Couple fined for bad hotel review

A couple have been charged an extra £100 (€125) by a hotel after leaving an online review describing it as a “filthy, stinking hovel”.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson said they were hit with the fine after leaving critical comments about the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool on TripAdvisor. They stopped at the hotel on their way to Oxford, paying £36 for a night in a double room.

But they said they encountered a string of problems, prompting Mr Jenkinson to post the review on August 30.

The Jenkinsons said they discovered the £100 charge on their credit card statement a few days later. When they queried the charge, they were said to have been told it was incurred under a “no bad review policy” included in the terms and conditions.

The policy said: “Despite the fact repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not. For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review.”

The couple, from Whitehaven in Cumbria, are attempting to recoup the money through their credit card company.

The hotel could not be reached for comment.