A FAMILY claims they have been left covered in bed bug bites after holidaying at a "luxury" five-star resort.

Sarah Finch, 33, says her trip was "ruined" by the creepy crawly infestation that left her one-year-old daughter smothered in painful bites on her hands and face.

The mum said she spent her holiday at the Royalton Riviera Cancun stuck in her room after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to the bed bug bites.

She has now hit out at travel group TUI for "completely failing" her family during their 10-day break at the supposedly swanky hotel in Cancun, Mexico.

Sarah had booked the trip as a last-minute treat and wanted to enjoy some quality family time after a hard year of "the pandemic and working long hours".

But she says her family,from Swansea, South Wales, are now "traumatised" after their hellish holiday that them needing medical attention.

She told The Mirror: "I’ve been bed bound and my husband has been so anxious about bringing the bugs home with us that he couldn’t sleep.

"My one-year-old was in the most pain with multiple bites all over her hands and face, she sleeps in baby grows so they were the only places exposed. She was put on medication to reduce the irritation."

“My bites were so inflamed that I had to have an antihistamine shot. I felt wheezy and dizzy all the time.

“My four-year-old spent the holiday feeling very tearful with bites on her face and arms. She just wanted to have some fun but we were all so ill.”

The Finch family have now flown home – but are furious after having to fork out over £2,000 to stay in alternative accommodation.

Sarah told how she had headed to her hotel room to find "the whole bed crawling" with critters.

She asked staff to fumigate it or find them another room – but says no plans were put in place to fix their problem.

The mum said her daughters Lily, four, andCharlotte, one, slept in reception until 11.30pm until staff finally got her in another room.

The business account manager and self-employed interior designer explained she had met at least 12 other guests experiencing the same problem.

"TRAUMATISED"

Sarah said: "In the morning we raised this with the TUI rep. That was 9am Sunday. We asked to be moved from the resort with our health deteriorating.

“I had to see the hotel doctor by this point as I couldn’t walk and I had to have an anti-histamine shot and remain in the room.

"I made eight calls to TUI but not once did the resort manager get in touch and no resolution was offered.

"We were on our own out there so we paid to move ourselves because it was so stressful.

"I feel completely sick and traumatised that we were in this situation but more angry for my children.

"I am just in complete shock not only a 5 star hotel could be so unsanitary and incompetent but that TUI feel it is acceptable to keep guests in such conditions for 5 days without even speaking to us we had to chase every time and eventually paid to move ourselves.”

She says another couple had found bed bugs crawling over their mattresses and sheets sent her a video of the critters.

We constantly feel like we are crawling. It’s been so stressful.

The frustrated family later moved to alternative accommodation at Planet Hollywood, which was a $180 taxi ride away on top of the extra costs for the last-minute room.

Now Sarah is battling against fumigating a mountain of clothing in an attempt to kill any bugs that may have returned home with them.

Sarah said: “We have had to be super careful, two of our cases are still in the car. I have opened them one at a time so far and put our clothes in black bags ready for a hot wash. Then I need to steam and disinfect each suitcase.

“We constantly feel like we are crawling. It’s been so stressful."

A spokesman for TUI said the company was “sorry” to hear about the family’s experience.

“Following an initial investigation by an independent company, no evidence of bed bugs has been found, and no other similar cases have been reported,” they continued.

“We are continuing to look into the family’s concerns which we will be addressing with them directly. We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of the hotels we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.”

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