A Costa Rica hotel owner spoke out about the tragic death of Brett Gardner’s son, Miller Gardner.
“The truth of the matter is that for the many, many years that we have had tourism in Manuel Antonio, which has been decades of decades of decades, we have never had a problem such as the one that we currently had,” Gaia Hotel owner Boris Marchegiani exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, March 28. “We’ve had obviously people that get allergic to certain foods because they don’t ask prior to the waiter whether the food has a particular thing in it, whether it’s shrimp or peanuts or whatever.”
Marchegiani continued: “But something catastrophic such as this, I have never heard of it in the area.”
Earlier this month, Miller passed away during a family vacation in Costa Rica. The group was staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort. His preliminary cause of death was ruled as asphyxia “after a possible intoxication after apparently ingesting some food,” per an official with Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigative Agency (OIJ). The OIJ is still waiting for the results of toxicology tests to determine whether food poisoning was indeed the cause of death.
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Marchegiani added that the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica is “extremely forceful” when it comes to making sure places are up to a high standard.
“They don’t let many things go by,” the hotel executive explained. “Permits are difficult to obtain, flash inspections occur all the time, and they go from the small kitchens all the way to the large hotel kitchens.”
It was previously confirmed by a representative from Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency, that Brett and his family “suffered severe stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea” the day before Miller died. The resort’s doctor was called once the family started experiencing symptoms and administered medication, per the Daily Mail.
While it’s unclear where the Gardners got sick from, Marchegiani claimed it did not happen at the hotel where the Gardner family stayed. (The hotel previously stated the family did not eat at any of their restaurants for lunch or dinner the day before Miller’s death.)
“Obviously the people at the hotel where they were staying should know because they would have known what place they were sent to,” he said. “The normal thing is for nothing to ever happen, so I find that as a very strange occurrence.”
Marchegiani also shared that the hotel has not had any cancellations since the tragedy and plan to remain vigilant with their protocols.
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“We’re known for being very strict in our food and our hotel policy,” he told Us. “We’re a five-star boutique hotel, and we are practically full all year round.”
Marchegiani did hear that some neighboring hotels have suffered following the incident but equated that to the typical schedule of tourist season in Costa Rica.
“I would have to guess that this has happened because really the month of March is practically over and April and [in] May we have a decrease, except for Easter, we have a decrease of the amount of people that stay with the general other hotels,” he said. “Like I said, our hotel is full and is full going into the future.”
