Dozens of Canadians got sick at Mexican all-inclusive resort, call for facility inspection

Canadians who recently travelled to Mexico are calling on local authorities to investigate after dozens of guests got sick at the all-inclusive beachside resort they stayed at.

Winnipeg wedding photographer Joel Boily and another guest estimated that around 200 Canadian guests staying at Sandos Playacar — a four-star resort in Playa del Carmen, in the country's Caribbean coast — all suffered this past week from bouts of illness. 

Boily said that includes almost everyone of the more than 30 guests who were there to attend the wedding he was photographing, as well as his young children, who spent several days experiencing severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration.

"We arrived on Wednesday and by Friday it was clear … it was more than just Montezuma's revenge or whatever people call it," Boily said. He believes the illness was due to food poisoning.

"My two-year-old — it was looking pretty grim," he said. "We were really kind of freaking out in the worst of it, because we just didn't know where to turn as far as like seeking medical attention."

WATCH | Manitobans say they fell ill at all-inclusive resort in Mexico:

Boily said a local doctor who was called in to attend someone in his group told them he'd been to the resort several times and believed the water was contaminated.

He and other Canadians have made formal complaints with Mexico's health authorities as part of a campaign calling for a full inspection of the facilities.

A representative for Sandos Hotel & Resorts — whose chain has locations in Spain and Mexico — said in an email to CBC News the cases may be related to a rise in gastrointestinal illnesses related to norovirus or seasonal flu in Canada and the U.S.

In replies to some comments left by guests on Google Reviews, the resort said the problem is present elsewhere in the local area, and isn't exclusive to Sandos Playacar.

Victor Azevedo is uncle to the bride, and was supposed to officiate the wedding Boily was photographing.

"It destroyed the whole trip. My niece's wedding was postponed," he said. "She's three months pregnant. Very dangerous.… Nobody helped us with anything."

Kyler Searle, who arrived to Playa del Carmen from Saskatoon on Feb. 12 to attend a different wedding, said 52 out of 55 people in his party also got ill, including a one-year-old and a woman who was pregnant.

Searle said that ahead of the wedding ceremony, "everybody started just dropping like flies."