A hotel manager who told a lesbian couple they should be ‘put in a cage with the rest of the wild animals’ has denied being homophobic.

Edinburgh couple, Nicole Calder, 24, and Lauren Inglis, 26, stayed at the Clifton Mount Hotel in Newcastle on Saturday (19 September).

They claimed management put them in a room they had not booked. They also claimed the room was dirty, neighbours shouted homophobic slurs at them and were up partying until 5am. On top of that a hotel staff member asked to access the basement through their room.

The couple went to Newcastle in northern England to celebrate Calder’s birthday, but left unhappy.

Noisy neighbours

Along with two friends the couple hit the town on Saturday night. When they got back to the hotel, their neighbours allegedly began to shout obscene comments.

‘When I went back the people in the other room could see I’d spoken to reception so a few of them started saying things like “there’s the man” and “there’s the lesbian”,’ Inglis told The Scottish Sun.

‘They were saying vulgar things about me having sex with my partner and then saying that I s**g my mum – more disgusting things like that.

‘In this day and age you don’t expect to experience stuff like that. That people are still homophobic like that shocks me.’

When the women complained, the receptionist allegedly told them nothing could be done because it’s a ‘party hotel’.

‘I went back to the reception to complain and the man behind the counter came down and told them to keep the noise down but didn’t mention the homophobic stuff,’ Inglis said.

The customer is always right

After they left the hotel, the women sent an email complaining about their experience and asked for refund. But they did not expect the response they got.

Hotel manager, Andy Singh, accused the women of being liars and he had no intention of refunding them.

‘I’m sorry to hear about your recent stay but most of what you are saying is not true,’ Singh replied.

‘Yes you complained about the group next door whom said [sic] they were not saying anything of the sort it was simply your word against theirs. I therefore suggest in the future to stop making so many lies up, there will be no refund.’

But after Calder defended herself, Singh said the couple belonged in a cage.

‘Please go ahead and do as you please your [sic] not fit enough to stay in a hotel people like you should be put in a cage with the rest of the wild animals,’ he wrote.

In comments to The Scottish Sun, Singh accused the couple of being abusive. He also said he did not have anything against gay people.

‘Under no circumstances have I anything against gay people, this is simply an excuse for a refund I am against liars which she clearly is and I have CCTV to prove everything I am saying is true,’ he said.

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