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Beware of budget hotels for a dirty weekend: study

Jan 08, 09 | 1:52 am

A study has raised concerned about the cleanliness of some budget hotel chains in the UK.

People staying in budget hotel rooms may be shocked to discover what is lurking beneath the bed sheets, warns a new undercover investigation by Which? Holiday. During a four-day period in September 2008, Which? Holiday inspected 16 rooms in budget chain hotels in London and Manchester. These were all within a one-mile radius of London King's Cross station and Piccadilly station, Manchester.

"Ibis performed particularly badly in the investigation. A mattress in a room at an Ibis Hotel in Manchester (Ibis, Charles Street, Manchester) was found to be so badly soiled that the cover had frayed and mould had begun to grow. In a room at a second Manchester Ibis (Ibis, Portland Street, Manchester), Which? Holiday discovered a stain on a duvet, which an accompanying technical consultant suggested could be blood," stated Which? "It's not just the beds that revealed poor cleaning standards. The toilet inspected in one of the rooms at Ibis Euston, Cardington Street, London, had the worst toilet, in terms of cleanliness of all the budget hotels rooms visited. Urine and faeces was found round the edge of the toilet seat, while urine was also streaked down the pedestal."

"The bathrooms in the rooms of the Travelodge hotels inspected were also found to be unclean, leading to concern about the bacteria (Which? Holiday tested for Coliforms, Faecal Coliforms, E Coli, Staphylococcus aureus and TVC) found in four of the five rooms. There were high levels of dust under the bed in one room in Travelodge, Gray's Inn Road, while dirty handprints and ground-in dirt were found on the walls.

Lorna Cowan, editor of Which? Holiday, said, "Although this investigation was just a snapshot, it does raise concerns about the cleanliness of some budget hotel chains. It's clear from our research that some of the hotels are getting it right when appropriate cleaning methods are being used. Paying guests should be guaranteed, at the very least, a clean room."

"There doesn't seem to be one single accepted standard for hygiene in hotels across the UK, and we would like to see this change."


Source: EyeForTravel