My nightmare stay in quarantine hotel
£1,750 FOR 11 NIGHTS – YET BUSINESSMAN SAYS THERE IS NO CHAIR IN HIS GUARDED ROOM, FOOD HAS BEEN COLD AND HE HAS HAD TO WAIT HOURS TO BE LET OUT FOR EXERCISE
A BUSINESSMAN has revealed the “nightmare” conditions he is experiencing in a quarantine hotel in London after returning from a trip to Dubai.
Simon Baird, who lives in River Crescent, Nottingham, flew out to the Middle East to assist his business partner at the beginning of the year for what was supposed to be a short stay.
However, he ended up staying in Dubai until June because his mother was having an operation.
Arrivals from the United Arab Emirates, which is on the Government redlist, are required to stay in a Government-mandated hotel for ten days at a cost of £1,750.
Mr Baird began his stint in isolation upon his arrival in the UK on Saturday at 11.45am, and described the conditions in the President Hotel in Russell Square, London, as a “nightmare”.
“It took me nine hours to get from the airport to the hotel,” he said.
“The hypocrisy of it is there was no social distancing on the coach or the airport. I am in a room with two single beds and no chair. I have moved the beds apart so I can do some sit-ups.
“I waited five hours for them to let me outside yesterday for exercise and fresh air. They have a security team of 120 people and outside my room there is a security guard to the right and one to the left.
“It is a nightmare. It is frustrating. I looked at it online and I thought it would be something like what it said on the Government website. I was thinking I could cope with that.
“It cost £1,750 including food, but I am having to buy food in a delivery from Tesco and Sainsbury’s.”
Mr Baird suggested the food is perhaps better in a prison, explaining he was given three pieces of chicken and some rice for dinner on June 21, while he said “unsurprisingly” he did not eat his breakfast, which consisted of three mushrooms, a “block” of omelette and baked beans the following morning.
He added he had been spending an additional £15 to £20 on takeaways
and shopping due to the poor quality of the meals provided, some of which were cold.
The President Hotel is managed by Imperial London Hotels.
The Post approached the company’s management for a response, but a spokesman for Imperial London Hotels said the company has no comment to add at this time.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Health and Social Care added: “Our top priority has always been protecting the public and the robust border and testing regime we have in place is helping minimise the risk of new variants coming into the UK.
“The Government continues to ensure every person in quarantine gets the support they need and all managed quarantine facilities are accommodating the vast majority of people’s requirements.
“Hotels do their utmost to take any necessary steps to address concerns raised by guests.”