A guest house boss dubbed “Basil Fawlty” necked vodka and was rude to visitors who were tricked into thinking they were booking luxury but arrived to find an “absolute dump.”
John Dixon Hart used fake pictures online to fool potential customers into thinking they could expect four star accomodation. But when they arrived at the Minster Garth Guest House in Beverley, Hull, they were met with “musty smells,” shabby rooms and bedding with “gruesome stains.”
When one woman demanded a refund, he called her a “c**t” and branded another a “f*****g letch” and a “sponger.” The 60-year-old admitted he was “in the habit of drinking quite a few vodka and Cokes” at night that “worsened my behaviour towards guests.”
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His “rude” attitude and grim digs sparked a flurry of complaints to the local council who said even rating the guesthouse as a one star “would have been too kind.”
(Image: HullLive/MEN)
Earlier this week, Hart pleaded guilty to misleading advertising after uploading pictures to Expedia, LateRooms, and Booking.com, reports Hull Live.
Hull Crown Court heard that Hart did not meet the “minimum standards required of hygiene, health and safety, customer service and overall presentation” at his “tatty and run down” establishment.
Visitors complained of check-in delays, “musty and tobacco-smelling” accommodation, a “shabby interior,” dirty rooms and bedding.
One woman described it as “an absolute dump” and others complained of “threadbare” carpets, missing bathroom tiles, mouse droppings and dead insects.
(Image: Hull Daily Mail / SWNS.COM)
Judge Mark Bury admitted pictures of the hell hole were “pretty gruesome.”
One disgruntled visitor was so repulsed by the stench and filth in her room that she went out to buy cleaning supplies, the prosecution said.
The owner’s attitude didn’t win him any favours either and the judge said he was “absolutely staggered” Hart even had any guests at all.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
He called one woman a “c***” over the phone and branded another a “f***ing letch” and told her she was “a sponger,” the judge said.
He added: “It’s a great shame because it’s a good spot and this has huge potential to be a successful business.”
Despite Hart’s claims of a three or four-star experience, a council investigator concluded that even one star was too kind.
Judge Bury said: “He did admit that his (four star) rating was somewhat optimistic. Mr Hart wasn’t very keen on giving people refunds.”
(Image: Hull Daily Mail/MEN Media)
In court, Hart said several disgruntled guests didn’t book “flexible rates”, hence were not eligible for refunds. He suspected that some people were “reporting exaggerated problems.”
Despite this, he acknowledged that he is now “a bit more flexible” with refunds. During a bitter row, Hart admitted to using explicit language towards woman saying: “I’m terribly sorry if I did.”
He added: “In the evening, I was in the habit of drinking quite a few vodka and Cokes and that worsened my behaviour towards guests.”
(Image: Hull Daily Mail / SWNS.COM)
He said he found it stressful managing a small guesthouse single-handedly. “We have got 12 or 13 rooms and, if people are all turning up at the same time and demanding attention, it can all get a bit fraught.”
He accepted he had let standards slip while going through a rough patch when his marriage broke down. He said his dream is to let his son’s carry the business forward and had recently made improvements and since received a “few more positive reviews.”
“It has the potential to be a gold mine,” he said.
(Image: Hull Daily Mail / SWNS.COM)
Judge Bury said: “The idea is that you get back on your feet and run this guest house as it should be and not as Basil Fawlty. You are charging reasonable rates so people should not expect The Ritz.”
He gave Hart credit for his focus on his personal improvement after a previous one month stint in prison for public order and harassment offences, but said he “has to stay off the drink.”
Hart was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 20 days of rehabilitation and pay £729 in compensation to eight unhappy guests.
The judge told him: “Do not go to the off-licence and buy vodka. All I can do is wish you the best of luck with it.”
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