MUMBAI: An Indian woman and her South American boyfriend, both postgrads from a prestigious UK college, were denied admission to a budget hotel at Andheri (West) on Saturday after the hotel staff found that they weren't married.The couple were also not refunded the amount they had paid online for booking a room months in advance. They were told the hotel has a 'no-couples policy’.FabHotel Panchvati Residency is a franchise of the FabHotels chain, which was founded in 2014 by an IIT alumnus and a Wharton graduate. It received $25 million in funding last year from a leading global investing bank. The couple met while pursuing masters degrees in the UK.The woman, aged 23, is from Delhi. Her boyfriend is 31. A couple of months ago, they decided to holiday in India. “This is his first trip to India,” the woman said. The couple took a cab from the airport and reached the hotel around noon on Saturday and produced their ID cards at the front desk. “The staff looked at us and said we couldn’t be allowed to stay as we were a couple.They pointed to a sign on the front desk which said that couples weren’t allowed. I was taken aback. Before Mumbai, my boyfriend and I had been to Delhi, Jaipur and Udaipur , but we did not face any problems at the hotels there. We have checked that there's no law in any state of India prohibiting unmarried couples from booking a hotel room,” the woman said.A FabHotels spokesperson said, “It appears that the partner hotel in question was following its rule that is also mentioned on the website at the time of booking. We acknowledge that the situation may have led to inconvenience for the guests. We will try and help them in any way we can.”