Family claim they were treated ‘like prisoners’ during £3k quarantine stay at Holiday Inn Express

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A couple who stayed in a quarantine hotel have revealed how they were served stale food they could barely eat and sometimes made to wait more than nine hours for it to be delivered to their room.

Muhammad Imran, 62, and his wife Tahira Sultana, 57, fumed that during their stay they were ‘treated like prisoners’ and when they complained to hotel staff about the dire meals they were told: ‘You can always order a takeaway.’

Mr Imran and his wife spent 12 days at the Holiday Inn Express in Luton after arriving from Pakistan in June.

They were forced to extend their mandatory quarantine period of 10 days for arrivals from a red list country by an extra two days after Ms Sultana tested positive for COVID-19 while at the hotel.

They paid a total of £3,050 for three people, with Mr Imran’s sister Zaeema sharing a room with them to save costs.

The hotel quarantine scheme costs £1,750 for one person for ten days with £650 for each additional person sharing the same room.

But Mr Imran and his wife have been left seething about their meals which included sandwiches made from hard bread, oily fish fingers and cold, bland vegetable curry.

Mr Imran, from Romford, Essex told MailOnline: ‘The food was disgusting – it was cold, stale and hard to swallow. It wasn’t fit for an animal, never mind a human being.

‘When we complained about it, the attitude of the staff was horrendous. They didn’t seem to care and just shrugged their shoulders and told us: ‘You can always order a take-away.’

Ms Sultana added: ‘We paid a lot of money for our stay and deserved better food and respect. The staff behaved like prison wardens, and we were treated like prisoners. To be honest, you probably get better treatment in prison.’

Mr Imran and his wife travelled to Pakistan earlier this year but decided to remain in the country hoping that it would be removed from the UK Government’s red list.

They returned to the UK after being unable to tolerate high summer temperatures in Pakistan.

He added: ‘We stuck it out for as long as we could but then thought we’d pay the money to quarantine in the UK because it was so hot in Pakistan.

‘We tried to save costs by sharing a room with my sister. We had no choice over which hotel was allocated to us and ended up in a cramped room with lots of luggage. When I complained about the size of the room, the staff just said if I don’t like it, I could go back to Heathrow.’

Ms Sultana, a diabetic, revealed how matters came to a head after they were served breakfast on some days at 7.30am with lunch arriving more than nine hours later at 4.45pm.

She said: ‘I started feeling unwell and was crying to the manager “We are old people, I’m sick. Please send us decent food on time”.

‘But like the rest of the staff he didn’t seem that bothered. It was the hotel from hell and I’m so happy that I’m no longer there.’

After their repeated complaints went unheard, Mr Irman, his wife and sister eventually resorted to ordering takeaways, which they claim cost them hundreds of pounds.

They are demanding Corporate Travel Management (CTM), the company which organises quarantine hotels on behalf of the UK Government or the Holiday Inn Express compensate them for the extra money they were forced to spend.

Mr Imran said: ‘We’ve kept the bills in the hope that we might get compensation from CTM or the hotel but in truth, I don’t think we’ll get very far.

‘It’s impossible to get them to answer the phone and even when they do, they’re not very helpful.

‘I understand the need to quarantine but it should be done properly. The current system is just a money-making scam.’

The couple are amongst hundreds of people who have vented anger at their quarantine hotel stays.

Many have taken to social media, with a special Facebook page set up to allow people to share their experiences.

One man posted a picture of a mouldy orange, which he claimed had been given to his nine-year-old nephew, who ended up getting food poisoning.

Others have complained about lengthy waiting times for test results and the cleanliness of rooms.

One irate traveller, who posted pictures of his quarantine hotel near Gatwick Airport moaned: ‘My room is so dirty that I can’t imagine letting my 8 month old crawl on this dirty carpet or touch anything, food isn’t great with small portions…we have paid so much yet did not get the service we deserve.’

Earlier this year, a family of three complained of the ‘inhuman’ conditions at the same quarantine hotel in Luton.

