British holidaymaker, 22, says Spanish Covid quarantine hotel was ‘worse than a prison’ claiming he was ‘left without food for 24 hours’ and staff ‘RATIONED’ basic supplies including paracetamol and bottled water
- Cameron Moir ‘was left without food for 24 hours’ at the Hotel Palma Bellver
- He also claims staff at hotel in Palma, Majorca, stopped his supermarket orders
- The 22-year-old was in quarantine after girlfriend Bethany Keenan caught Covid
- But Mr Moir had to stay longer after he tested positive for the virus days later
A British man says a Spanish quarantine hotel where he had to stay after testing positive for Covid was ‘worse than a prison’.
Cameron Moir said he was left without food for 24 hours at Hotel Palma Bellver in Palma, Majorca, where he accused staff of rationing basic supplies such as paracetamol and bottled water.
The 22-year-old, from Tile Hill, Coventry, also claims his access to online food deliveries from the local supermarket has been restricted.
Cameron’s girlfriend of three years, Bethany Keenan, was allowed to fly back on July 26 – ten days after she had tested positive for Covid.
But Cameron had to stay for longer after testing positive on July 23, despite having been separated from Bethany after they arrived at the quarantine hotel.
Cameron, who says he has lost two stone in weight, was due to fly back last night in line with Covid guidance on international travel.
Cameron Moir, 22, from Tile Hill, Coventry, had to go into quarantine at the Hotel Palma Bellver in Palma, Majorca, after his girlfriend Bethany Keenan tested positive for Covid
Speaking from Majorca, Cameron said the phone in his room was disconnected on his final night after he remonstrated with staff over claims an evening meal had not been brought to his room.
To make matters worse, Cameron says he had to return to the hotel from the airport, hours after checking out, because staff had allegedly failed to sign a certificate clearing him to fly.
Cameron said: ‘It’s been the holiday from hell. I didn’t get an evening meal on my last night so I went from 1pm on Sunday to 8am today without anything.
‘The evening meal arrives at 8pm but sometimes it can be late so I called (hotel reception) at 9pm.
‘They told me the meal had been left outside the room, but it hadn’t.
‘They said I would have to wait until Monday morning for breakfast, which was a bread roll and butter, without fail.
‘They hung up on me so I called back but they buttoned me. When I tried to call again, the phone had been disconnected, so I rang on my mobile phone.
‘The woman was so rude it was unbelievable. I nearly passed out when I woke up today because I was so low on energy.
‘One day I ordered a McDonald’s and they turned it away because they said I had to order from the local supermarket.
Cameron, a roller driver on the HS2 project, said the food (pictured, one of the meals) was often inedible
The 22-year-old from Coventry said he thought the food was supplied by the local hospital
‘Then, after about five days at the hotel, they said I couldn’t order from the supermarket any more. I will never come back to this island again. It’s been appalling.’
Cameron, a roller driver on the HS2 project, said the food – which he said was thought to have been supplied by the local hospital – was often inedible.
From the moment they tested positive for Covid, Cameron and Bethany were treated like second-class citizens, he claimed.
Cameron said: ‘It was horrible being away from Bethany when I knew she wasn’t well.
‘I called her to say she needed to ring a doctor. She called the reception for some paracetamol and they gave her three for the day. You’re supposed to take four every four hours.
‘I can’t imagine what it would have been like for a family with young children and kids having to eat that (hotel food). The children would have been so malnourished.
‘I’m so happy Bethany was able to leave when she did because she needed her family and was really not well. I went for two weeks without seeing a human being.
‘I know they have to avoid contact and leave the meals at your door, but it makes you feel so alienated.
‘I would describe it as being worse than prison. At least in prison you get three or four meals a day and you can go out for exercise.
‘I know we had Covid, but there wasn’t even a room we could go to to exercise. It was absolutely horrible.
‘Anyone thinking of going to Majorca needs to be really careful because as soon as we tested positive they were different with us. They really didn’t care.’
Bethany’s mum, Kay Blythe, described the alleged lack of food, water and medical intervention as ‘just shocking’.
The pair were separated in different rooms and Cameron says he has not seen another humanbeing in two weeks
Kay said: ‘Cameron told me he went 24 hours without being offered any food because they weren’t able to give him breakfast on one of the mornings.
‘All they did was leave him a bottle of water, which is disgraceful, especially if you’re poorly. There’s no air conditioning in the room, which is especially hard when it’s 40C outside, as it has been.’
Cameron’s symptoms were not as bad as Bethany’s, however.
Bethany, now 21, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer, when she was just three.
And while she overcame the rare cancer, which affects just 100 UK youngsters every year, doctors fear her immune system may have been weakened by the battle.
Kay said: ‘To say Bethany looked ill when she got home would be an understatement.
‘I did not recognise her straight away. She’d lost about a stone in weight and was really not well.
‘The food was inedible. It was supplied by the local hospital, which is a laughable really.
‘She’d got a really sore throat from coughing so much and all they gave her for breakfast was a crusty bread roll which she obviously couldn’t eat.
‘I think she should have been in a hospital over there, but there were no medical checks. They have not had to pay for the hotel, but basic human needs should be met.
Cameron compared quarantine in the Hotel Palma Bellver to ‘worse than a prison’
‘Prison is better than that because you get three or four meals a day and an hour’s exercise. They were not allowed out, so yes, it’s like a prison.’
Kay has been in touch with various authorities, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
A FCDO spokesperson said: ‘Our consular staff have been in contact to provide assistance throughout the self-isolation period.’
The couple had been due to fly back to Birmingham International Airport on July 16 after a week on the sunshine island.
They said they were initially made to self-isolate at Meliá South Beach hotel in Magaluf, where they had originally been staying, after Bethany tested positive for Covid on the day of their flight.
Three days later, and with little warning, they were woken at 4am and taken by ambulance to Hotel Palma Bellver.
Bethany was allowed to fly back, but Cameron had to stay put. His five-day wait for a Covid test result came back positive after he had initially tested negative, he says.
Majorca was on the green list of countries when the couple flew out on July 8.
Spain, including the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca and Formentera), are now on the amber list.
Hotel Palma Bellver and its PR company have been contacted for comment.
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