Widow of British man who died in Morocco luxury spa fire sues hotel

A British man’s widow is suing the operators of a Moroccan luxury hotel for over £500,000 following his death in a spa fire, High Court documents reveal.

Anthony Barnes, 48, from Cambridgeshire, tragically died in March 2023 at the five-star Jaal Ryad Resort Hotel in Marrakech. He was on a business trip with colleagues when the blaze erupted, which also claimed the life of a hotel employee.

His widow, Rachel Barnes, has launched a High Court claim against Hotel Des Idrissides, trading as Jaal Ryad, alleging the fire was “caused by the negligence” of the company and seeking damages exceeding £500,000.

The hotel firm is contesting the claim, denying that Mr Barnes’ death resulted from “any negligence or breach of duty” on its part.

Court documents submitted by Mrs Barnes’ barrister, Matthew Chapman KC, state that Mr Barnes was undergoing a massage treatment when hotel staff first became aware of the fire. A hearing for the case is yet to be scheduled.

He said that an inquest in the UK recorded a conclusion in October last year that Mr Barnes’ death was accidental after the spa became “filled with thick, acrid smoke which affected visibility and hindered attempts to rescue him”.

Mr Chapman said that the company was liable to Mrs Barnes for the “negligent mismanagement of the hotel and its spa facilities”, as it had exposed Mr Barnes to “a foreseeable risk of harm and death”.

He said that the company had failed to install or maintain fire and smoke alarm and evacuation lighting systems in the spa, to tell Mr Barnes about the fire, to ensure CCTV cameras were working, or to “promptly” alert emergency services.

The barrister also claimed that the spa was built from materials that were “not appropriately fire resistant/retardant”, and that there was an insufficient number of fire extinguishers, among other failings.

He said that the “facts of the accident speak for themselves”, adding: “Accidents of this kind do not usually occur when spa facilities are properly designed, constructed, installed, maintained and operated.”

Alistair Mackenzie, for Hotel Des Idrissides, said that the fire began in the spa’s sauna and that hotel employees raised the alarm and tried to fight it while attempting to evacuate guests, including Mr Barnes.

He said that the building “complied with the applicable regulations in Morocco for a facility of its kind”.

He said: “It is denied that the fire or the deceased’s death were caused by the negligence or breach of duty of the defendant, its employees or agents.”

Mr Mackenzie said that while smoke alarms were not fitted in the room Mr Barnes was in due to humidity levels, they were fitted in “adjacent areas”, which was not “unreasonable or negligent”, and that the hotel had a “suitable” alarm system.

He also said that emergency lighting was fitted, that the materials used were “suitable and widely used in the construction of such facilities”, that CCTV cameras operated in access routes to the room Mr Barnes was in, and there were “multiple working fire extinguishers”.

The barrister said that the documents setting out the claim failed “to plead any case as to the manner in which any of the alleged acts or omissions… caused the deceased’s death”.