A British couple claim they were treated like "second-class citizens" at their five-star Mexican hotel after catching Covid. Pam and Peter Ladyman say they informed staff at Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico in Nuevo Vallarta of their positive tests and were told to isolate for the remainder of their stay.
The pair say they then spent 11 days in isolation - during which staff refused to clean their room in unbearable 40-degree heat. They claim they had stone cold meals delivered to their door and had their room key disabled so they couldn't leave.
Pam, 75, says the staff had no sympathy for their situation, and they had to fight for everything they asked for throughout the ordeal. 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 tuned into a living nightmare and the way we were treated was disgusting."
The hotel and the booking company, Tui, have been approached for comment. Pam and Peter flew to Mexico from Manchester Airport on June 22 for what they hoped to be a plush experience. 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. Although they were gutted about the circumstances, they knew they had to do the responsible thing and inform reception staff.
They were then told they must isolate in their room for the remainder of the holiday, but other than that, they claim staff had no protocol in place to deal with the situation. For eleven days the couple, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, claim they were forced to stay locked up in unbearable heat.
Pam says staff came in every day to restock the mini fridge with soft drinks, but although there were spirits in the room's minibar, they were banned from having wine with their dinner. And Pam also claims meals were delivered to their door cold, overcooked and late - and their orders were often completely wrong.
The mum-of-four alleged: "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!"
The couple spent eleven days locked inside, in which time staff did not send cleaners into the room, Pam says. So, Pam says she had to ring her friends who they were on holiday with to go to the supermarket and buy cleaning products for them and leave them at their door.
All this time, Pam was suffering badly with Covid and the claustrophobia that came with being contained to one room for days. She claims she could see villa rooms opposite theirs which were larger and unoccupied, but staff never offered them a swap.
"The staff wanted to do nothing at all to help us, it's like we didn't matter one bit," Pam claimed. "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 of them were still testing positive at the time of their checkout, and they were petrified they were going to be detained.
Since they've been back in the UK, they have complained to Tui's managing director personally about their experience, who has failed to respond - but the couple are adamant they want answers.
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."
Both Tui and the Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico have been approached for comment.