Shabana Shah and her children Rida, 15, and Raiyman, 20, had been holidaying in Dubai but were forced into quarantine after they travelled home through Turkey due to flight cancellations.

Ms Shah said her stay at the Holiday Express Inn hotel in Luton was ‘awful’ as they were forced to stay in one small room with all their luggage and she said the food was substandard.

When Sabana complained to hotel staff about the conditions, she was told to contact Australian firm Corporate Travel Management (CTM) Ltd, which has the contract with the government.

She said: ‘They were just blaming each other and were just playing games. We were in there for 10 days and nothing was done. We were treated really badly.’ 

The Shah family were put in a ‘family room’ at the Holiday Inn at a total fixed cost of £3,050. 

Pictures showed two double beds have been squeezed into a single room to accommodate the three of them.

With luggage taking up what little floor space that is left, the trio have been forced to climb across a bed to get to the bathroom.

It is understood they could get an additional room at a further cost of £650 but declined.

They family said they were permitted to leave for fresh air for only 15 minutes at a time.

In response to the most recent complaint, CTM said in a statement that it was not responsible for the quality of food and the treatment of guests but when any complaints are raised, it does its utmost to address them.

It said in a statement: ‘Service level experiences at each hotel within the Managed Hotel Quarantine Programme are the responsibility of the hotel operators.’

It added: ‘Where comments and complaints relate to elements of the programme outside of CTM’s involvement, CTM has a robust complaint management process in place to share feedback with the relevant providers to enable continuous improvement to the hotel quarantine programme.’

The Holiday Inn Express in Luton said: ‘All matters relating to quarantine hotels are the responsibility of the Department of Health.’

The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.

Summer holidays are set for July 19 take-off! Fully-vaccinated travellers could avoid quarantine after Freedom Day as Boris Johnson prepares to tear up self-isolation rules

By Jason Grovesand David Churchill For The Daily Mailand Henry Martin For Mailonline

Boris Johnson is set to tear up travel quarantine rules from as early as July 19, allowing millions of fully-vaccinated Britons to take summer holidays abroad without having to self-isolate.

Ministers are expected to make a final decision tomorrow on exactly when to drop the requirement for double-jabbed travellers to quarantine after returning from amber list destinations such as France, Spain and Greece.

But multiple sources told the Mail that the Prime Minister is determined to implement the move on so-called ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19, when most remaining domestic restrictions will be scrapped.

It follows the departure of former health secretary Matt Hancock, who had pushed for the change to be delayed until as late as mid-August.

Whitehall sources said Border Force – which had asked for more time to prepare for introducing the change at ports and airports – has now dropped its objections, removing the last major hurdle to early implementation.

One source said: ‘Border Force do have to make some technical changes and they had asked for a bit longer to get the new systems in place. But they can see the writing on the wall on this and they have accepted it will be the 19th.’

Another source said: ‘It is not just that people can see the writing on the wall – they can see it is the Prime Minister who is writing it and the objections to the 19th are falling away.’

As the coronavirus crisis reaches its latest crucial phase, it emerged: 

• Britain’s daily Covid hospital admissions have reached a four month high, rising by 50 per cent in a week;
• Department of Health figures posted today also showed hospitalisations reached 406 on June 30;
• Shops, pubs and airlines that continue mask rules after July 19 have a legal right to turn away customers;
• Sajid Javid revealed the requirement for the double-jabbed to self-isolate will not be dropped until August 16;
• School bubbles to be scrapped but isolation rules for children of positive cases will stay in place until August;
• Six of the ten areas worst-hit by Covid in Europe are currently in Scotland, according to data;
• England and Wales recorded more deaths last year during pandemic than at anytime since the Spanish flu;
• Leave voters are more willing than Remainers to ditch masks when laws demanding their use are scrapped.

Heathrow is to provide fast-track lanes for fully-vaccinated arrivals as the airline industry steps up pressure on ministers to open up quarantine-free travel to amber destinations.

