More than a dozen sick British tourists have been put on IV drips after getting struck down with a mysterious sickness bug at a four-star Thomas Cook holiday hotel – which the tour operator is still taking bookings for. Around 18 holidaymakers – including members of a wedding party – have complained of sickness and diarrhoea at the ‘dream resort’ in Holguin, Cuba. At least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms while 18 others are said to have been given saline drips to treat severe hydration after falling ill with suspected food poisoning at Hotel Playa Pesquero. Scroll down for video . Around 18 holidaymakers - including members of a wedding party - have complained of sickness and diarrhoea at the 'dream resort' and at least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms . More than a dozen sick British tourists have been put on IV drips after getting struck down with a mysterious sickness bug at a four-star Thomas Cook holiday hotel Hotel Playa Pesquero in Holguin, Cuba . It is not the first time holidaymakers have been struck down with illness at the hotel. Just a few weeks ago tour operator Thomas Cook agreed to pay out £150,000 in compensation to 20 tourists who went down with food poisoning at the same hotel last year. And in 2012, newlyweds James and Collette Sullivan started the process of suing holiday giant First Choice after the pair and their two young children contracted a ‘Salmonella bug’ while staying at the resort to get married. At the time a First Choice spokeswoman said: 'We are sorry to hear the family did not enjoy their holiday.' The latest outbreak is said to be affecting around 80% of the visitors staying at the 944-room hotel. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed one person had been hospitalised since the outbreak started last month. Several holidaymakers have told of the ‘poor standard of hygiene’ and ‘obscene’ toilet facilities at the resort via travel website TripAdvisor. One user, DominoOne, from London, wrote: ‘At this moment in time there is a sickness bug going around which has wiped out approximately 80% of the hotel with 18 people requiring IV fluids and a number have been admitted to hospital. ‘This was confirmed to me by the numerous on site doctors following my families many visits to the onsite Surgery. Several holidaymakers took to travel website Trip Advisor to complain about the 'poor standard of hygiene' and 'obscene' toilet facilities at Hotel Playa Pesquero . One TripAdvisor user, Pete May, wrote: 'I was part of a large wedding group and I think almost everyone had "bowel issues" mine last 2 days, not good' ‘The general standard of hygiene in the hotel is very poor. No hand washes on entry and exits, as you find in other quality hotels.’ Patsie00, from the West Midlands, branded her trip to the hotel ‘hugely disappointing’ and said: ‘We, along with a lot of other guests caught what we were told was a virus in the hotel, and were ill for 6 days. ‘I would NOT ever recommend this hotel ........ it's a lesson learnt for us.’ Dande0508, from Norfolk, added: ‘The food was very poor, about 80% of hotel was ill with a bad belly. ‘We would not go back to this hotel again, purely because of tummy bug and food.’ Pete May, wrote: 'I was part of a large wedding group and I think almost everyone had "bowel issues" mine last 2 days, not good' And ChrisB posted: ‘My wife fell ill after two of the evening meals. On our final night after dining at the seafood restaurant, my wife and I both felt nauseous.’ Lawyers for holidaymakers who have been taken ill at the resort said visitors are now being advised not to go in the swimming pool area and said it was looking into launching a group action case. Simon Lomax, of lawyers Simpson Millar, said: ‘While this latest outbreak is quite rightly very worrying for holidaymakers it doesn't surprise us as we have just settled a case against Thomas Cook for a similar outbreak last year at the same hotel. ‘In that case around twenty British holidaymakers were struck down with a severe stomach and sickness bug with diarrhoea. ‘They spent the majority of their stay confined to the bedrooms at the four star rated hotel. It later turned out to be Salmonella caused by poor hygiene practices. The latest outbreak at Hotel Playa Pesquero in Holguin, Cuba is said to be affecting around 80% of the visitors staying at the 944-room hotel and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed one had been hospitalised . Several guests, including Patsie00, complained about the 'obscene' toilet facilities and said there were only two cubicles of toilets by each pool, which are supposed to cater for up to 600 guests . ‘We understand that a hotel doctor is now advising people not to go in the swimming pool area due to the risk of passing on infection. ‘It looks like dozens of Brits are affected and reports suggest many of the guests have been hospitalised and put on an IV drip because of the severe nature of the gastric symptoms. ‘That’s a big issue with dehydration in a hot country when you can’t keep anything down.' He also said he suspected the outbreak to be a repeat of previous Salmonella poisoning at Playa Pesquero. He said: ‘The allegations raised are very similar this time; birds in the restaurant, poor food hygiene, birds droppings in food, dirty equipment and under-cooked food. ‘They are all problems that lead to a good suspicion of food poisoning . ‘This is not an acceptable practice as the same rules apply to food and water hygiene as back home. ‘Holiday companies need to take steps to ensure that international hygiene standards are complied with and that holidaymakers are not subjected to food-borne illness and disease. ‘The attention to cleanliness of equipment and staff is essential in preventing illness outbreak but in this case it looks like lessons have not been learned.’ While some holidaymakers have paid extra for earlier flights back to the UK, many are still stranded at the hotel because flights by tour operators only run fortnightly this time of year. At least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms while 18 others are said to have been given saline drips to treat severe hydration after falling ill with suspected food poisoning at Hotel Playa Pesquero . Despite reports of the serious outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea at the resort, Thomas Cook is still selling hotel packages to Hotel Playa Pesquero which is deemed a four-star resort . Mr Lomax added: ‘It is difficult getting home early from Cuba as flights are fortnightly with the tour operator. These families have saved a long time for what was supposed to be a dream holiday. ‘They’ve spent the whole time sitting on the toilet and some have been hospitalised. Their holidays have been spoilt.’ Despite reports of the serious outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea at the resort, Thomas Cook is still selling hotel packages to the hotel. The four-star Hotel Playa Pesquero is described by the tour operator giant as having ‘beautiful surroundings and a truly relaxing atmosphere’ which makes the hotel ‘come up trumps’. In 2012, newlyweds James and Collette Sullivan started the process of suing holiday giant First Choice after the pair and their two young children contracted a 'Salmonella bug' while staying at the hotel for their wedding . It boasts two swimming pools, an international buffet restaurant and several a la carte restaurants. An all-inclusive seven night stay, based on two people sharing in May, is currently on offer via the Thomas Cook website for £870 - with flights from Gatwick included. Thomas Cook is not the only operator to use the hotel but they have launched an investigation after some of their guests fell ill. A Thomas Cook spokesman said: ‘Thomas Cook takes health and hygiene issues very seriously and maintaining the safety of our guests is our number one priority. ‘We can confirm that a number of customers staying at the Hotel Playa Pesquero in Cuba have recently reported a stomach upset which is currently under investigation. 'We are working with management at the Hotel Playa Pesquero to ensure that the appropriate procedures are being followed and those customers in the resort are offered every assistance by our dedicated resort team. ‘We know how important holidays are to our customers and how upsetting it can be when they are ill overseas. We will continue to follow rigorous processes to establish the cause of all cases of sickness reported to our staff. ‘We urge any customers with concerns in resort to contact a member of the resort team immediately for assistance.’ A spokesman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: ‘We have become aware of an incident at a hotel in Holguin, Cuba in March. ‘We understand that a number of guests, including some British nationals, became ill, resulting in one person being hospitalised. ‘We stand ready to provide consular assistance if requested.’
One hospitalised and dozens on IV drips after outbreak at 'four-star' hotel .
Visitors have complained about 'obscene and poor standard' of hygiene .
Holidaymakers have been struck down with food poisoning at resort before .
£150,000 in compensation was paid out to 20 tourists who fell ill last year .
Thomas Cook still selling holiday packages to hotel despite latest outbreak .
