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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Covid Isolation Hotel Nightmare

446 replies

Suppermumzy · 24/08/2021 16:18

Stuck in this London Isolation Hotel...food is terrible...if you are lucky to go out for exercise you are hurriedly sent back in as there is always a list waiting to go out and use the outdoor space which can safely have 4 people in at a time..i will add photos of food. Cost for 11 days £2285.

I asked today "Would they stop me if I wanted to leave?" Answer No..but you will be reported as an absconder and may face a £10,000 fine....Surely this is not voluntary nor is it fair...who is monitoring this system..we seam to be a forgotten minority rotting away behind fences..

I am coming back from Africa to bury my 99 year old father who died 1/08....and I couldn't have not gone...I had to see him through....Surely this is not voluntary imprisonment as without the hotel booking reference you are not allowed on your flight at the departure airport...

AIBU to feel aggrieved by the system..when i left England the hotel fee was £1750...when I went to book it had gone up £500....NHS nurse looked after British public throughout the Pandemic but I feel that I am incapacitated to look after my own..including my young kids...

OP posts:
Thread gallery
14
knittingaddict · 26/08/2021 13:14

The food here doesn't look too bad at all:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56212665

So some can get it right if they try?

BungleandGeorge · 26/08/2021 13:25

That food looks quite good! There are a number of families of Indian origin in Africa so I presume that the Indian food may in fact be an option being chosen by OP? Does everyone pay the same rate? If they do I’d expect a single room each tbh!

AhDiddums · 26/08/2021 13:38

@knittingaddict that was back in February when hotel quarantine had just started. It’s all gone to shit since then.

JesusIsAnyNameFree · 26/08/2021 14:34

@knittingaddict

The food here doesn't look too bad at all:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56212665

So some can get it right if they try?

Both pasta and rice there though. Not the type of food that good, honest British people with British tastes want to eat.

(This is in reference to other posts and not my own opinion before anyone jumps me. I eat almost exclusively Asian (all of it), Italian and Mexican myself)

knittingaddict · 26/08/2021 15:37

[quote AhDiddums]@knittingaddict that was back in February when hotel quarantine had just started. It’s all gone to shit since then.[/quote]
Ah that explains it. Why though? Honestly my food photos would be all over every social media site I could think of if my food looked like some of the ones on here. If I was stuck in a hotel room the arrival of a meal would be the highlight of my day and I would be so demoralised to eat some of this food.

theemperorhasnoclothes · 26/08/2021 16:33

The food looks like very, very cheap ready meals in plastic containers (they haven't even bothered to provide a plate). Normal hotel room service does not look like this. I doubt it costs anywhere near 15 quid per day. I'd be surprised if that food cost more than few quid per day. It's a disgrace and I hope the OP complains to the hotel, her MP and as many people as possible until she sees an improvement and more of a reflection of the price she paid.

lljkk · 26/08/2021 18:09

We need someone who knows about professional catering to comment on costs per day or per meal, with a reasonable profit margin.

lljkk · 26/08/2021 18:12

OP: let us know how much weight you lose? I think OP said they are fasting, not eating any of it.

HopingForOurRainbowBaby · 26/08/2021 18:22

@Suppermumzy

Breakfast
Wtf is that?!
ManifestDestinee · 26/08/2021 18:25

[quote Maximum71]@MareofBeasttown
I have a feeling this is not lawful practice - as strange as that sounds..
So leaving the hotel should be an option. Unlawful imprisonment is what is actually happening.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58180307.amp[/quote]
Just because someone is alleging its unlawful imprsionment, doesn't mean it actual is. Similar cases have been brought in other countries, they have all failed.

RightYesButNo · 26/08/2021 18:34

@ragged

Suppose admin costs are about £200 by combined govt & hotel Suppose security costs are... (3 security guards at any one time for 30 people, 3 shifts day, 9x£200/day = £1800 for 30 people, £60 per person per day

PPE for security guards, £5/day per resident?

2 Tests also included, I gather the commercial rate is about £100 each.

11 days food? Call it £15 day for food itself (since all prepackaged stuff and with delivery), £5 for food packaging disposal = £20*11 = £220.

Those hotel rooms were paid for in advance by govt who didn't know how much demand there would be, they were trying to recoup the cost from individuals. Mostly basic hotels, right? No daily cleaning but presume that balances costs of transport, deep cleaning too, so should be £100/day, £1100

£60+£1100+£220+£200 = £1580
That leaves 2285-1580 = £705 not easily accounted for.
What did I forget to include?
Just guessing at these numbers.

@ragged I think it’s so much worse than that, especially the extra adult cost I mention at the very end of my much room long post (@Suppermumzy - you might be able to use the numbers from my final paragraph in your complaint). These are the absolute highest numbers I thought we should use:

Hotel and admin costs:
We know they’re using the Novotel Heathrow. Nearby Novotels are £107 a day. One is £85. And those were the rates to the public. The government bought out the whole hotel, and paid the government rate in bulk. So I think £100 a day is WAY too much. Call it £60
Hotel cost: £60 *11 = £660

Security:
Average security guard in the UK only makes £8.74 according to Payscale (£9.53 says indeed.) So…
9 x £70
£21 per resident, per day (* 11)= £231
I would say half that for security PPE since they’re buying in bulk, but bump to £3 to be very generous. It might be £0.50. We’ll just say £3 is for security and desk staff.
£3 per resident, per day (* 11) = £33

2 tests - tough one. I’m not sure if we’re saying hotel rate or rate they charge travel? Either way, they’re promising two tests to travelers from amber countries for £136, so it would be wrong if red countries are more (they should, in fact, be less, since bulk buying):
www.businesstravelnewseurope.com/Air-Travel/Cost-of-UK-PCR-tests-to-be-cut-by-up-to-20-
PCR tests: £136

Food per day
I think it’s VERY GENEROUS, based on what we saw, to say £10 a day, not £15. Again, bulk buying, bulk cooking, very low quantities of meat, more rice and bread, etc. I bet it’s actually MUCH less than ten.
Food: £10 per day (*11) = £110

And I think hotel and government admin (one time fee) for transport and…? It’s cheap for the government, so maybe the fees to retrofit hotels to make sure the A/C doesn’t recirculate are being recouped as a small fee from each person? So I’d say - £100

660+231+33+136+110+100 =£1270

£1270.