Under a pilot programme to be launched this week, passengers from selected destinations will be able to upload their coronavirus vaccination certificate before boarding.

On arrival at the airport, they will then be directed to dedicated lanes at the border to speed their passage through immigration.

The move comes ahead of an expected announcement on Thursday when Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will set out details of the Government’s plans to end the requirement for travellers from amber list countries to self-isolate on arrival.

The system, running on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights into Heathrow, is an attempt to prove the ease with which vaccine status could be checked without creating queuing havoc.

Chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Shai Weiss said: ‘To reap the benefits of the UK’s world-leading vaccine rollout the UK government must act now to remove self-isolation for fully vaccinated passengers arriving from amber countries and no later than the domestic reopening on July 19.’

Chief executive of Heathrow John Holland-Kaye said: ‘This pilot will allow us to show that pre-departure and arrival checks of vaccination status can be carried out safely at check-in, so that fully vaccinated passengers can avoid quarantine from July 19.’

Downing Street said a final decision had not been made on the timing of the change to current travel quarantine rules but acknowledged it was now likely to be this month rather than August.

The move could open up dozens of popular holiday destinations for fully-vaccinated travellers. Most European countries are currently on the amber list, as are the United States, Mexico, Thailand and many Caribbean destinations.

At present, only travellers returning from a small green list of countries can avoid quarantine when they return to the UK. Government advice remains not to holiday in amber list countries. And if they do, travellers have to quarantine at home for ten days but they can be released after five days if they pay for a PCR test.

Under the proposal, the government advice will be dropped and fully-vaccinated UK residents will be allowed to travel home from amber countries without the need to quarantine. Children, who are not eligible for vaccination, will be exempted from self-isolation if they are travelling with family. But they will have to take additional tests. Ministers will finalise the plan for children tomorrow.

Those who have not received both vaccines will still have to quarantine when they arrive in the UK or face a £10,000 fine.

The change will make no difference to red list countries such as India, Turkey and Brazil.

Anyone returning from a red list country must quarantine in an approved hotel at a cost of £1,750 each. People returning from amber list countries will also continue to have to pay for a pre-flight test, followed by a second test two days after their arrival home. But they will not have to pay for a further test eight days after they land as they do at present.

The change to quarantine rules has been a key demand of the beleaguered travel sector.

But the timing of the move split the Cabinet. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Chancellor Rishi Sunak both pushed for July 19 to allow the industry to maximise the school summer holidays. But Mr Hancock and Michael Gove wanted to delay until August.

Mr Hancock’s replacement by the more business-friendly Sajid Javid helped tip the balance in favour of opening up early.

Former cabinet minister Liam Fox last night called on ministers to act after they agreed to curb self-isolation rules for the double-jabbed. Dr Fox said it was time for ‘the same common sense to apply to international travel’.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Heathrow Airport yesterday launched a trial in which fully-vaccinated passengers will be asked to submit proof of their inoculation status before flying.

 

Travellers of all nationalities on flights into the UK from the US, Europe and the Caribbean will present their vaccination credentials in paper and digital format.

Data from the trial, designed to show vaccination status can be checked quickly at airports, will be shared with ministers. It will put pressure on the Government to introduce plans for quarantine-free travel for double-jabbed people by July 19.

Earlier this year queues of up to seven hours were seen at Heathrow as a result of the Covid paperwork border guards had to check.

BA chief Sean Doyle said: ‘We need to act quickly to protect jobs, re-build the UK economy and reunite loved ones. We look forward to providing the data that proves it’s simple for fully-vaccinated status to be verified.’ Shai Weiss, head of Virgin Atlantic, said the UK’s cautious approach will ‘further impact economic recovery and the 500,000 UK jobs that are at stake’.

And Heathrow’s boss John Holland-Kaye said: ‘This pilot will allow us to show that pre-departure and arrival checks of vaccination status can be carried out safely at check-in, so that fully-vaccinated passengers can avoid quarantine from July 19.’