A total of 366 returned travellers have been evacuated out of the Travelodge Hotel in Sydney’s CBD hotel after it failed an infection control audit by police. The outcome matches the experience of several guests who slammed the hotel for being filthy and not “fit for humans”.
Starting from Tuesday afternoon, guests reported being given around two hours to pack up and go. Police reckon the whole process should take around 12 hours.
“Hotels that do not meet the expectations are rotated out of the hotels roster,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“NSW Police ascertained that one such hotel did not meet the expectations required as part of the quarantine program.
“A decision was made to relocate all 366 guests to another, more suitable accommodation.”
One quarantined traveller who returned from Scotland told the ABC just how filthy her room was.
“Even though I knew the Travelodge is a budget hotel, I arrived and the room that hadn’t been cleaned properly,” they said.
“The tables were sticky, there was white powder all over the carpet, there were clumps of someone’s hair on the couch.
Another returned traveller described the hotel as “pretty disgusting” to The Australian.
“I’m really excited about [leaving the hotel] and to be moved into a place that is fit for humans,” they added.
“It felt like you wanted to wear shoes the whole time.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Travelodge noted the hotel had passed a police audit back in July.
“The Travelodge Sydney has strict protocols in place around COVID-19 cleaning and these have not been brought into question by the NSW authorities. All hotel rooms are deep cleaned thoroughly before and after guest use,” they said.
“We respect the decisions that authorities need to make in these times and remain committed to supporting them.”
