Sussex couple stuck in coronavirus-hit Tenerife hotel

A couple from Sussex are stuck in the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife which has been hit by the coronavirus.
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Mick Philp and Rebecca Lunt, from Peacehaven, have been told they cannot leave the hotel grounds after a case at the Canary Island hotel was confirmed.

The couple were due to fly home on an EasyJet flight on Thursday (February 27), but instead have been left in limbo waiting for answers.

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Rebecca, 38, said they returned to the hotel in the early hours of Tuesday morning (February 25), to find police ‘everywhere’

Mick Philp and Rebecca Lunt are in quarantine at the Tenerife hotelMick Philp and Rebecca Lunt are in quarantine at the Tenerife hotel
Mick Philp and Rebecca Lunt are in quarantine at the Tenerife hotel

“We went out for a few drinks and came back and there were police everywhere,” she said.

“We were told to go inside the hotel and not leave.

“We went straight to bed as we had had a few drinks and everyone else in the hotel was asleep.

“I woke up in the morning thinking, was it a dream? There was a letter under the door saying we must not leave the room for health reasons. But by 11am there were people walking around and people at the pool so we went down.

Mick Philp and Rebecca LuntMick Philp and Rebecca Lunt
Mick Philp and Rebecca Lunt
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“We stayed at the pool until 1.30pm and then doctor’s arrived to test people. Everyone was tested and no one had the virus. We were given masks and a thermometer to check our temperatures.”

Rebecca, a part-time receptionist, said the hotel has been placed in quarantine for 14 days - and it does not look likely they will be able to return to the UK until this period is over - on March 9.

She commented: “We are taking each day as it comes - but what happens when we arrive back in the UK?

“The hotel is being led by the health authority so they are in the dark as well.

The Peacehaven couple's young daughter, CaseyThe Peacehaven couple's young daughter, Casey
The Peacehaven couple's young daughter, Casey
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“A lot of staff have gone home - there are only about 20 staff left and the hotel is huge.

“The first couple of days it was hard to process. Of all the hotels in Tenerife it had to be ours! These things don’t happen to normal people.”

She said she was missing her daughter, Casey, aged six, who is staying with her parents.

“She is missing me, but I know she is in good hands,” she added.

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Mick, 54, who is from Peacehaven but now lives in Chiddingly, said he was making the most of the all-inclusive facilities while soaking up the sun.

“It is what it is. I’ve got a gin and tonic in my hands, the weather is beautiful - happy days,” he laughed.

“The weather at home is miserable and I can’t work in it so there is no effect on my life. I’m self-employed and work in construction.

“We are British - we have to get on and deal with it and move on.

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“I would like to go home but It could be worse. I would rather sit here then be in quarantine in England.”

He praised the ‘brilliant’ and ‘reassuring staff: “You couldn’t wish for anything better.”

But he said he and Rebecca are yet to find out what will happen when they are able to return home.

“No one has really told us what will happen when we go home and whether we will have to self isolate. - but if you haven’t got it, you haven’t got it? he said.

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“We’ve been putting masks on when around people - it’s just common sense.

“My worst fear is that someone might catch it in the quarantine period, but you can’t think like that - panicking gets you nowhere.

“But if we have to self isolate when we are home and order food in - who is going to make it and bring it to us?”