A woman claims a quarantine hotel left its guests with inadequate food during a 10-day stay costing £1,750 per person.
Lucy Stone, from Pontypridd, has been staying in a quarantine hotel in London after she was evacuated from Nepal and separated from her husband.
The 34-year-old arrived at the Park Plaza hotel, based in Waterloo, on May 29 after a number of military dependants and army personnel were told to leave Nepal as it entered the red list in Wales and England.
Lucy had to leave behind her husband who is part of the British Gurkhas in Nepal because coronavirus rates are so high in the country. Direct flights to and from Nepal have been banned and those leaving the country must quarantine for 10 days.
Though things started off well for those staying at the hotel, with a relaxing atmosphere and good portions of food, Lucy said things started to decline as more people arrived and needed to be catered for.
It has led to meals either being served late or not at all, as well as the dietary requirements of both adults and young children not being met, she claimed.
Lucy said: "We think issues started at this hotel because it's at high capacity - 1,400 people - it was relaxing at first and our portion sizes were good, but after a few days we started having some issues and believe it's because more people needed to be catered for.
"The issue is largely to do with food, they deliver food to us three times a day but sometimes the food isn't here on time or isn't arriving at all. Some people don't get their lunch delivered until 4.30pm some days and I got my dinner delivered at 10pm the other night. I didn't think it was going to arrive at all, which is not ideal when you had lunch at 1.15pm."
Mrs Stone is a vegetarian and said sometimes her meals, as well as the meals of other vegetarians at the hotel, arrive with meat in. She said there are no vegan options and a nine-year-old child with a gluten intolerance was initially only able to eat fruit.
"A lot of us are seeing food as something that breaks up the day and when it doesn't arrive it throws you off a little bit," she said.
"It has been particularly difficult for those here with children. With the portion sizes as they are now, it's as though we're getting less food as it's shared out with more people.
"Breakfast is supposed to come between 8am and 10.30am but we've had it where some of the wives are waiting until lunch for that to arrive. Some of them are here with children so they've been getting up early at around 6am and then don't have food until lunch time.
"One woman's nine-year-old son is unable to eat gluten and the only food he could eat at the hotel was fruit, so she had to order food out of her own pocket. After she complained, they provided her son with with a gluten-free lunch which was bread with a bottle of water."
Lucy explained that it costs about £1,750 per person to stay at the hotel for 10 days, then more if they have children. However because they are military dependants the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is paying for it. The money is supposed to provide beds, three meals a day and bottled water and any other essentials needed.
She said many in her situation expected the process to run smoothly and to provide them comfort while they missed their partners in Nepal. She said she has no issues with the hotel itself and that she was grateful to have "amazing" support from the MoD, but what either can offer is restricted by the managed quarantine system in place.
She said: "The army provided laptops for all the children as well as colouring packs so they could carry on with home working, however the hotel will not deliver them to the rooms because it is against quarantine policy, even though you can order a takeaway pizza to the hotel.
"Many of the wives, especially the ones with children, are feeling quite desperate at this point. They don't have anything to keep them occupied apart from the TV and you don't want your children watching TV all day long."
Lucy said that although the lack of food is causing everyone at the hotel the most upset, their situation has been exacerbated by the limited time they are allowed to spend outside.
She said: "My room is quite large, I have a double bed to myself but we are only allowed to spend 15 minutes a day outside. There's no greenery outside as we are confined to the terrace and we can't move about much as we need to stay apart. There have been issues with some of us not going out at all some days. It would be nicer if we could spend a little bit longer outside or maybe to be able to get out more than once a day.
"Some of the women have said they think they'd be treated better in a prison. There are security staff sat outside every other door."
With the situation as it is, Lucy said it means she and the other wives have a lot of time to themselves, making it even harder to be apart from their loved ones. She said they are able to keep in contact with their husbands through messaging apps such as Whatsapp, however they have know way to tell when they'll next see their husbands face-to-face. It all depends on when the situation in Nepal improves enough for the government to move it from the level red category.
Lucy said she, as well as others at the hotel, tested negative for coronavirus for the second time on June 6 so it is highly likely they will be allowed to leave on Wednesday. Lucy will be going to Pontypridd with her family, while others will be staying at a military base until they are allowed back to Nepal.
Luckily for Lucy, her husband is due to finish three-year post in Nepal around July, so she is hopeful that she'll be able to see him again soon once he has also finished his 10-day quarantine period. However, she said it was still a worry for her being without him at this time while she stays at the hotel.
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She said: "The state of the virus is very bad out there, the border with India is open so it's spread there. We think a lot of the military personnel have had their vaccines which is something to be grateful for, but I think in general we're worrying because we don't know if things like riots might start. There is no furlough scheme out there and a lot of shops and businesses are shut down so people are in desperate situation
"We've left [our husbands] in a country that's struggling to cope with coronavirus and they are going to have an active role in trying to help that country deal with the virus. It's like we've been ripped out of our home, put on a flight and then sent to this hotel where we thought we'd be able to quarantine and relax. We completely understand why we're here and want to follow the rules but since we've been here we've had issues every day as well as worrying about family at home and our husbands in Nepal - others are worried about their children. There are things that could have made things a lot easier for us."
A UK Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Our top priority has always been protecting the public and the robust border and testing regime we have in place is helping minimise the risk of new variants coming into the UK.
“The government continues to ensure every person in quarantine gets the support they need and all managed quarantine facilities are accommodating the vast majority of people's requirements.
“Hotels do their utmost to take any necessary steps to address concerns raised by guests.”
