Eastbourne hotel guests disgusted after finding used pair of pants in ‘clean’ room

Barbara and David Boustred, who live in Bracknell, were visiting Eastbourne and checked into the Premier Inn in Willingdon Drive on May 23.

The following morning Mr Boustred found the underwear behind a chair.

Mrs Boustred said, “There were notices up all about covid and sanitisation and everything up in the foyer etcetera and we thought it was okay.

“We spent the night, woke up the next morning and my husband said to me, ‘How clean do you think this room is?’ So I said, ‘Well it is okay. Nothing wrong with it.’ And he said, ‘Look behind the arm chair.’

“I looked behind the arm chair and there was a pair of dirty men’s pants on the floor and obviously it made me feel quite queasy and my husband was a bit queasy as well.”

The couple said they told the receptionist who gave them a number to ring before they left the hotel that day.

Mrs Boustred said, “We couldn’t get out quick enough. We had to bolt quickly.

“It ruined everything because we were worried about covid.”

Mrs Boustred also voiced her frustration with the complaint process as she tried to get in touch with the right person through the hotel directory.

She said, “I told her how disgusted I was by the whole thing and why should I be doing all of this running around after what I have been through?

“I said, ‘I want an apology please and I want my money back and maybe even a little bit more than that as well,’ because it was very upsetting.

According to the couple they received an apology over the phone.

Mrs Boustred, who is 70, said, “The whole thing was just totally upsetting and scary.

“We have both had both our jabs but that is not the point. The hotel is guaranteeing a safe night.”

Despite their experience, the couple said the Premier Inn staff were very helpful.

A spokesperson from Premier Inn said, “[I] Can confirm a pair of men’s boxers was found behind the tub chair in the room.

“We have stringent room cleaning standards but unfortunately on this occasion it appears the item was overlooked as an isolated error.

“Our site team apologised profusely at the time and we were pleased to offer a full refund for the room as a goodwill gesture.

“Our site team were happy to liaise with the guest and escalate this to our guest relations team directly.

“The matter was picked up well within our standard time for handling complaints, having come into the central team on May 27 and the refund issued on June 8.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate our apology to the guests.”