A three-year-old boy spent a year recovering from a serious illness during a family holiday at a five-star resort in Turkey, and his family has now criticised the hotel’s ‘disgusting’ hygiene standards.
Isaiah was staying with 24 family members at the Xafira Deluxe Resort and Spa in Alanya to celebrate his 60th birthday. In late June, he developed an eye infection and stomach pain.
His aunt, Pavern Gill, said her four-year-old daughter and another child also became ill during the final days of their vacation, with fever and stomach pains.
But, she said, Isaiah was dealing with “the worst thing that could happen,” and when he finally got home, he had to be rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with gangrene in his appendix, gastroenteritis and E. coli poisoning.
His appendix burst and he was rushed into surgery, a tense, “life-or-death” situation his aunt described, from which he is still recovering a month later.
His devastated mother has told MailOnline how their happy life in Warwickshire has been turned upside down by the horrific incident and has warned other families not to repeat their mistake by staying in the same hotel.
Isaiah, three, fell ill while on holiday with his family in Turkey at the end of June and was admitted to hospital after returning home to the UK
Isaiah stayed at the Xafira Deluxe Resort and Spa in Alanya with 24 members of his extended family to celebrate his 60th birthday
“What should have been a joyful holiday in Turkey turned into a nightmare we could never have imagined,” said Pavern, Isaiah’s aunt.
She and her sister, Isaiah’s mother, each paid around £1,500 for a week’s stay at the resort with their family, as they wanted to celebrate their uncle’s birthday.
When they got there, Pavern said they noticed a distinct lack of hygiene.
“There was so much that wasn’t cleaned,” she said. “It was so dirty — the rooms, the toilets — the hygiene in that hotel was terrible.”
She alleged that the staff had not cleaned the pool and that there was no chlorine in it, adding that they could only get the cleaners to use bleach in their rooms if they gave them a tip.
But, she said, the group never expected their children to get sick until they started showing symptoms toward the end of the holiday.
‘My daughter and two nephews got a fever and such a high temperature, but at first we thought it was because they were in the sun and in and out of the pool. We didn’t think anything of it.’
Isaiah then developed a serious eye infection, she said, causing his eye to “bulge out and swell up tremendously.”
‘The kids kept crying a lot, saying they had stomach aches. But I just thought, “Maybe it’s just the food, maybe they’re not happy with the food?”‘
Pavern said they had concerns about the food after noticing a “foul stench” coming from the resort’s kitchen.
She said hotel staff struggled to express their concerns about the hotel’s hygiene due to the language barrier, and she spoke to only one staff member, who spoke limited English.
Finally, the family flew home from Turkey on July 1, with the children still suffering from a serious, mysterious illness.
Doctors at Warwick realised Isaiah was seriously ill and sent him in an ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital
“On the return flight my daughter was screaming in pain,” she said, adding that the girl was so badly burned that cabin crew asked passengers if anyone could provide medical assistance.
Back in the UK, the four-year-old girl was admitted to hospital twice, her mother said, but doctors did not know what was wrong with her until she got the results of her stool tests.
She said these showed that her daughter was suffering from acute gastroenteritis and glandular fever. The little girl has since recovered, but her nephew Isaiah remained seriously ill for weeks.
The boy’s mother, who works for the NHS, took him to doctors when they were in Turkey, where he was given eye drops and painkillers after his temperature rose to 39 degrees Celsius.
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 they didn’t help.
After he vomited violently repeatedly one day, the family decided they had had enough and took Isaiah to Warwick Hospital.
Doctors soon realised he was seriously ill and sent him by ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
One in five visitors who left reviews on Tripadvisor rated the hotel as terrible – the worst rating – while other travelers also complained about poor hygiene
There they discovered that he had severe gangrene and immediately referred him for emergency surgery.
Isaiah’s mother said they were hoping for keyhole surgery, but the infection was so bad he had to have major surgery and be completely ‘cleaned out’.
“I really didn’t expect him to make it in this state,” said his mother, who explained that after the surgery he had to be put on an IV, morphine and a feeding tube.
Isaiah was in the hospital for over two weeks after being admitted in mid-July. His mother was with him the entire time.
He was released from the hospital on July 30, but a few days later he was rushed back to the emergency room, his mother said.
He is now back home, but his full recovery is expected to take “months or years.” Doctors have told his mother he may need to be readmitted because he is still “not eating or drinking properly.”
“He’s only three, this is so traumatic for him,” his aunt said. “It could take him a year to fully recover.”
She added that the disease has “taken so much out of the boy”, who was previously a “happy, lively child who loved to play”.
His mother said, “I feel like we got hit by a bus… Isaiah and I have a wonderful life.”
Isaiah spent more than two weeks in the hospital after being admitted in mid-July, with his mother at his bedside the entire time.
‘I go to work, he goes to daycare, I spend a lot of time with him, he plays a lot, he goes to football every Friday, but I had to stop that.
‘Normally he is a very active, exuberant boy, but at the moment everything has come to a standstill.’
Pavern said: ‘This ordeal has devastated us… The medical and financial burdens have been overwhelming, especially for my sister, who works part-time.’
The family now has a fundraising to support Isaiah and his mother, who had to stop working to care for him.
The sisters said they wanted to talk about their family’s horrific experiences to raise awareness about “the appalling conditions in this so-called five-star hotel.”
In a Tripadvisor review of the Alan Xafira Hotel, Pavern warned other travelers: ‘I strongly advise against staying at this hotel.
‘The health risks are serious and their negligence has caused enormous suffering to me and my family.
‘For the safety of your loved ones, choose another accommodation, especially if you have young children.’
One in five visitors who left a review on the site rated the hotel as terrible (the worst rating). Other travelers also complained about the poor hygiene.
Xafira Hotel has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.