'Overpowering smell': Ontario woman says piles of smelly seaweed ruined her vacation

Ontario resident Lynn Weller says when she plans a holiday there has to be a beach involved.

“I love the beach. If I’m going on vacation it has to have a beach that's for sure," the Puslinch, Ont. resident told CTV News Toronto.

• Download our app to get local alerts to your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

So in August, Weller and her family booked a trip to Cancun, Mexico.

But as soon as they arrived, they were shocked by huge piles of red, smelly sargassum seaweed piled up on the beach.

Sargassum is a brown seaweed that is naturally occurring in the ocean and it often washes up on shore.

“We understand that it’s a natural phenomenon and no one expects the beaches to be perfectly groomed all the time, but the mass amount of it. It was very thick and wide and deep,” Weller said.

She explained that the smell of the seaweed was overpowering like rotten eggs and it covered the entire length of their resort’s beach area.

Images from Lynn Weller's Mexican beach vacation are seen here. (supplied)

“I thought, is this going to be cleaned up? Is this what we are going to be faced with all week?" said Weller, who added “no one seemed to be doing anything about it.”

Weller said since no one could use the beach the pools at the resort were overcrowded.

Weller booked her holiday through WestJet Vacations and said she told WesJet that customers should have been warned in advance about the seaweed situation.

She said WestJet offered Weller a $300 dollar credit.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, a WestJet spokesperson said, “Upon review with our WestJet Vacations team, sargassum seaweed is prominent across Mexico generally from the spring to fall seasons. As a natural occurrence that happens throughout the Caribbean it is not something that we proactively advise our guests of.”

• READ MORE: On Mexico's Caribbean coast, mountains of seaweed grow

Workers who were hired by residents remove sargassum seaweed from the Bay of Soliman, north of Tulum, Quintana Roo state, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

“We recognize it can be frustrating when travel does not go as planned and we do apologize to Ms. Weller for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) said using a registered travel agent can help you get more information if you're concerned about piles of seaweed on the beach.

However, Doria Werda, Vice President of TICO said even if there is no sargassum present when you book your trip, it could still show up once you arrive.

”It's a natural phenomenon, so it's really hard to forecast when something like that can happen. It could happen overnight so it’s hard to guarantee it won't happen when you are at a destination," Werda said.

Weller said she wanted to warn others that if you book a southern holiday the beach could end up being off limits.

Lynn Weller and her family are seen on vacation in Cancun, Mexico in this image. (supplied)

“After spending thousands of dollars on this trip and getting together with family and then not be able to use the beach and the overpowering smell of the seaweed, it was just sheer disappointment," said Weller.

As winter arrives, sargassum shouldn't be as prevalent, but if you're booking a holiday down south and enjoy time at the beach you may want to research your destination as much as possible to see if sargassum will be an issue.