Gay couple 'forced to have single beds' at London hotel

A man claims he and his boyfriend were refused a double room at a London hotel and were forced to take two single beds.

The BBC reports that Nick Hurley, 22, and Gavin Maclean, 28, from Manchester were repeatedly asked by the receptionist if they would prefer single beds.

The couple booked a double room at the Thistle City Barbican hotel in central London for Saturday night and felt they had been treated in a 'homophobic way' by the receptionist.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the hotel chain is investigating the incident and apologised for any offence caused.

Mr Hurley and Mr Maclean were visiting the capital for a weekend break and had been to the theatre before arriving at the hotel at about 11.30pm.

Mr Hurley told the BBC: 'When we got there, we tried to check in, and the receptionist looked at us and said "are you sure you want a double room or do you want single beds?"'

'He had obviously seen it was two guys. We said "we've booked a double and we'd quite like one"'.

'He then looked at us and said "are you sure you don't want single beds?"'

'He insisted on repeating that question,' Mr Hurley said. 'I felt it was a way of him imposing his own stamp on the situation. I got a barbed vibe.

'He said we'll have to put you in a family room, with single beds. There were no doubles left in the hotel.

'We're quite non-confrontational,' the 22-year-old said.

'I'm not that easily wound up but I was angered. We were tired and decided not to make an issue.'

Chris King, a spokesman for Thistle Hotels said: 'We do not tolerate homophobic behaviour.'

'We're sorry to hear this. We take matters like this very seriously and we are investigating.

'We apologise for the way they feel.'

He said the couple had been offered two nights free anywhere in the country as an apology.

Gay rights group Stonewall's chief executive Ben Summerskill said: 'Subject to the facts being as reported, it's sad to see that this sort of thing is still happening as it's been unlawful for five years.

'A major hotel company must be well aware they can no more turn away a gay couple than a mixed race couple, even though they might not approve of them either.'

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