A couple claim they were treated like "second-class citizens" after they caught covid and were forced to isolate in their five-star hotel.
Pam and Peter Ladyman told staff at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, they had tested positive for coronavirus. They were told to isolate for the remainder of their holiday.
The couple claim they then spent 11 days in isolation and said staff refused to clean their room, they were served stone-cold meals and had their room key disabled, so they could not escape the sweltering 40 degree heat. Pam, 75, said staff had no sympathy for their situation, and they had to fight for everything they asked for throughout their time in isolation.
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She said: "When we think back to being stuck in that hotel room it makes us feel physically sick. What was meant to be a relaxing holiday with our friends after a tough couple of years turned into a living nightmare and the way we were treated was disgusting."
Pam and Peter, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, flew to Mexico from Manchester Airport on June 22. They travelled to the hotel with two friends, and spent the first two days of their two-week holiday relaxing and enjoying the facilities.
But on day three, Pam and Peter tested both positive for covid after beginning to feel unwell and were told to isolate. Pam said staff came in every day to restock the mini fridge with soft drinks, and although there were spirits in the room's minibar, they were banned from having wine with their dinner.
She also claimed meals were delivered to their door cold, overcooked and late - and their orders were often completely wrong. The mum-of-four said: "They didn't care about us at all. It was like we didn't exist.
"Any request I made was denied for some reason or another, and every meal time was challenging as we never knew what was going to arrive. They disabled our room key at the start of our isolation so we really felt like prisoners, and the manager told us if we left the room we'd be evicted.
"The room was unbearably hot and the food was inedible most of the time because it was so overcooked. And they had this ludicrous made-up policy that we were banned from having wine, which made no sense at all as there were four optics of spirits above the fridge.
"At points we just wanted to have a glass of wine, but we couldn't even do that - bear in mind we were still paying customers!"
Pam claims no cleaners were sent to the room during their eleven days of isolation, leading her to ask friends to buy cleaning products for them and leave them at the door.
She added: "The staff wanted to do nothing at all to help us, it's like we didn't matter one bit. They refused to clean the room, and when we asked for new bedsheets they were badly stained. I asked for a brolly so we could sit outside on the balcony and stand the heat but again, they refused.
"Everything we asked for I had to fight for - it was like we were second-class citizens. I emailed our Tui rep for assistance but we never received any positive support. On one occasion I had to get the doctor in to see me as I was feeling so ill, and when I asked her what the covid protocol was, she said she wasn't aware there was one."
On July 6, at the end of their stay, Pam and Peter were finally allowed to leave and catch their flight home. Both were still testing positive at the time of their checkout, and they were worried they could be detained.
Pam said: "When we were told we were allowed to fly home we both burst into tears - we were just so relieved. We both lost half a stone in those two weeks which I think sums up how horrible our experience was. We want Tui to provide answers as to why we were treated so badly and why a supposed five star hotel had no covid protocol in place."
Tui said: "We understand it’s unfortunate that Mr and Mrs Ladyman tested positive for covid and had to self-isolate during their holiday. We can confirm that the RIU Palace Pacifico followed all covid protocols in place and our team in resort were on hand to assist Mr and Mrs Ladyman as much as possible during this time.
"We’d like to reassure our customers that we have robust policies in place and regularly audit all of our hotels in respect of health and safety, including covid safety measures."
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