A dad-of-three said he was 'knocked sick' and had his 'stomach turned' after he claimed to have found a suspicious white powder and blood-stained sheets in his hotel room. Colin Campbell, 43, from Everton, is 14 months into his journey recovering from cocaine and alcohol dependency and operates Do Your Talking While You're Walking, a support network focused on mental health and recovery.
He had reserved a night at the four-star Dixie Dean Hotel in Liverpool city centre for himself and his partner Chloe earlier this month. The pair stayed at the hotel following a night out at the Retrospective Festival at Sherdley Park on Friday, September 11. Colin said the couple 'rarely get a night out' and had organised babysitters so they could enjoy their evening.
Discovery of suspected cocaine and bloodstains
Colin claimed their experience was spoiled after they awoke the next morning to find several problems with their hotel room. He claimed the pair found a bag of cocaine, bloodstains on the sheets and carpets covered in stains. The Dixie Dean Hotel has since confirmed it has offered the couple a full refund for their stay.
Colin explained to the Liverpool Echo: "We don't often get out because we've got three kids. We have no one to rely on for childcare so we thought we'd make the most of it and we hired babysitters so we could stay out for the night." He continued: "We arrived, checked in, and when we went up to the room at around 4pm, I was hit with this smell of damp. But it was only a one-night stay so we thought we could put up with it. We wanted to get to the festival for about 5pm, so we just put our gear in and left."
The pair arrived back at the hotel at approximately 12.30am and headed straight to their room for the night. Colin explained he awoke around 5.30am to discover the odour was 'overwhelming'. "The smell was knocking me sick, so I got up and went out for a walk around town for some fresh air. My sense of smell is actually poor because of my drug addiction, but even so the smell was overwhelming."
Hotel response and refund dispute
Colin explained that while he was outside, Chloe discovered a small white bag containing what appeared to be cocaine hidden beneath a lamp on the bedside table. She also noticed what looked like white powder scattered on the carpet close to the dressing table, he added. The pair headed downstairs to speak with a manager at reception, making clear that the find was particularly distressing for Colin given his circumstances. They were instructed to go for breakfast and assured the situation would be resolved by the time they returned.
Colin recalled: "It was like she was looking straight through me; it was bizarre. There was no empathy at all. I'm 14 months in recovery for cocaine and alcohol addiction. It's not an easy thing to be confronted with when you're in recovery." Upon returning to their accommodation, Colin said employees had informed them the matter had been addressed and the room cleaned. However, he alleges the suspected narcotics had simply been pushed back underneath the lamp.
He explained: "As we went back up to the room, we looked at the bedside table and the cocaine was gone. But unbelievably, I looked under the lamp and it had just been shoved back under. It was nuts - I was fuming. We looked around and nothing else had changed. Then I thought I'd look at the bed. When I turned the blue throw over, my stomach turned. There was something that looked like bloodstains all over the bed. It was vile. The carpets were minty and covered in stains. It was that bad, we didn't even get a wash in there."
Formal complaint and charity pledge
Colin claims he was originally informed they would receive a complete refund upon contacting Booking.com. The accommodation had cost £178.20. Yet an email from The Dixie Dean Hotel, viewed by the ECHO, confirms they would be reimbursing 50 per cent of the booking price, totalling £89. A message from Booking.com reveals that the hotel challenged the claims and the booking platform would provide £22.27 in travel credits.
Colin said he went back to the premises the subsequent Monday to challenge the refund figure, but discovered staff were 'unhelpful'. He has subsequently filed a formal complaint with Booking.com.
Colin said his struggles with addiction have had a catastrophic effect on his loved ones. Colin said his brother Terry took his own life as a consequence of alcohol and drug abuse, and Colin said he has attempted suicide twice himself. "That's how serious it is to me," he said. "I couldn't go back in until they'd removed [the cocaine], and then they didn't even do that. It felt a bit like a smack in the face. It's disappointing because they just didn't seem to care, as if it happens all the time. But that hotel is a representation of our city. The fact that people might be coming in and seeing that is appalling. There's class A drugs in the hotel room, and it's like they didn't even care. It just wasn't what I expected when you're paying almost £200 a night."
Colin explained that, should he be reimbursed, he plans to give the funds to a children's charity helping young people impacted by trauma. "This is not about the money," he said. "If I get a refund, I'll happily donate it to Alfie's Squad, a children's charity for kids affected by suicide. It's just the principle of it all."
A spokesperson for The Dixie Dean Hotel said: "We take Mr Campbell's allegations about the property seriously and are already in direct contact with the lead booker, having agreed a 50 percent refund with them at check-out. We are investigating the claims made and, as a gesture of goodwill, we can confirm we have now refunded the guests in full for their stay." A spokesperson for Booking.com added: "We were sorry to hear about this customer's experience, and can confirm that the hotel has agreed to provide a partial refund."
