VIDEO: ‘Bitten by bugs more than 300 times at resort’

Video at the bottom of page

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A couple from New York has alleged that a bed bug infestation at a resort in Grand Bahama not only ruined their trip to The Bahamas but had left them both physically and emotionally scarred after reportedly being bitten over 300 times in their hotel room.

Naa Dedei Addoo is frustrated because one year after the incident she still has yet to receive a report of an investigation by authorities at the Department of Environmental Health in Freeport concerning a complaint she filed.

“It was my first trip to The Bahamas, and my last,” Ms Addoo told The Tribune on Tuesday.

She said the couple came to The Bahamas to celebrate her boyfriend’s birthday.

The couple arrived in Freeport on June 5, 2015, staying four nights at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Hotel. Although check-in time is at 3pm, the couple was allowed to check-in a little earlier around 2.45pm.

“When we got to the room, it was not ready and personnel were still inside cleaning and it smelled like insect/bug spray,” she recalled.

Since they were on an island, Ms Addoo said she thought the insect spraying was part of the normal cleaning practice at the hotel.

In addition to the unpleasant smell, she said they were given a double bed, instead of a single bed guestroom they had requested. When she asked for another room, she was told that the hotel was full.

According to Ms Addoo, after waking up the next morning they noticed some bites on their bodies but thought they were mosquito bites.

On the last night of their trip, the couple slept on the second bed. When they woke up they allegedly noticed the bed bugs, and shot a video of the reported infestation and took pictures of the bites on their skin.

“I asked to speak with the manager Angel Mercedes who told me they were island roaches, and not bed bugs,” Ms Addoo said. “I took pictures and showed him our injuries and he offered to wash our clothing, but we did not want to miss our flight back home and declined his offer.”

Once back home in New York, Ms Addoo said she and her boyfriend did not want to unpack their bags at home and immediately took their clothes to have them cleaned.

She claimed they also sought medical treatment and were reportedly told by a doctor that they had an allergic reaction to bed bug bites.

Ms Addoo claimed that the hotel manager did not take an incident report and pleaded with them not to post the incident on social media.

“I asked him why would he put people in a room that was infested with bed bugs. I am traumatised by this incident; we have scars on our skin it is something we have to take with us every day,” she claimed. “I can’t wear sleeveless shirts, even though it is hot. I can’t sleep; I have had nightmares.”

Ms Addoo said the hotel has referred her to its insurance company in the New York area concerning any claims for damages.

Although she has provided the photographs and video of injury and the bed bugs, she said the insurance company said it would need actual documented proof of bed bug infestation, such as a report from environmental health officials that an investigation was conducted and what their findings were.

Ms Addoo said she has called Melanie McKenzie, manager of visitor relations at the Ministry of Tourism in Nassau, who referred her to call officials in Freeport. She said that a tourism representative in Freeport then referred her to Bertha McPhee-Duncanson, chief health inspector at the DEHS.

Ms Addoo was able to make contact with Mrs McPhee-Duncanson, with whom she made an official complaint.

“She told me that she would not able to get in the room to inspect it if persons were occupying it. It has been a year and I have not been able to get a report from Mrs Duncanson,” she told The Tribune.

Ms Addoo said she received word back from Mrs Duncanson that she, along with a tourism representative, met and spoke with the hotel general manager on June 23, 2015, and that he promised to forward the bed bug report that occurred on their property, but that the department is still awaiting the information.

Ms Addoo said she intends to file a lawsuit but is in need of documentation from DEHS.

“The insurance company is telling me they are not going to move forward with anything unless I have actual proof that there was a bed bug infestation. The only way I can get that is if the DEHS gives me documentation from whatever investigations they held,” she said.

Mrs McPhee-Duncanson told The Tribune on Wednesday she could not comment on the allegations, as it was a legal matter. The Viva Wyndham referred this newspaper to the hotel’s attorney, who said she was not aware of the incident and would speak to the general manager.

No further response was received from the hotel’s attorney up to press time last night, despite messages left for her.

Comments

Well_mudda_take_sic says...

And Mitchell will simply tell us these two are agents of the U.S. government trying to sully the reputation of the Bahamas as a tourist destination. Can't wait to hear what fat headed Wilchcombe will say about this!

Posted 15 July 2016, 1:07 p.m. Suggest removal

BaronInvest says...

