A father who took his family on their first holiday in the Peak District was horrified when he said his four-year-old daughter had found a needle under her bed. Munir Dahya took his seriously pregnant wife and three children to the Palace Hotel in Buxton on their first trip since the pandemic, but said he found many problems during their stay for 268 pounds.
The 51-year-old Birmingham man said his young daughter was exploring the bedroom during her first real vacation and made the grim discovery just minutes after she entered when they arrived on April 18 for two nights. Mr Dahya said that when he raised the issue with the staff, he was offered free afternoon tea and, after leaving negative feedback, was offered a refund for the one night he was given, although he declined the offer.
He claims that a search of his phone suggested that the hypodermic needle came from an insulin syringe used by people with diabetes, but he did not know for sure. He said he had not yet received an apology from Britannia Hotels, which owns the site, and Mr Dahya said the experience had ruined the holiday.
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He said: “Children like to go into small corners – she was too small the last time we went to a hotel, so she was researching. He likes to go into small spaces and find the needle under the bed.
“We did not know how long she held him. She passed it on to her mother, but we had to make sure she missed it.
“They didn’t apologize for the needle, so it obviously doesn’t bother them. That should have been their priority, and I recently sent my last email, because I’m really, really worried that this could happen again, because when we had phone calls from Britain, no one asked if our daughter was okay.
“God forbid, if there was something on this needle that was used, for example, anyone could touch it. Child, adult, everyone could have consequences.”
Mr Dahya, who also traveled with his two sons, said he found many other problems in the two rooms he had reserved for his family, including a moldy and smelly shower curtain, broken and dirty furniture and dirty equipment. In a curse of one of five reviews left on TripAdvisor, Google and the Trust Pilot, he described it as a “health and safety disaster” and said he “can’t stress enough how misleading the hotel’s photos are”.
The needle that Munir Dahya’s four-year-old daughter found under her bed. (Image: Munir Dahya)
Britannia has 61 sites across the country, but the Palace Hotel is the only one in Derbyshire. The chain is at the bottom of the annual survey of hotel chains, completed by Who? for the last nine years.
After Mr Dahia complained to the assistant manager, he said he had been told by Britannia Hotels’ headquarters that the staff was “a little cheerful” because the manager was on leave. He added that the bed was so uncomfortable that his wife could not sleep and that the food was so unpleasant that she had to pay for breakfast elsewhere on the second and third day of the trip.
He said: “We haven’t been on holiday in a few good years, so we’ve really been looking forward to it and we’ve never been to the Peak District. We were looking at the last minute, but I’m usually one of those people who will do their research and look at all the major companies, but we chose that based on availability.
“We went and the entrance, when you enter, is fantastic, beautiful and has a sense of period. But it quickly became apparent that he was quite exhausted and had service problems. I remember checking three times on my phone that it was a four-star hotel, and as things progressed we realized that we had probably made a small mistake.
Mr Dahya and his family were regular travelers before the pandemic, staying in hotels on average once a month. He says the experience at the Palace Hotel is “really horrifying” and that he will never return.
The family found that their two rooms were smelly, dirty and with broken furniture. (Image: Munir Dahya)
He added: “As a family with young children, the hotel is your base and place where you need to feel safe and almost at home and have a certain level of service as a four-star hotel. This way you rest in peace and know that you have support around you if there is a problem or if you need something. When the staff makes an even bigger mile and you get a smiling face and people go out of their way, that’s it makes it even more enjoyable.
“It was really horrible, absolutely horrible. I was looking for at least a full recovery. It was originally afternoon tea and I said we couldn’t go back. Yes, it’s about recovery, but I want him to see how seriously they take it.
“If they took it seriously, they would deal with it all and follow it up. Nothing like this has happened, so as far as we’re concerned, they don’t take it seriously and it could happen again. “
The Palace Hotel has over 4,400 reviews on TripAdvisor, with an average rating of three out of five. Overall, it received 4.5 out of five for location and 3.5 out of five for cleanliness, service and value.
His reviews are evenly distributed, with over 730 “Excellent” and 1160 “Very Good” reviews, but over 760 “Bad” and over 800 “Terrible” ratings. In response to Mr Dahya’s review on TripAdvisor, a hotel spokesman did not mention the problem with the needle found under the bed, but said other problems had been rectified at the hotel.
Palace Hotel, Buxton. (Image: Neil Scowcroft / Google Maps)
They said: “I have expressed your concerns about accommodation with the reception manager, as we have very positive comments about our reception team, as this is not the usual standard of accommodation. We have an elevator in the hotel, which we understand is slow due to age, but is in full working order. We are currently in the process of renovation and as you can estimate, this takes time with 186 bedrooms.
“I see that you have reserved two rooms, as stated – you have not commented that you want the rooms to be close to each other, but you have booked one triple room and one compact double room and since the reservations were under the same name and our compact double rooms are not close to triple rooms, we have upgraded the compact double to double standard to ensure you are as close as possible. However, as stated at the hotel, there are many different types of rooms on each floor, so we distributed them as close as I could.
“You never mentioned the TV remote control or the TV during a conversation with the management team, but our household manager fixed the other issues you raised. You were offered dinner before the free time passes, but you declined the dinner, so as a gesture of goodwill we include the free time passes because you have booked a non-refundable prepaid reservation.
“There are no other complaints about breakfast this morning. The problems were fixed at the hotel and I passed on your comments to the management team. “
Derbyshire Live tried to contact Britannia Hotels, but did not receive confirmation of our request for comment.
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