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Woman claims she saw staff at 5-star wipe toilet seat with bath towel: ‘Think of top Indian hotels’
An Instagram user has shared 3 shocking things she witnessed at five-star Indian hotels, highlighting how a premium price tag is no guarantee of good hygiene
An Instagram user has shared three shocking things she witnessed at five-star Indian hotels, highlighting how a premium price tag is no guarantee of good hygiene. The woman, named Arpita, refused to name the hotels where she witnessed what she described as “three dirty things”.
“I can’t take names as I have worked with them but think of the top Indian hotels and you will know,” she said in the comments section.
According to Arpita, she saw several things that do not align with the service that guests expect from five-star hotels. The incidents made her conclude that “5-star hotels in India are a scam”.
The first incident: Bath towels for wiping commode
The first incident she described involved hotel towels. Aprita claimed that she once saw a housekeeping staff member take a used towel from a guest’s room and use it to wipe a toilet seat before sending it for laundry.
“Carry your own towel, because one time I saw a housekeeping staff take the used towel and wipe the toilet seat with it, and then he gave it away for laundry,” she advised. “I don't know how some of you feel about it, but I find that really gross.”
The second incident: Dirty dishwasher
Arpita claimed that even the dishwashers at five-star hotels are “very dirty”. She claims that she once saw a cleaner passing dishes through a dishwasher, only for some plates to come out with food particles, leaves and other residue still on them.
According to her, the staff member allegedly wiped the dishes and kept them aside for use instead of sending them for another wash.
“He just took that and wiped it off, and just kept it for use,” she said.
The last incident: Potatoes on the floor
Her last incident was particularly disgusting and potentially a food safety hazard. According to Arpita, she once saw a chef accidentally drop boiled potatoes on the kitchen floor while preparing food. She alleged that the potatoes were picked up, added back to the tray and later turned into mashed potatoes that were served at the buffet.
“The kitchen floor is very dirty, mind you. He took those potatoes back into the tray, he made mashed potatoes out of it, and then he served it in the buffet,” Arpita said.
How viewers reacted
Viewers in the comments section expressed concern and disgust at the incidents. However, many said they were unsurprised and shared their own experiences of working at luxury hotels.
“As a former student visa holder in Melbourne, I can confirm that's exactly how hotel housekeeping works! It's a shame there's a lack of trust,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“I’ve worked in a very big hotel kitchen too — it’s a global chain. We had two big rats in the kitchen. Good blueberries were picked out from packs that were full of mouldy berries, cakes were recycled for the buffet for many days, and cake batters were whisked by hand, with hands and elbows deep in the mixture, without gloves,” another recounted.
“I carry towels and my own food to the hotels. Next time I am planning to take my own room as well,” an Instagram user joked.