Maybe those two actually brought the bed bugs to the Bahamas - should release an official warning statement again.

Posted 15 July 2016, 1:36 p.m. Suggest removal

Kalikgold says...

That was my first thought too

Posted 15 July 2016, 3:29 p.m. Suggest removal

killemwitdakno says...

The game is on for winning BLM tourists lol. Doesn't matter how small the slice , US does not share under any circumstances!

You thought you were ready for WTO?

Posted 16 July 2016, 10:28 p.m. Suggest removal

EasternGate says...

Just like Civil Servants; see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Posted 15 July 2016, 1:48 p.m. Suggest removal

birdiestrachan says...

Apparently they counted each and every bit. I am not saying they are not speaking the truth. but do they have complaints from any other guest

Posted 15 July 2016, 3 p.m. Suggest removal

newcitizen says...

You are such a waste of air. Has trolling not grown old for you yet?

Posted 17 July 2016, 6:56 p.m. Suggest removal

ThisIsOurs says...

Yeah this is a difficult one. America is a litigious society and there are a lot of scams. Would be interested to know how many times that particular room was occupied and whether other occupants experienced the same issue. Did adjacent occupants experience the same issue

Posted 15 July 2016, 4:25 p.m. Suggest removal

John says...

The video they showed looks more like water bugs than bed bugs. Bed bugs are much smaller and will not be that active in the daytime. They hide in the crevices of mattresses bed heads, pillows and even in the carpet. But water bugs feed off bed bugs and their waste and food waste and scraps and are attracted to damp moist area, like s seldom used bedrooms, especially if they are close to water The trade mark of bed bug bites is they are usually make bites in straight lines. To get bitten over 300 times sounds more like the trademark of sand flies. Some guests also keep pets in their rooms, like dogs and cats and they leave fleas and eggs on the bed and carpet. Then there is also the problem of lice in hotel rooms. If you travel to Florida and some southern states, they no longer put spreads on your bed, just sheets and a blanket in winter. The new policy is when a guest checks out the room, all the bed linen must be changed.
"(CNN) -- It's a wild, nasty world under the sheets.
The mattress can be a jungle of dust mites and bedbugs, milling around among dried remnants of blood, saliva, sweat and basically all the other bodily fluids you can think of.
Bedbugs have become minor celebrities this week with a report from the National Pest Management Association showing that the problem is on the rise. Bedbug calls have gone up by 81 percent since 2000, the study said, and 67 percent of surveyed pest management companies have treated bedbug infestations in hotels or motels.
These insects are about a quarter-inch long and eat at night, said Howard Russell, entomologist with diagnostic services at Michigan State University. Impressively, while humans can live only a matter of weeks without food, bedbugs can live up to one year without eating -- and their meals consist of blood.
"They're well-adapted to being a parasite," Russell said. "It's really hard to starve them out."
Bedbugs, which leave behind itchy bite marks and can even lead to allergic reaction in some people, aren't the only pests that could be lurking beneath your pillow.
About 10 percent of people are sensitive to house dust mites, said Dr. Clifford Bassett, an allergist in New York. They are even more of a problem for people with asthma.
As if the presence of microscopic eight-legged vermin weren't gross enough, consider that it's not the mites that cause some people to cough and sneeze. It's their excrement.

Posted 15 July 2016, 5:10 p.m. Suggest removal

killemwitdakno says...

The Viva Wyndham is an American company that people have long been complaining about but are apparently untouchable because then these foreign business owners run to the embassy who then chastises us for difficulty in ease of business , ect.

Posted 16 July 2016, 10:26 p.m. Suggest removal

naddoo says...

We did not bring the bed bugs just to clarify. We were placed in harms way by a negligent hotel. There should be regulations in place to protect tourists from incidences such as this. I have certification from an exterminator and my doctors stating that the bugs we encountered were in fact bed bugs. Bed bugs carry disease as they draw blood. The bugs were in different stages of life which indicates they were there for a very long time and could not be missed if housekeeping actually did their job. Either way there should not be insects in the hotel bed/room. Period. The hotel has a duty to provide safe and clean facilities to its patrons. The Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach Hotel failed to supply us with that. And should be held liable for our injuries.

Posted 18 July 2016, 4:27 p.m. Suggest removal

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