A family has slammed an Aberdeenshire hotel after discovering broken glass, old tissues and hairs in their room.
Iain Fraser and his wife Laura Nisbett travelled from their home in East Lothian to visit friends, so booked a £105 stay at the Holiday Inn Aberdeen West, in Westhill.
But when they arrived for the 2pm check-in, they were asked to wait at the bar as their room was not ready.
Mr Fraser, a customer service assistant, said staff at the bar were “excellent” offered his one-year-old son Jamie a free ice cream.
The 44-year-old said: “It came to 3pm and the room still wasn’t ready.
“I asked what the progress was and was advised housekeeping were short-staffed and the cleaners had just started the room.
“At 3.30pm, one-and-a-half hours over check-in time we were handed the keys to our room, the ‘executive’ suite”.
‘You’d think cleanliness would be at its highest’
When they finally got inside, the family were horrified at the state of the room.
Little Jamie dropped his dummy, and when Mr Fraser went to fetch it from behind the unit, he discovered a smashed glass, a dirty tissue and an old key card holder belonging to another guest.
His wife, Ms Nisbett said son could have “swallowed” or “stood on” the glass.
The floor was covered in crumbs and hairs, claiming it was obvious nobody had hoovered.
They also spotted exposed wiring and stains on the curtains.
The bathroom was “equally grubby” with a black shower head and stained floor, Mr Fraser said.
Ms Nisbett, 36, claimed that when a housekeeper arrived 20 minutes later, they failed to give a “genuine apology” and “looked annoyed” about having to clean the glass.
Mr Fraser said: “Following a global pandemic, cleanliness and standards – you would think – from a multi national brand would be at their highest. Clearly not here.
“We were so disappointed we contemplated leaving but we were heading out for dinner then only sleeping in the room later.”
‘Breakfast was a farce’
Despite the cleanliness of the room, Mr Fraser said the bed was comfortable and they all slept well.
Keen to leave the next morning, the couple decided against showering the next morning, even after cleaning the shower head, and headed down for a quick breakfast.
Mr Fraser said: “Breakfast was a farce. The hot buffet was bare, took an age to be replenished and the food lukewarm.
There were no bowls for cereals or yoghurts and here’s the best bit: they ran out of milk so couldn’t do any coffees with milk from their machines. No milk in a four-star hotel?
“We heard the server tell another table they were expecting milk tomorrow. There is a huge Aldi across the road. Surely some could be purchased until the delivery arrived.”
On check-out, staff didn’t ask the couple how their stay had been.
Mr Fraser told the Journal: “They really couldn’t have cared less what we thought, weren’t apologetic in any way.”
‘Endeavour’ to improve
After complaining, IHG Hotels offered the family 25,000 loyalty points – the equivalent of a one-night stay.
“Had the worst happened and our son got hold of that glass, what price could they put on that?”, Mr Fraser added.
“It could have been catastrophic.”
He described the Holiday Inn Aberdeen West as “without a doubt” the worst hotel he had stayed in.
A spokesman for IHG Hotels said: “We previously discussed this matter with the guest and would like to apologise once again that their stay fell below expectations.
“We take feedback seriously and will endeavour to make the necessary changes so that we can provide a great stay for all our guests.”
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