A tourist has described his holiday hell after spending four nights at Torquay’s ‘lowest rated’ hotel – saying it is probably the worst place he has ever stayed. Jason Smith, from Canada, sampled the delights of the English Riviera as part of a tour of the UK.
His experience at the OYO Sherwood Palm Hotel on Belgrave Road left a deep impression – for all the wrong reasons. From the “smell of mould” in the air to the sight of “blood on the sheets”, he said his short stay was “horrific”.
Lowlights, he claimed, included rude staff, a clogged shower and “garbage” on the floor. Photos he took inside the property show items of furniture propped against a door, a cluttered lounge with foul-looking food preparation area, abandoned laundry on the ground, slug killer on the doorstep and a gargantuan spider stretching its legs on the bed.
OYO, the international hospitality company, is aware of the bad review. It says the owners are elderly but it will “sever the relationship fully” if things don’t improve soon.
Want the latest Devon breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice
Jason, who has travelled the world and visited many exotic locations, including Nepal, Costa Rica and all the US states, said: “I have never had a problem like this with accommodations until I stayed in Torquay at this hotel.”
He left a stinging review online in which he stated: “Don’t stay here – and I can’t say this enough. This place is not even fit for a human to stay in.”
And he is not the only former guest to leave such remarks in the online visitor book. The Sherwood Palm appears to have the worst reviews of any hotel in Torquay – based on Google and Booking.com – scoring a lowly 2.4 and 4.3 respectively. It is number 77 out of 77 traveller ranked hotels in Torquay on TripAdvisor, based on 240 reviews and scoring an impressively bleak 121 ‘Terrible’ ratings.
(Image: Jason Smith)
Jason told DevonLive: “I am a visitor to your country and decided to visit Torquay based on recommendations. My stay at the Sherwood Palms Hotel was horrific and the worst I’ve ever been in.
“The staff was rude, fire exits blocked by furniture, room doors that are broken, garbage everywhere in the hotel, the lounge is a health and fire hazard, blood stains on bed sheets, spiders in room, chemicals not stored properly and accessible. Lastly, the hotel smells like mould.”
Jason says he stayed at the hotel between September 7 and 11, paying £152.35 for the privilege. “No one was available to speak to,” he said. “The front desk was empty and the staff were in the lounge talking on their cell phone showing no interest in the guest.”
(Image: Jason Smith)
He said his only real exchange with staff came when the shower needed to be unclogged and they denied his request to switch rooms. His long list of complaints also included no WiFi, one roll of toilet paper, a view that overlooked rubbish, a door that looked as if somebody had tried to kick it in, no telephone in the room, no air conditioning, no fan in room, cracks in walls and some walls falling apart.
But Jason’s review is positively glowing compared to others online. The long list of complaints range from “reeking of pee” to “sick in the drawers”. One review says “the hallways smells funky,” another guest leaves shortly after arriving having seen the state of the room.
(Image: Jason Smith)
Other one word reviews include “Spooky”, “Disgusting” and simply “S***”.
According to travel websites, the Sherwood Palm is a three-star facility and does have many of the features Jason says were missing. It’s described as boasting a central location close to Torre Abbey Beach.
Positive reviews online include “Pleasant”, “Phenomenal” and “Ok, be back again before Xmas.” One says: “What do you want from a room?” and another “For £39.00, for one night sleep, you can’t complain.”
(Image: Jason Smith)
In its response to Jason’s review online the hotel says: “Dear, Jason! Sorry for the trouble that has caused. We would like to thank you for sharing such valuable reviews. Definitely we can work on it to make sure that your next stay turns out to be awesome. Regards, Kenneth!”
An OYO spokesperson said: “The hotel is being operated by a really elderly couple. Given the bad guest reviews, we have been counselling them to focus on both physical and service improvements.
(Image: Jason Smith)
“We had already removed the OYO branding from all booking platforms so consumers don’t assume a certain quality level associated (with) the brand. We are being patient since this is the livelihood for aged owners.
“But we are monitoring closely and will sever the relationship fully if things don’t improve soon. We do hope for the owners sake that they are able to turn the quality around.”
This post was originally published on here
