Couple 'denied entry to restaurant due to man's open toe sandals'

EXCLUSIVE: Company director and his partner were ‘denied entry to Essex restaurant because he was wearing open toe sliders’

• The man realised just before arriving he had left appropriate shoes at home

An angry guest told how she and her partner were refused entry to a luxury hotel’s restaurant – because he was wearing open toe sandals.

Samantha Hyde, 34, said she was left ‘mortified and embarrassed’ after the establishment’s ‘scruffy restaurant manager’ insisted they were not allowed to eat with other guests because of partner Samuel Beckett’s inappropriate footwear.

They say he denied them entry after the couple’s 7.30pm dinner reservation was cancelled and hastily rearranged for 6pm when the restaurant would be empty.

They were told that they could alternatively dine alone in their room instead.

The couple had spent £300 for an overnight stay including dinner and breakfast at the luxury Lifehouse Spa and Hotel near the Essex coastal town of Frinton-on-Sea.

Samantha Hyde, 34, said she was left ‘mortified’ after the Lifehouse Spa and Hotel said that her partner Samuel Beckett’s sandals meant they could not eat at the restaurant with other guests

Samuel was wearing a £150 pair of designer leather sliders but realised five minutes before arriving at the hotel on Sunday afternoon that he had left his shoes behind at the couple’s home in Rainham, east London

They had planned a relaxing break at the exclusive retreat set in 12 acres of English Heritage gardens after travelling into central London to join crowds celebrating King Charles III’s Coronation the previous day.

But they returned home in disgust just hours after arriving following their humiliating experience.

Furious Samantha told MailOnline: ‘I just can’t believe what happened to us – it was diabolical.

‘We were told you can’t eat your dinner in the restaurant because of your footwear. We weren’t allowed to be seen in public. It was so embarrassing.

‘We were treated with the most antagonistic behaviour, being belittled, judged and sent quite frankly what felt like threatening emails.

‘We are good citizens with respectful jobs and we were treated like we had been doing something illegal and wrong – it ruined the entire weekend which was meant to be a celebration.’

Hairdresser Samantha told how the drama happened when company director Samuel, 36, was told he was not allowed to enter the restaurant for dinner in ‘open toed’ shoes because they violated the hotel’s dress code.

The hotel’s website states that bathrobes and sportswear are welcome at breakfast and lunch but not for dinner when the dress code is ‘smart casual’.

The couple had spent £300 for an overnight stay including dinner and breakfast at the luxury Lifehouse Spa and Hotel (pictured) near the Essex coastal town of Frinton-on-Sea

The couple said they were treated with the ‘most antagonistic behaviour’, ‘belittled’ and ‘judged’ 

Samantha said: ‘I was told that my open-toed shoes were suitable, but Sam’s weren’t.

‘It doesn’t make sense that women are allowed in the restaurant in the same style of footwear but men aren’t – that’s discrimination.’

The couple told how they packed suitably for the occasion and couldn’t wait to check in at the resort which has 89 rooms and promises ‘a unique, life-enriching experience, tailor-made for every guest’.

But Samuel, who was wearing a £150 pair of designer leather sliders, realised five minutes before arriving at the hotel on Sunday afternoon that he had left his shoes behind at the couple’s home in Rainham, east London.

Samantha said: ‘When we got there, because we’re polite and we have manners, upon checking in my partner made the receptionist aware that he had just realised he had forgotten his shoes.

‘All he had was his Tommy Mallet sliders. They’re not cheap either. They’re a designer pair of sliders. They are nice shoes.

‘She said ‘It shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll call round to the restaurant and let them know’.

Samantha was told that her open-toed shoes were suitable, but Sam’s weren’t (pictured)

‘He had a shirt and dinner trousers. I had a dress and a pair of open toed shoes.

‘We got on with our spa day, enjoying the outdoors and reading our books.

‘When we got back to the room I had a missed call, a voice mail and an email saying if we don’t have dinner at 6pm our reservation will be cancelled.

‘The email was sent two hours after we arrived. It said the sliders did not meet the restaurant’s requirements for the dress code and we were asked to confirm we had been made aware of this.

‘We went down to reception – by this time it’s nearly 6pm. I asked to speak to the manager but was told they were not there.

‘This guy came out in a faded polo shirt, scruffy hair, unkempt beard – not a dinner jacket or a tie or anything like that.

‘He told my partner that he was not allowed in because of his shoes.’

His attitude towards me and my partner was absolutely disgusting. The way he belittled and judged us.

‘He kept laughing at us. You know, that smug laugh.

‘They were basically saying we were not up to their standards just because my partner had forgotten to bring his shoes.

Samantha told how she complained about their treatment but felt fobbed off by the manager who refused to take her phone calls

‘It’s disgusting. They made no attempt to make us feel welcome and relaxed. They were turning their noses up at us just because he didn’t have his shoes.

‘He kept saying it was on their website but it doesn’t say anything on their website about shoes. It says that for dinner the dress code is smart casual. No robes or sportswear.

‘There is no mention of shoes or footwear – who looks at your feet during dinner anyway?

‘He couldn’t tell us what specific items you were not allowed to wear.

‘He told us we had to eat at 6pm when the restaurant was quiet. He said we could go in then dressed as we were in our swimwear and robes.

‘He wouldn’t let us go back to our room, shower, freshen up, wash my hair, put some smart clothes on and sit and eat our dinner with everyone else in the hotel.

‘He would rather us go in the restaurant looking like that then smarten up and sit in his restaurant in smart clothes.

‘They were happy to relax the rules but only if we could be hidden. We were standing there for half an hour arguing about footwear and how he was treating us.

‘He wasn’t going to treat us in another way than how he had decided to treat us – in a hostile way.

‘In the end we said we were leaving and the customer relations woman was there. She said why don’t we eat in our room and they won’t charge us for room service.

‘The situation escalated so much that neither of us wanted to be in the building. To stop this antagonistic behaviour we left. We thought it was the only thing we could do.

‘How could we stay in a hotel and not even feel like we could leave the room because of how they had been treating us?

‘We had too much pride and dignity. We’re not staying in a hotel room where we feel like we can’t leave and we’re not welcome.’

Samantha told how she complained about their treatment but felt fobbed off by the manager who refused to take her phone calls.

The couple said the hotel refused to refund their overnight accommodation and that they chose to leave the resort after being ‘offered two different alternatives’ for dinner.

As ‘a gesture of goodwill’ the hotel removed £52.65 from the couple’s account which they had spent on lunch before the row erupted.

Samantha said: ‘No-one should be treated like that. We were treated like lower class citizens.

‘They haven’t taken any accountability for how their staff treated us – what they put us through and how they made us feel.

‘The whole thing ruined our entire weekend. We had such a lovely day seeing all the carriages going past and being at the balcony at Buckingham Palace. We were on such a high and thought we were going to top it all off with a nice spa and a relax.

‘Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. We went out of our way to be polite. I think if we hadn’t mentioned it and we had got ready for dinner they would not have turned us away.’

MailOnline has approached the Lifehouse Spa and Hotel seeking comment on the complaint.

The hotel said it was looking into the matter.

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