More than a dozen sick British tourists have been put on IV drips after getting struck down with a mysterious sickness bug at a four-star Thomas Cook holiday hotel – which the tour operator is still taking bookings for. Around 18 holidaymakers – including members of a wedding party – have complained of sickness and diarrhoea at the ‘dream resort’ in Holguin, Cuba. At least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms while 18 others are said to have been given saline drips to treat severe hydration after falling ill with suspected food poisoning at Hotel Playa Pesquero. Scroll down for video . Around 18 holidaymakers - including members of a wedding party - have complained of sickness and diarrhoea at the 'dream resort' and at least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms . More than a dozen sick British tourists have been put on IV drips after getting struck down with a mysterious sickness bug at a four-star Thomas Cook holiday hotel Hotel Playa Pesquero in Holguin, Cuba . It is not the first time holidaymakers have been struck down with illness at the hotel. Just a few weeks ago tour operator Thomas Cook agreed to pay out £150,000 in compensation to 20 tourists who went down with food poisoning at the same hotel last year. And in 2012, newlyweds James and Collette Sullivan started the process of suing holiday giant First Choice after the pair and their two young children contracted a ‘Salmonella bug’ while staying at the resort to get married. At the time a First Choice spokeswoman said: 'We are sorry to hear the family did not enjoy their holiday.' The latest outbreak is said to be affecting around 80% of the visitors staying at the 944-room hotel. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed one person had been hospitalised since the outbreak started last month. Several holidaymakers have told of the ‘poor standard of hygiene’ and ‘obscene’ toilet facilities at the resort via travel website TripAdvisor. One user, DominoOne, from London, wrote: ‘At this moment in time there is a sickness bug going around which has wiped out approximately 80% of the hotel with 18 people requiring IV fluids and a number have been admitted to hospital. ‘This was confirmed to me by the numerous on site doctors following my families many visits to the onsite Surgery. Several holidaymakers took to travel website Trip Advisor to complain about the 'poor standard of hygiene' and 'obscene' toilet facilities at Hotel Playa Pesquero . One TripAdvisor user, Pete May, wrote: 'I was part of a large wedding group and I think almost everyone had "bowel issues" mine last 2 days, not good' ‘The general standard of hygiene in the hotel is very poor. No hand washes on entry and exits, as you find in other quality hotels.’ Patsie00, from the West Midlands, branded her trip to the hotel ‘hugely disappointing’ and said: ‘We, along with a lot of other guests caught what we were told was a virus in the hotel, and were ill for 6 days. ‘I would NOT ever recommend this hotel ........ it's a lesson learnt for us.’ Dande0508, from Norfolk, added: ‘The food was very poor, about 80% of hotel was ill with a bad belly. ‘We would not go back to this hotel again, purely because of tummy bug and food.’ Pete May, wrote: 'I was part of a large wedding group and I think almost everyone had "bowel issues" mine last 2 days, not good' And ChrisB posted: ‘My wife fell ill after two of the evening meals. On our final night after dining at the seafood restaurant, my wife and I both felt nauseous.’ Lawyers for holidaymakers who have been taken ill at the resort said visitors are now being advised not to go in the swimming pool area and said it was looking into launching a group action case. Simon Lomax, of lawyers Simpson Millar, said: ‘While this latest outbreak is quite rightly very worrying for holidaymakers it doesn't surprise us as we have just settled a case against Thomas Cook for a similar outbreak last year at the same hotel. ‘In that case around twenty British holidaymakers were struck down with a severe stomach and sickness bug with diarrhoea. ‘They spent the majority of their stay confined to the bedrooms at the four star rated hotel. It later turned out to be Salmonella caused by poor hygiene practices. The latest outbreak at Hotel Playa Pesquero in Holguin, Cuba is said to be affecting around 80% of the visitors staying at the 944-room hotel and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed one had been hospitalised . Several guests, including Patsie00, complained about the 'obscene' toilet facilities and said there were only two cubicles of toilets by each pool, which are supposed to cater for up to 600 guests . ‘We understand