Startling footage from inside a four-star migrant hotel reveals a plush room kitted out with massage chairs. Images from inside the Grade II listed Ramada Hotel in Solihull show a number of male 'guests' reclining in the chairs, which are worth thousands of pounds each.
Inside the Taxpayer-Funded Hotel
The video starts in a communal area of the taxpayer-funded venue, which houses males who travelled to the UK illegally by small boats from countries such as Afghanistan. Also recorded last week on the grounds is England’s oldest crown bowling green, now disused after the Home Office took control of the venue to house hundreds of migrants.
The man behind the camera, a vlogger named DP Audits, approaches two men using the chairs and asks: 'Massage chairs? Does that massage your back? They're comfy, yeah?'
Questions will be raised over the standard of living inside the hotel's 145 en-suite rooms, with the bill footed by hard-working Britons during a cost of living crisis. The establishment, formerly the George Hotel, describes itself online as a 'welcoming atmosphere' to stay and 'watch a Shakespeare play', alluding to the nearby historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Hotel Amenities and History
Photos on the hotel's website show a well-stocked gym and rooms featuring flat screen TVs. Part of the building is a 16th-century coaching inn, which became The Nag's Head in 1693 and then The George in 1738, which it remained until rebranding in the early 2010s. It was previously used as a facility for travellers flying into the UK from so-called 'red-list' countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in August, it was one of many sites of protest in the UK as local residents gathered to challenge its use to house migrants. It comes just weeks after the Daily Mail revealed a games room full of arcade machines, a pool table and darts board at a taxpayer-funded migrant hotel, the Rowton Hotel in Birmingham.
Government Scrutiny and Costs
The Government’s use of hotels for asylum seekers has faced scrutiny over costs, security, and the use of high-standard facilities, such as the four-star Britannia International in Canary Wharf, which was the site of furious protests. Anti-asylum demos have also taken place at other hotels such as The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after a migrant sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman. Ethiopian national Hadush Kebatu, 41, was jailed for a year over the attacks in September.
The Government has contracted out the task of accommodating migrants in 200 hotels to three companies: Serco, Clearsprings and Mears. These hotels cost £5.77 million a day, government figures show. The projected cost over the decade to 2029 has shot up from £4.5 billion in 2019 to an eye-watering £15.3 billion. Since Channel crossings began rising in 2018, there have been 200,000 recorded asylum seekers entering the UK by small boat. On one Saturday alone last month, more than 600 made the crossing, according to government figures.
Official Response
A hotel source maintained that the massage chairs have not been operational since migrants have lived at the building. A Home Office spokesman said: 'This government is restoring control to our borders by removing the incentives drawing illegal migrants to the UK and increasing removals of those with no right to be here. We will close all asylum hotels by the end of this parliament and are moving asylum seekers into more suitable accommodation including former military sites.'
