London - They had hoped, naturally, it would be the best day of their lives. And all started well for the bride and groom.
The marriage ceremony and celebration meal at a picturesque barn restaurant were memorable. But so was Tom and Amy Barry’s wedding night – unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons.
They returned to their hotel to realise they had locked themselves out of their £180-a-night (about R3 700) honeymoon suite. Even though they were still in their wedding outfits, the receptionist refused to hand over a spare key so they could use the suite. Instead, they had to pay £80 to spend the night a “poky” box room.
The Marks Tey Hotel near Colchester blamed the mix-up on a “discrepancy” in the spelling of Mr Barry’s name when the room was booked.
Mr Barry, 35, who works in construction, said: “We ended our first night of marriage in a horrible room in the corner of the hotel. The room was booked in my name and they could have simply checked my credit card and let us in.”
The couple, from Wivenhoe near Colchester, who have been together for ten years and have three daughters, married at the Barn Brasserie in Great Tey last month and arranged to stay at the nearby Marks Tey, a Best Western hotel.
Mrs Barry, 33, a nursery worker, dressed for the wedding in the suite and left all her belongings, including her key, in the room. The newlyweds returned to the hotel in the small hours.
Mr Barry said: “We went to the receptionist and said, ‘Can we have the key please?”’ Wedding dresses don’t have pockets and Amy had other things on her mind, so she didn’t bother taking anything with her. I couldn’t believe it when the woman refused to give us our key. We ended up having a terrible night on what should have been one of the happiest nights of our lives.’
The receptionist refused to check the his credit card against the booking but allowed him to use it to pay for the £80 room, Mr Barry added. When they complained the following morning, staff apologised and the couple have now been given a refund and a free two-day stay.
A hotel spokesperson said: “We apologise to Amy and Tom. There was a discrepancy on the room name, which was spelt wrong, and our night staff rightly followed security procedures. We have resolved the situation to both parties’ satisfaction.”
Daily Mail