that a hotel doctor is now advising people not to go in the swimming pool area due to the risk of passing on infection. ‘It looks like dozens of Brits are affected and reports suggest many of the guests have been hospitalised and put on an IV drip because of the severe nature of the gastric symptoms. ‘That’s a big issue with dehydration in a hot country when you can’t keep anything down.' He also said he suspected the outbreak to be a repeat of previous Salmonella poisoning at Playa Pesquero. He said: ‘The allegations raised are very similar this time; birds in the restaurant, poor food hygiene, birds droppings in food, dirty equipment and under-cooked food. ‘They are all problems that lead to a good suspicion of food poisoning . ‘This is not an acceptable practice as the same rules apply to food and water hygiene as back home. ‘Holiday companies need to take steps to ensure that international hygiene standards are complied with and that holidaymakers are not subjected to food-borne illness and disease. ‘The attention to cleanliness of equipment and staff is essential in preventing illness outbreak but in this case it looks like lessons have not been learned.’ While some holidaymakers have paid extra for earlier flights back to the UK, many are still stranded at the hotel because flights by tour operators only run fortnightly this time of year. At least one visitor has been taken to hospital due to the severe symptoms while 18 others are said to have been given saline drips to treat severe hydration after falling ill with suspected food poisoning at Hotel Playa Pesquero . Despite reports of the serious outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea at the resort, Thomas Cook is still selling hotel packages to Hotel Playa Pesquero which is deemed a four-star resort . Mr Lomax added: ‘It is difficult getting home early from Cuba as flights are fortnightly with the tour operator. These families have saved a long time for what was supposed to be a dream holiday. ‘They’ve spent the whole time sitting on the toilet and some have been hospitalised. Their holidays have been spoilt.’ Despite reports of the serious outbreak of sickness and diarrhoea at the resort, Thomas Cook is still selling hotel packages to the hotel. The four-star Hotel Playa Pesquero is described by the tour operator giant as having ‘beautiful surroundings and a truly relaxing atmosphere’ which makes the hotel ‘come up trumps’. In 2012, newlyweds James and Collette Sullivan started the process of suing holiday giant First Choice after the pair and their two young children contracted a 'Salmonella bug' while staying at the hotel for their wedding . It boasts two swimming pools, an international buffet restaurant and several a la carte restaurants. An all-inclusive seven night stay, based on two people sharing in May, is currently on offer via the Thomas Cook website for £870 - with flights from Gatwick included. Thomas Cook is not the only operator to use the hotel but they have launched an investigation after some of their guests fell ill. A Thomas Cook spokesman said: ‘Thomas Cook takes health and hygiene issues very seriously and maintaining the safety of our guests is our number one priority. ‘We can confirm that a number of customers staying at the Hotel Playa Pesquero in Cuba have recently reported a stomach upset which is currently under investigation. 'We are working with management at the Hotel Playa Pesquero to ensure that the appropriate procedures are being followed and those customers in the resort are offered every assistance by our dedicated resort team. ‘We know how important holidays are to our customers and how upsetting it can be when they are ill overseas. We will continue to follow rigorous processes to establish the cause of all cases of sickness reported to our staff. ‘We urge any customers with concerns in resort to contact a member of the resort team immediately for assistance.’ A spokesman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: ‘We have become aware of an incident at a hotel in Holguin, Cuba in March. ‘We understand that a number of guests, including some British nationals, became ill, resulting in one person being hospitalised. ‘We stand ready to provide consular assistance if requested.’
tourists have been put on IV drips after getting time holidaymakers have been struck down with in compensation to 20 tourists who went down with food poisoning at the same hotel last year. And Advisor to complain about the 'poor standard of practices. The latest outbreak at Hotel Playa have been hospitalised and put on an IV drip the resort, Thomas Cook is still selling hotel packages to the hotel. The four-star Hotel Playa