Hotel’s swinging parties getting locals all hot under the collar
A LOCAL authority is investigating a hotel after it was accused of breaking planning laws by holding group-sex and swingers parties.
Croydon Hall, a hotel located in the Somerset village of Rodhuish – which has a population of just 293 people – is involved in a row with its neighbours who have complained of people “spilling out into the gardens and pool’’ at night, and say the noise is ruining their quality of life.
But its owner, 59-year-old Allen Mccloud, who lives on the site in Exmoor National Park, said he was being “bullied” and that his “well-to-do clientele” were respectful of neighbours.
The row came to light after Mr Mccloud applied to extend the alcohol licence for his private club based at Croydon Hall called “Exclusively Silks” – a members-only group of “intimate parties for classy, sophisticated couples and single ladies”.
Mr Mccloud started the club after escaping the Algeria hostage crisis in 2013, during which he lost 40 of his friends. Wanting to change his life, he visited Holland and saw British couples there boarding flights just to attend swinging parties.
Mr Mccloud decided to establish Exclusively Silks at his hotel in January, after discovering “millions of swingers in the UK” who, he said, “have nowhere to go but to each other’s houses”.
The former mechanic has since thrown five parties, which he said were attended by a mixture of couples, from doctors to barristers, and he claimed that he was constantly approached by people inquiring about his services.
“We started with 20 couples and there were about 70 at the latest party. They even come down from Scotland,” Mr Mccloud told The Daily Telegraph.
He said: “Our clientele are quite well-to-do. We have got some barristers and doctors who have nice sports cars outside.”
But when he applied to extend Croydon Hall’s alcohol licence until 4am, he was met with criticism and “bully-boy tactics” from neighbouring properties.
David and Anne Pitts, who live next to the hotel, said: “We know from bitter experience with the previous owner that DJ music, with thumping bass, permeates every corner of our house, making sleep impossible.
“People inevitably spill out into the gardens, the pool and the car park, with increasingly drunken exchanges – shouting, singing, even fights.”
The site is now being investigated by Somerset West and Taunton council for a possible planning permission breach by offering the sex parties.
“We are not breaking the law,” Mr Mccloud added.
“We have soundproofed the building and there has never been a complaint since we have been here.”