‘Disgusting’ Hotel guest woke up to find body covered in bedbugs
AMAN was horrified to see bedbugs crawling on and feeding from him the morning he woke at a Cheltenham hotel.
He jumped out of bed and started frantically swiping the pests off his body, which he said covered him ‘from head to toe.’
The man soon realised what had joined him in bed that night during his stay at the Midland Hotel in Cheltenham. He then saw the bugs crawling in his bed and said he had never felt so disgusting in all his life.
Booking.com was approached about the complaints Steve had made and have since issued him a full refund.
Steve said he had already been having a rough two weeks. His tenancy on his new home had fallen through and he had just been made redundant from his job as a chef in the town.
He said he had taken the decision to move back home to Liverpool and booked to stay at the hotel the night before his journey home because it was near the railway station.
He said: “I booked into the Midland Hotel late on July 25. I went straight to bed because it had been a long day.
“The next day I went out and because I was leaving to go back to Liverpool I went to bed early the next night, on July 26. When I woke up the next morning I was covered head to toe in bedbugs.
“I have never been so horrified or felt so disgusting in my life. Some of the bedbugs were huge because they obviously had a good feed off me, and goodness knows who else they had been eating.
“There were lots of little ones as well crawling about on my bed and some of them were the size of a five pence piece. Honestly, I’d have rather slept outside with the mozzies than that.
“I smooshed one of the big ones and they just do not die. It was proper squished but an hour later I saw the legs still wriggling.
“I got in the shower and scrubbed myself. I felt disgusting.”
The hotel has closed the room until a pest control company has given the all clear for the room to be reopened and used again.
A spokesperson for the Midland Hotel said: “There were bedbugs brought into one of the rooms which then spread to another. Obviously we closed out these rooms and called in the pest control company we use to investigate and treat the issue.
“We were told the room the customer stayed in was all clear and could be reo- pened.
“The customer was happy with his first night’s stay, happy enough that he made a separate booking to stay the next night in the same room.”
But Steve said after he realised the extent of the infestation he was met with, he had to get his belongings fumigated. He remembered when he entered the hotel that he saw a pest control company at the reception but it did not dawn him it could have been due to bedbugs.
He said: “I booked the room through Booking.com and I called the hotel to ask where my refund was. I had to, at great expense, having just lost my job, pay for my belongings to be fumigated.
“I was told the check-in at the hotel was at 2pm but when I got there I was told the room was not ready yet.
“I remember now I saw a pest control company at the hotel but I did not think anything of it because these places can just have pest control come in for a monthly check-up of the premises.
“I want to warn people about the place. I have left Gloucestershire and it was the last experience I had of the place and the worst.”
The hotel added: “That second night he had problems with bedbugs, they couldn’t have been all clear as thought by the pest control company.
“We processed a refund for that night and called the pest control company to tell them the problem wasn’t sorted and they returned to treat it again. The room won’t reopen until we are given the all clear.”
A Booking.com spokesman said: “Our primary aim at Booking.com is to enable smooth and enjoyable travel experiences for our customers. In the rare instance that something goes wrong at a property, our customer service team is available 24/7 to offer help and support. In this case, we have reached out to the customer to apologise and will be issuing a full refund as well as additional compensation as a gesture of goodwill.
“We will also be working with this accommodation partner to ensure this issue has been addressed to ensure future guests have a good experience.”
Environmental health officers have visited the hotel after a complaint was made to Cheltenham Borough Council about the issue. They say they are working with the hotel owners to resolve the issue.
Interim public and environmental health team leader, Bernadette Reed, said: “Our environmental health officers visited the site after receiving a complaint. We understand that the business is taking action and a contractor has been engaged to carry out treatment.
“We’ll continue to work with the business to ensure the issue is resolved. As a council we have health protection powers to prevent and control incidents of infection; however, although the insect bite can be itchy, bedbugs don’t spread disease or cause any other health problems.
“If anyone thinks they may have a problem with bedbugs in their home they can call the council’s pest control team for advice on 01242 264310.
“When a business becomes aware of a problem they must instruct a professional pest control company to carry out the necessary treatment. More information can be found on the British Pest Control Association website at https://bpca.org.uk/.”