My daughter and a friend stayed at the Kings Cross Inn Hotel in London in August. It was their first overnight trip without parents and they were very excited.
On her return my daughter told me that mice had been running under the door to their third-floor room. She took photos and a video – it’s alarming viewing. When they complained they were simply told that traps would be put out in the morning. I contacted the hotel to ask for a refund. After much chasing they offered a 50% refund and money off their next trip (no thanks). LC, Sheffield
The footage does indeed show furry guests scuttling round the skirting. The hotel manager, Peter Ghali, says, however, that the “assumption that the hotel was infested on this date is not true and unacceptable”, despite the fact that a couple of online reviews mention mouse traps and a racket from vermin in the walls. According to Ghali, the contracted pest control company was summoned after the complaint and concluded that the mice in question must have entered by an open window, possibly attracted by the smell of food in the room.
Since the room was on the third floor their olfactory – and climbing – skills must be formidable, but the hotel does not respond to my request to view the report.
“A mouse entering a room via a window and a video made for two seconds does not merit a full refund,” says Ghali, who goes on to offer just that, with a deduction for breakfast. More seasoned travellers would have insisted on a change of room or hotel and, if such problems are encountered again, should report the business to the local environmental services.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