And they’re now charging £2285.

Where in the fuck is the extra £1015 PER ROOM going?! No wonder hotels signed up.

It’s quite possible they’re making a profit of £30,000 (for just 30 rooms) every 10 days. Wish some reporter would get the exact figures. What hotels pay for PCRs, food, etc.

And that was splitting security by 30 people. There are significantly more than 30 rooms in the hotel.

And we know it’s all shite, because 1 adult is £2285. Yet two adults cost £3715. So a second adult in the SAME room is an extra £1470. Subtract £136 for the PCR tests (and I’m just sure they cost the hotel less), and that means the only extra cost for them is food and a slightly larger bed. There is no way in hell that OP is getting £121 of food a day. She could have 3 restaurant deliveries of whatever she liked for that!

theemperorhasnoclothes · 26/08/2021 20:58

This is where we need some journalists doing proper investigative journalism.

wasthataburp · 26/08/2021 21:01

Omg just leave!

Darlingx · 26/08/2021 21:33

Suppermumzy

I feel for your circumstance grieving and quarantine should not be combined. I listened to a radio docu on this process and they were running out of food , having internet issues, people were escaping security now there are huge fines.
Can u upgrade the food at least somehow? Are u allowed to get some other type of food delivery ? Even if it was extra outlay I would do this. I feel for u going through this at a time when u need to be kind to yourself.
We had a huge loss money wise my partner and I were not so lucky on that front. How many days of this do u have to endure? Can you claim to have a wheat allergy ? Those breakfast baps and slop are an insult to an already isolating situation you are perfectly entitled to feel ripped off.

gofg · 26/08/2021 22:24

Yes it might be dull, but you can exercise indoors also (maybe some yoga). The food might not be great but it is food. I think there's an awful lot of drama about how inhumane it is on this thread. Inconvenient, yes. Expensive, yes. Tiresome, yes. Inhumane? Have we become so soft? Let's hope there's no wars in the offing or even a more severe pandemic.

Well said. The whole point is that no-one forced the OP at gunpoint to travel overseas. I'm sorry for her circumstances, but many others have not been able to attend funerals, be with family in trying times (and that happens all the time, not just in a pandemic). It's a short period of time in quarantine not a life sentence!

Kokeshi123 · 27/08/2021 02:38

To make this thread light-hearted, would anyone like to post pictures of foods they would want to be provided during quarantine, can you think of universally acceptable items? Remember it has to come in disposable packaging, this is obviously a condition the Q-hotels believe they need to work in.

I basically described this in my post: "For this kind of situation, you need Bland International Cuisine. Steamed/raw veggies with a choice of a few dressings. Rice or bread offered. A protein optionchicken, lamb, fish or vegetarian item, with only light seasoning. Dessertpiece of fruit and a yogurt. The kind of things almost everyone on the planet will recognize and eat. It is not very exciting but it will do for a week or two for almost everyone."

No pictures, but I'm pretty sure a picture of plainish grilled chicken, rice/bread options, and steamed vegetables doesn't need a picture. Airlines do this kind of boring-ish, universally acceptable food all the time. It's not exactly difficult.

lljkk · 27/08/2021 07:08

I know people who would consider those food choices to be disgustingly poor & effectively inedible, Koreshi. Actually, I can't remember a single airline meal quite as plain as that. I've never seen a good selection of veg in airline meal. MIL would eat most of it but bin any unfamiliar veg and the yogurt. Basing every meal on bread would appal her -- where are the spuds, where is the gravy?? She doesn't eat rice. She'd disapprove of any seasoning except a little salt. But then she'd disapprove of anyone travelling abroad, too.

Airlines only have you for max. 24 hours, most often only for one meal, so easier to put up with their limited range of choices.

lljkk · 27/08/2021 07:13

You haven't described breakfast, just one hot meal option... I suppose there are so many meals to get wrong. I could handle croissants & orange juice daily as breakfast. DS would bin the juice. MIL would call the food overall 'bad' if there only those choices daily for breakfast.

The picture of the croissants and OJ would end up looking very sad on social media.

urkidding · 27/08/2021 08:26

What's the name of the hotel? Have you said that anywhere? Maybe you should name and shame them.

RevolvingPivot · 27/08/2021 09:40

Has this been picked up by the DM yet???

Xenia · 27/08/2021 09:55

The FT has an article today bout the THREE weeks of quarantine. It is so long for business people (although an actress was recently given an exemption which did not go down too well with people) that some are considering moving the business out of Hong Kong entirely. I am not sure what the food is like but 3 weeks is pretty long to be confined to a room.

"After indicating that it would significantly ease the bulk of its travel curbs in June, Hong Kong reversed its decision last week, increasing the time that travellers must spend in quarantine from one to three weeks in most cases. The U-turn caused chaos for travellers and a shortage of designated quarantine hotel rooms for people entering the city..... 	In one meeting, the Asia-Pacific head of a large European company that has its regional headquarters in Hong Kong warned Yau it would shift a substantial part of its business to Singapore, according to one person involved."
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