A guest house owner branded the ‘real Basil Fawlty’ misleadingly advertised his hotel as either four-star or three-star standard, a court was told. John Dixon Hart’s Beverley guest house was described by guests as an ‘absolute dump’, ‘tatty and run down’, smelling of tobacco and with unclean rooms and ‘gruesome’ bedding.
However, advertising suggested people would be getting an altogether higher standard of luxury. Misleading information, including pictures, was used on three websites, Expedia, LateRooms and Booking.com, about the guest house, Hull Crown Court heard.
Mr Dixon Hart was described as being rude and “unwelcoming” and an unmanned reception meant phone calls were never answered. HullLive reported he was said not to have had the “minimum standards required of hygiene, health and safety, customer service and overall presentation” at the “tatty and run down” guest house. Hart, 60, of Minster Garth, Keldgate, Beverley, admitted six offences involving misleading commercial practices between June 1, 2021 and March 22, 2022. He and the guest house had been due to face a 10-day trial but Hart admitted six of the offences, involving unfair commercial practices and misleading actions. The six charges against Beverley Guest House Ltd were dropped.
Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said that Hart was the sole director of the guest house, known as Minster Garth. Trading standards officers for East Riding of Yorkshire Council received complaints during 2021 and 2022 from guests about the standard of service that they had received at the guest house.
A woman complained: “It was an absolute dump. The door handle was missing.” Carpets were “threadbare” and bedding was “stained”. A shower curtain was hanging off and there were missing bathroom tiles. Mouse droppings were seen in a drawer and there were dead insects in window areas.
Paying guests provided shocking photographs of the problems that they suffered. Judge Mark Bury said: “Pretty gruesome photographs of some bedding. Shower areas leave a lot to be desired.”
A guest complained about the poor state of hygiene in her room. “Given the smell and how awful the room was, they had no option but to go into town and buy cleaning products themselves,” said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse. “There was a bin with all the previous occupants’ rubbish in it.”
There were complaints about Hart’s “extremely unwelcoming” rudeness to guests. Judge Bury said: “It’s a wonder he had any. He wasn’t particularly welcoming.” Hart called one woman a “c***” and he was rude in telephone calls. “He called some lady he had never met a f***ing letch and told her she was a sponger,” said Judge Bury.
Hart had advertised the guest house as four-star or three-star. A council Investigator decided that even one star would be “flattering” to it. Judge Bury said: “He did admit that his rating was somewhat optimistic. Mr Hart wasn’t very keen on giving people refunds.”
Hart admitted that he had been less than polite to guests and he said: “In the evening, I was in the habit of drinking quite a few vodka and cokes and that worsened my behaviour towards guests. 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.”
Hart said: “It’s the price. We are always the cheapest in Beverley.” Hart told the judge. “I had the whole place redecorated last year and decent carpeting. I regularly replace the bedding.”
Judge Bury replied: “Washing it would help.” Hart had been jailed in August last year for 22 weeks for public order and harassment offences. An update on Hart’s progress since then was the “most impressive” that the judge had ever seen. “He has given up drinking apart from the occasional glass of wine,” said Judge Bury.
Hart was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and 20 days’ rehabilitation. He was ordered to pay £729 compensation to reimburse eight guests who had complained.
Judge Bury told him: “I sometimes think you should be called Basil Fawlty” – but Hart insisted that people wanted to stay at the guest house because they wanted to meet him.
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