‘Worst 12 hours of my life’: Canadians sickened at Mexico resort call for investigation

Two Canadian families are speaking out over the lack of support they received from their Mexican resort after becoming violently ill. Andrew Johnson reports.

A pair of Canadians, who live several provinces apart, have returned home from a Mexican resort still feeling ill and are desperate to warn other travellers who they hope will never have a similar experience.

“It was the worst 12 hours of my life,” Sheena Robinson told CTV News Tuesday at her Maple Ridge, B.C. home.

A week earlier, Robinson, her husband, and three children checked in at the all-inclusive Sandos Playacar resort in Playa del Carmen, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. They were part of a group of 32 people, most from Metro Vancouver, attending a friend’s wedding. Robinson says everyone but two people in the group ended up sick. Robinson and her family arrived at the hotel Monday, Feb. 17, and says she woke up Wednesday morning violently ill.

“I immediately started vomiting, followed pretty quickly after that by terrible diarrhea.”

The rest of Robinson’s family was soon in the same predicament, except for one daughter, who due to a nut allergy had not eaten the same food as the rest of the family in the resort’s buffet.

She says the resort’s response to the family’s requests for assistance was unacceptable.

“We were calling for help in terms of needing towels, help dealing with soiled sheets, or garbage cans full of vomit,” she said. “We were put on hold for 1 to 2 hours and when someone would finally answer and said they were on their way, it would be 2 to 6 hours to see someone actually arrive at your door.”

Unsure of the potential cause of their illness, the family relied on food and water obtained off-site. Robinson claims when she approached staff demanding answers about the illness that had affected dozens in her group, she was given apologies, but no explanation.

“Trying to reassure me everything there was safe, even though it was obvious to me it wasn’t,” she said.

She says the local health authority arrived at the resort Friday, Feb. 21, and shut down two of the resort’s buffet restaurants, which were still closed when the family took off back to Canada on Feb. 24.

Six days after first falling ill, Robinson says she still has no appetite, and had a doctor’s appointment scheduled Tuesday for testing to try to determine what sickened her family.

Three provinces away, Winnipeg wedding photographer Joel Boily is also waiting on testing to shed light on what left him, his wife, and their two young sons in rough shape at the same resort. Boily’s family were at Sandos Playacar from Feb. 12 to 19, also part of a large group attending a wedding Boily had been hired to photograph.

About two and a half days into their stay, Boily’s sons, aged two and four, became seriously ill. Eleven days later, one of them is still sick. Boily is also still dealing with stomach cramps and low energy.

“We’ve all been tested, we’re waiting for a result,” Boily told CTV News. He says others in his group who became ill, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea, have since tested positive for norovirus, E. coli and salmonella.

Like Robinson’s family, Boily relied on ordering food and water via a local delivery service. He says bottled water was available for purchase at the hotel for US$12 per bottle. Boily says there was a doctor on-site at the resort, which he initially appreciated, but then learned an appointment cost US$200 per person.

Boily knows some may write the situation off as something that can happen when you vacation in Mexico, but believes his case, and the illness of hundreds of others who recently stayed at the resort who have now congregated online, is the result of negligence.

“The story was identical throughout everybody we’ve come in contact with,” Boily said.

He says staff at the hotel seemed to have been instructed to reassure guests there was nothing wrong at the resort.

“Some people might be sick, but there’s viruses going around,” he was told. “You must have been sick before you got here.”

Boily has contacted Mexican authorities and is demanding a public investigation into the conditions at the resort.

“I want the resort to clean up their act, own it, and take responsibility.”

Sandos Playacar has not responded to a request for comment from CTV News, but it has responded to recent Google reviews alleging guests got sick at the resort, saying in part, “At Sandos Playacar, we are aware of the importance of maintaining the safety of our valued guests in the face of the viral outbreaks that have occurred in some countries, and that, unfortunately, have affected several hotels in the destination. We reaffirm our commitment to the health and safety of our visitors through our hygiene protocols and additional measures, which are designed to ensure their well-being. To do this, we carry out continuous disinfections on all surfaces and areas of the resort, following strict hygiene and cleaning protocols.”

Robinson wonders why Canadian travel agents and airlines are not warning customers in advance of recent reports of illness at the resort.

“Why are we sending Canadians there to get sick? It makes no sense,” she said.

Robinson says she booked her trip through Air Canada Vacations and has not received a response from the airline. CTV News reached out and received a statement from Air Canada Vacations that reads, in part, “While we cannot speak on behalf of the hotel, our hotel partner has assured us it is committed to ensuring a safe environment for all its guests.” The Airline told CTV News it is monitoring the situation at the hotel “closely.”

Robinson is hopeful other Canadian travellers will see her story and think twice before booking their next vacation.

“All-inclusives are out for me right now,” she said.