Guests at one of the most popular Bed and Breakfasts in Blackpool face strict rules. Owners of the luxury Four Rooms refuse to allow shoes inside the property - handing out slippers to replace them - and there is a ban on under 21s, stag and hen parties and even smokers.
But some guests still leave their rooms in a less than reasonable state. And one recently left her room with bedding including the mattress protector ending up in the bin.
According to the Manchester Evening News the woman then fled without speaking to either of the owners giving them no warning of what they would find when they went into the room. Michael Elt and Paul Sinnott, who run the B&B told how the woman who stayed at the B&B with her partner over the bank holiday weekend left in the morning without stopping for breakfast.
Her hasty departure left the pair concerned that something was wrong. When Mr Elt went upstairs to the room, he discovered the sheets and the mattress protector were covered in blood and excrement - and were completely ruined.
It was only when they logged onto Booking.com that the pair saw a message from the woman to say she'd been ill overnight and was too ashamed of the mess she'd made to face the pair. However, when they checked the CCTV cameras from the night before, they discovered that she'd got into a drunken argument with her partner in the car park, pushing him away before he had to carry her up to the room in the early hours of the morning.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , Mr Elt said: "We were getting ready for breakfast, we thought every couple was lovely, and this couple walked past with their luggage so we though they must be putting it in the car and then coming in for breakfast but when I turned back again the car was gone. I went upstairs and there it was, the blood and the excrement.
"Everything, all the sheets, the mattress protector, the duvet cover, the dressing gown, they were all bunched up at the side. We tried cleaning them but they just wouldn't come out. We went onto Booking.com and there was a message that said 'I'm not coming to breakfast I was a little ill last night I was too embarrassed' but it was self-inflicted. We looked at the cameras and she couldn't even stand up she'd had too much to drink.
Four Rooms is very popular with guests, with a 10/10 rating on Booking.com, a 5.0 rating on TripAdvisor, and a 4.9 star rating on Google, making it Blackpool's most popular bed and breakfast. The site caters to couples, with each of the four rooms complete with a super-king bed, and has some strict requirements for guests to help make it a pleasant experience for everyone.
Michael and Paul live at the B&B which they try to keep in the best condition. Whilst the rules have helped the pair curate a warm and welcoming environment, leaving many guests keen to return to the site for a second stay, some visitors have taken advantage of the luxury accommodation, leaving quickly to avoid the shame of owning up to the disgusting mess left behind in the rooms.
One couple destroyed the room in a drunken state at a new year, destroying the sink and a glass shelf below it, but had the decency to contact them to let them know. The pair went upstairs to help repair the room as best as they could at 2.30am, with the guests then telling them that they'd called an ambulance for the man, as he'd been coughing up blood and his partner believed he'd had a spiked drink. He was taken to hospital before being brought back to the B&B at around 6am.
The next morning, the man came downstairs and apologised profusely, and that he had been really enjoying his stay, so much that he'd wanted to return to the site. Mr Elt said if he could promise he wouldn't repeat his behaviour, he'd be welcome back, but they haven't seen him since. Several stories have been posted online by Mr Elt to show people what the pair face, and to help guests understand what they expect.
Although their rules haven't been popular with everyone - one woman even called to say it was "disgusting" that they felt able to share their guest's stories despite no identifying information like names or dates being given - the pair feel like they help to protect their home, whilst also helping other guests have a comfortable stay without disruption.
They are also willing to go the extra mile to help their guests - even taking one couple to go and pick up their car earlier this week - often amending their offerings to suit the guests, with later meals, check-out times, and even doing people's washing. However, in return they expect guests to respect the property, and the other guests.
Mr Elt added: "It sort of deters people from thinking they can just get away with anything. There isn't any naming and shaming because I don't believe in doing that. I have far more sympathy to people that will own up to something and say 'I'm so sorry' but when you get people who come in and expect things.
"We had one woman who dropped her hot chocolate all over the floor and it'd soaked the carpet but instead of letting us know she'd tried to mop it up with a white towel and she was scrubbing the floor so the towel was ruining. If she's said something we would have come up straight away with the carpet cleaner and cleaned it right away but she goes down in my estimation whereas if she'd said something we'd have sorted it.
"It makes you distrust other people, it is the minority that spoil it for the rest. We want our guests to feel at home, we want them to feel comfortable and have an enjoyable stay but we need to get that back too. We need respect. We're quite lucky that we've only have a few incidents over the last seven years.
"We still get some people who will just be, I don't know if it's just selfish, but they think they can use the place as they want and they don't care. We stress that this is our home, it's a B&B it's not a hotel, it's our home with the rooms to let. A hotel probably has a 24 hour reception and really you're just a number. It's 'there's your keys' and the following morning it's a totally different person there, with a B&B it's a personal touch."
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