 that made her sick.

“I was fine beforehand, and we didn’t go outside of the complex,” she added.

“Three to four hours later I started feeling extremely tired. I just had no appetite, which is unlike me.

“I went to my room and I went from zero to 100.

“I was so ill with extreme diarrhoea and extreme sickness, I couldn’t leave the toilet. It was uncontrollable.

“Then I started going in and out of consciousness. A doctor came and took all my stats and said, ‘You’ve got to go to hospital immediately’.”

Ms Bowditch experienced 'extreme diarrhoea and extreme sickness' after eating the chilli chicken at the hotel's buffet. Picture: Kennedy News.

Jennifer Bowditch and her family stayed at the all-inclusive hotel during their holiday in Antalya, Turkey. Picture: Kennedy News

Ms Bowditch claims she was taken to a private hospital, where she had to fork out AU$3860 in medical bills during her 24-hour stay.

She was allegedly put on an IV drip and given antibiotics, but doctors did “everything in their power” not to suggest it was caused by food poisoning.

“I know that’s what it was,” the parent added.

“I’ve got all my reports. On one of them it says it was an infectious disease and another says it was a gastric problem, but they gave me all the drugs you’d be on for food poisoning.

“They didn’t want to release me because I had low blood pressure – another symptom of food poisoning.”

After being discharged, Ms Bowditch returned to the hotel and immediately asked TUI if they could be transferred somewhere else.

Their request was reportedly denied, but the family were allowed to eat at the resort’s adults-only restaurant as a “goodwill gesture”.

There, they allegedly “survived” on the beige foods to avoid becoming unwell again.

“TUI told us there was nowhere for us to move to, and that we would have to pay for it,” Ms Bowditch said.

“We were scared of eating there, so for the remainder of the holiday my kids survived on pizza, chips, croissants, and bananas.

“I was on edge. I didn’t trust them. I lost all faith in the hotel.

“The hygiene was horrendous. We survived for two days because we had to, then came back feeling horrendous.”

Ms Bowditch claims she’s never felt so sick in her life. Picture: Kennedy News.

Just a few days into the trip and after only eating at the hotel complex, 41-year-old Ms Bowditch claims she experienced 'extreme diarrhoea and extreme sickness'. Picture: Kennedy News.

Ms Bowditch returned to the UK and requested a full refund from TUI as advertising the hotel as being five-star was “misleading”.

“They make it look amazing but it is very misleading,” she added.

“I saw that it had five stars and thought, ‘You can’t go wrong, you know you’re safe’, but there was a Watchdog report on this very hotel last year.

“There are more and more people on Facebook saying they were ill too.”

In 2023, the BBC’s Watchdog investigated claims by numerous holiday-makers staying at the Royal Seginus Hotel, the hotel where Ms Bowditch stayed.

One couple, Jayne and Ricki, visited with their nine-year-old daughter Miley, who started complaining of stomach pains, diarrhoea and sickness on the fifth day of their 11-day stay.

She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors allegedly stated it was a bacterial infection picked up from either food, seawater or the hotel pool.

Like Ms Bowditch, Jayne claims she witnessed a staff member fishing poo out of the pool and putting it in a bush.

Another traveller, Sarah, says her nine-month-old daughter Nellie developed a severe rash within days of arriving at the hotel.

She claims to have taken her to A & E, where medics said she’d had a bacterial reaction from the pool.

Other customers have launched legal action against TUI for the distress caused.

It has a 4.5 rating on Tripadvisor, but many of the most recent reviews mention getting poorly from the food, smelly towels and being confined to bed for a week.

In Ms Bowditch’s case, the Royal Seginus Hotel said it maintained “close communication” with the family throughout their visit and “liaised with medical professionals” to “confirm there were no reports of poisoning”.

A spokesperson added that all guest concerns are taken “seriously” and the management team “adhered to all necessary procedures and responsibilities during this situation”.

TUI has been approached for comment. But a spokesperson previously said: “We are aware of a small number of cases of illness at Royal Seginus in Turkey.

“As this is now a legal matter it would not be appropriate for us to provide comment on these cases.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission