Visitors to St Athans Hotel in Camden, London, have said they have to navigate a “dangerous” drop requiring “acrobatic skills” on stairs just to get to the toilet
Rattled guests claim they had to stretch over “death stairs” at a London hotel that you should only stay at “if you aren’t afraid of heights and like a little danger”.
Photos have been shared of St Athans Hotel in Camden where visitors have said they need to step over a dangerous drop just to go to the toilet. The images posted on Facebook and TripAdvisor from the Georgian townhouse show the gap between a third-floor room and a shared bathroom that one guest said required ‘acrobatic skills’ to avoid falling down.
Its thin and twisting steps leading from each room join together before a steep drop of nine more follow down to the second floor. ‘Curtain rod-like’ bannisters can be seen lining the wall to help visitors’ descents with Facebook users joking the assistance is handy to ‘avoid certain doom’.
One guest warned tourists to avoid the hotel ‘unless you have a good grip, aren’t afraid of heights and like a little danger’ as the stairs are a ‘serious safety issue’. But the Tripadvisor review was slammed by a man claiming to be the hotel owner who said the stairs ‘have handrails, which seems to be enough for our overzealous Health & Safety Executive’.
However the UK Government’s Health and Safety Executive have said they don’t check the safety of hotels as it’s Camden Council’s responsibility. Council safety bosses have reacted to the online complaints by pledging to launch an ‘immediate investigation’ to ‘take any necessary action to ensure that everyone is protected from harm’.
The Tripadvisor response, claiming to be penned by the hotel owner, described the steep steps as one of the Georgian townhouse’s ‘many quirks’ and claimed the guest could have booked a lower room instead. In the angry rant he blasts complaining guests who ‘often choose the cheapest hotel and the cheapest room and wonder why they haven’t gotten everything they’d expect’.
A viral Facebook post made by another visitor describes them as ‘death stairs’ with users imagining how difficult negotiating the stairs at night or after a few drinks. The poster joked that extra confidence from a few alcoholic drinks helped tackle them but horrified observers slammed the stairs as a ‘death trap’.
The Tripadvisor review said: “Maybe this hotel is for young people, not as much for two middle-aged pudgy people and their two teenage kids. Our room was on the top floor – three flights of very steep stairs – but we had no problem with that, though it wasn’t fun after a long day of sightseeing.
“The room accommodated all four of us well enough because we were just sleeping there for two nights so we didn’t really care too much about room to move around or amenities. There was no bathroom in the room. Ok, I can do that, no big deal. But the bathrooms were either down the stairs to the landing (fun at 3am) or across this crazy staircase setup that required certain acrobatic skills.
“The showers were only available across the super-dangerous stair setup! It is hard to describe, so I’ve attached a picture. Unless you have a good grip, aren’t afraid of heights and like a little danger in your hotel stay, don’t stay here. Or at least don’t stay on the top floor (I have no idea of the set up on the other floors).
“The people were very nice and the room itself was just fine, but I cannot recommend this hotel to anyone due to the serious safety issues.” The full response claiming to be from the hotel owner reads: “Thanks for the review, it seems that many of your points could have been dealt with before you booked as we do have ensuite and lower floor rooms, you just need to ask for those when booking.
“It seems that people often choose the cheapest hotel and the cheapest room and wonder why they haven’t gotten everything they’d expect. The St Athans is situated in an historic Georgian townhouse which has many quirks, including some steep steps from the 2nd to 3rd floor.
“All staircases have handrails, which seems to be enough for our overzealous Health & Safety Executive, and most people, though clearly from the review, not all. Please check out our website before you book, so you know what type of place we are, and if you have any requests, just let us know and we’ll try and accommodate you. If we can’t offer you what you need then we’ll be happy to recommend other hotels in the area.”
One visitor who posted about the stairs on Facebook was flooded with replies baffled by the controversial set-up. The Facebook post, which has more than 1,000 likes, said: “I found these beauties at a hotel in London. Shared bathrooms, the arrow shows the way I had to go from our room to the bathroom. There was a door either side as well, just to make it that little bit more fun!”
One user commented: “Imagine having a hard night on the beers and getting up for your 3am p**s to stumble across this beauty.” Another jokingly replied: “I think I could navigate these better if I was p**s drunk.” The poster added: “That little bit of extra confidence really helped!” A second commented: “Not wheelchair friendly then!”
The poster replied: “Admittedly they did say that on the website.” A third joked: “Hey, at least you have those shower curtain rods bolted to the wall to hold onto to avoid certain doom.” The poster replied: “They really were a nice touch!” Another user commented: “I have been to loads of properties with staircases like these. They are a death trap.” Another joked: “I’d ask for a bucket.” One added: “Ask for a tray and slide down them.”
A Camden Council spokesman said: “The safety of all people visiting and working in hotels in the borough is extremely important to us. We are carrying out an immediate investigation into the safety and compliance of this staircase and will take any necessary action to ensure that everyone is protected from harm.” The Mirror has contacted St Athans Hotel for comment.
