‘You are exposing yourself to risk’: Expert advice after Canadians sickened at Mexico resort

The Sandos Playacar resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Following reports from Canadians describing dreadful travel experiences at a resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, more travellers have come forward to share what they went through.

Steve Pontarelli, a Quebec man, told CTV News that guests started “dropping like flies” at his wedding.

“Some didn’t get out of bed for 4 days and didn’t get any food in their systems,” he said.

Pontarelli recalls a nightmarish scene last week at the Sandos Playacar resort after 80 of the 90 people in his group were out of commission, overcome by symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.

“One guest passed out and broke part of his cheekbone on the sink from puking so much,” he said. “He wound up breaking 3 fingers at the same time and had to be rushed to the hospital.”

Pontarelli claims resort staff were not interested in helping sick guests.

“We were arguing in the hallways with the staff, nobody cared, we went to see the medic and they were pushing us away,” he added.

B.C.’s Sheena Robinson and Manitoba’s Joel Boily described similar experiences and are demanding answers.

CTV News reached out to Sandos Playacar and has not received a response. The resort claims online it follows strict cleaning and hygiene protocols and that the health and safety of guests is its top priority.

Experts suggest how to stay safe

An Ontario emergency room doctor says that’s not always the case.

“Everybody’s touching everything, in warm weather if things are sitting out, if things may not be properly refrigerated and chilled appropriately, you are exposing yourself to risk,” said Dr. Lorne Scharf, the chief of emergency medicine at Cornwall Community Hospital.

“The part of the conversation no one likes to talk about is hand washing is so important because of where people’s hands may have been. A lot of food borne illnesses are spread unfortunately through fecal oral transmission.”

Scharf suggests Canadian travellers checking in to an all-inclusive resort be wary about what they’re eating, and how it was prepared.

“If things look like they haven’t been refrigerated for two hours, don’t eat them. If you look at the cheese and the sides are starting to curl.”

On the other hand, “If you see people are practicing good hygiene, there’s Purell next to food prep areas, and people are using it and not sharing utensils those are all good things and things I like to see,” he said.

One travel expert advises that prior to travelling, resort-goers should have adequate travel medical insurance.

“Let’s say you do have travel insurance. You don’t need to rely on the resort or the airline to get you that attention. You can call the travel insurance provider immediately and they can actually direct you to a hospital or clinic that will take care of you,” suggests Barry Choi.

Choi also suggests people having a bad experience a resort start writing everything down.

“It’s important to document any issues you have with the resort, especially when it comes to food poisoning that may require hospital visits. Just have a detailed summary and then send an email or make a complaint after the fact. Just be polite and maybe there may be some kind of compensation.”