Hotel owners have blamed the guests for a ‘plague’ of bedbugs at a hotel in Tenerife, which have left hundreds of holidaymakers with bites and scars.
Sun-seekers including Brits abroad have slammed the ‘disgusting’ conditions of the bedrooms, with some demanding to be moved five times, while others switched to another hotel.
Furious guests have shared their photos of the insects found in their bedrooms at the four-star Blue Sea Puerto Resort Hotel, Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife, as well as graphic images of the red raw bites caused by the pests.
At least 25 guests have launched legal action for compensation.
Hotel bosses have blamed guests for bringing the ‘plague’ into the resort.
They admit there is a problem with infestations but insist the rooms are not filthy.
Complaints about the bed bugs infestation were first raised in January but bookings have continued to be taken ever since.
Staff claim they are in control of the problem but holidaymakers are still finding the bugs in the rooms.
Martin Ives and his wife Donna Schneider at the Blue Sea Puerto Resort Hotel in Tenerife
The couple tried to move rooms three times but continued to be attacked by the bed bugs
Martin was covered in bed bugs so much that he did not want to leave his room
Martin Ives his wife Donna Schneider, returned from the resort last month. The couple paid £2,000 for a 14-night stay.
Martin, 49, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, said: ‘We were moved rooms three times before demanding that we were moved to a different hotel.
‘I was bitten a couple of times while staying in the first room but the bed bugs in the second room were really bad.
‘I woke up after the first night in there and I was covered in them. It was disgusting and the holiday was nothing short of a disaster.’
‘The place should have been shut down while it was fumigated. As we left one room, they were putting new guests straight back the one we’d just left.
‘It was awful. Eventually they moved us to a different hotel but by this time I was covered in bites.
‘I ended up staying in my room for the rest of the holiday because when I went out, everyone just stared at me.’
Martin, 48, added: ‘I have still got the bite now and some have scarred.
Martin Ives at the resort last month, where he and his wife spent £2,000 on their two week holiday
Martin said their holiday became a ‘disaster’ when they found the ‘disgusting’ bed bugs
Martin and Donna woke up covered in beg bites and Martin said he still has one of the bites a month later
‘We shouldn’t have stayed and should have booked a flight home. It was that bad.’
The Mabon family returned home from the resort in July after a two-week holiday – costing over £2,300. They complained to reception staff after being bitten during the first night of their stay.
Jean-Marie Mabon described their room as ‘disgusting.’
The 57-year-old retail supervisor said: ‘It’s outrageous they expect people to pay for this filth.
‘We were itching, uncomfortable, and the staff just shrugged us off. We’ll never step foot in that place again.’
Her husband Scott, 63, added: ‘The cleaners were in the room most days. How did they not notice the room was full of bed bugs?
‘The hotel needs to be shut down but travel agents are still sending guests to the hotel.
‘It was strange because they reception was immaculate but the corridors and rooms were awful.’
Scott, from Largs, added: ‘It totally ruined the holiday and we were counting down the days to when we could go home.
‘We disposed of the suitcases as soon as we got back because we didn’t want to infest our home.’
Jean-Marie Mabon said she will ‘never step foot in’ the Blue Sea Puerto Resort Hotel again
Scott Mabon, pictured outside the Blue Sea hotel, said it ‘needs to be shut down’
The bed bug bites on Jean-Marie’s arm, which she got after just one night at the hotel
Aaron Coote and his partner Tanya Hadfield, 37, suffered bites to their back, shoulders, legs, hands, and neck when they booked a week’s break in February.
Aaron, 42, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said: ‘We were bitten on the very first night. We must have been bitten more than 100 times.
‘We woke up covered in red, swollen bites. It was agonising.
‘They were coming out of the wallpaper and bed linen.
‘The staff didn’t seem to care. They offered to freeze our luggage for three days and moved us to a different room.
‘It wasn’t just us who had problems. Other guests suffered bites and were also moved to different rooms.
‘It ruined our holiday because we spent the rest of break in constant fear of waking up and finding more bed bugs.’
Aaron, who spent £2,100 for the all-inclusive package, added: ‘It was awful and is obviously a massive problem throughout the hotel.
‘The hotel should be closed down and fumigated.
‘The whole ordeal was an absolute nightmare. I was still finding new bite marks on my return home, and it really has had a negative impact on my physical and mental health’.
Hotel owners said the infestation in the bedrooms ‘is not due to a lack of cleanliness’
Tourists have shared pictures of the bedbugs which were found in the rooms
A spokesman for the Blue Sea Puerto Resort Hotel said: ‘Bedbug issues are taken very seriously.
‘And, although there have been cases of bedbugs in our hotel, it is not due to a lack of cleanliness, but this problem has come to us through the luggage of several travellers from France and Central Europe.
‘The plague came to the Canary Islands from Europe and we are trying very hard to take care of it and strictly adhere to the hygiene standards and protocol in order to offer our guests a smooth holiday.
‘When they are detected in the rooms, a strict extermination protocol is activated.’
Michael Walker, a partner at the Holiday Claims Bureau, said: ‘It is deeply concerning that holidaymakers continue to be sent to this hotel by tour operators when they are aware of the infestation of bed bugs.
‘Many of our clients have reported similar experiences, suffering a significant number of bites which can often lead to long term scarring.
‘The hotel unfortunately does not seem to be taking this seriously and are failing to eradicate the problem.
‘This is more than just a nuisance. Guests are enduring what can only be described as holiday torture, and they deserve compensation. It’s time for the authorities to step in.’
