Disability vlogger slams Tiffany's Hotel in Blackpool where boy died - but hotel hits back

A disabled visitor has slammed a Blackpool Hotel - where a young boy suffered a fatal electric shock earlier this year - for a catalogue of issues.

Fiona Rudbach, a disability tourism vlogger, says she had wanted to stay at Tiffany's Hotel in spite of what had happened, because of its impressive brochures.

But she says she was unhappy with the distinctive pink, seafront hotel, which reopened in November weeks after the tragic incident.

Ten year old Jack Piper-Sheach tragically died after an accident in the hotel in the late summer.

The youngster, who had been in Blackpool for the illuminations switch on, was found unresponsive in the reception area at around 10.40pm on Sunday, September 3.

Police said his injuries were consistent with him having received a “high voltage of electricity".

The hotel closed after the incident and did not reopen until Blackpool Council agreed that unspecified works had been carried out satisfactorily.

During her stay over the Christmas period with her husband and son, Ms Rudbach complained of

* A hole in the shower ceiling of her son's room where insects were crawling in;

*A smashed window in his room

* An uneven floor in her and her husband's room.

* Water dripping from the ceiling during a rainy day.

She also said the hotel was not as disabled-friendly as it claimed to be.

However, Tiffany's has hit back and says after an internal investigation, the hotel found that staff had done all they could to satisfy each of Ms Rudbach's requests and acted with "compassion and professionalism throughout".

Had always wanted to stay there

Ms Rudbach said: "I am aware of a previous incident but I have wanted to stay at this hotel for a long time now after seeing the lovely glossy brochures at a trade show in Birmingham.

"I am on a mobility scooter as I struggle to walk very far without my chronic pain breaking out, my husband is blind in one eye and my son has an eating disorder and cannot eat foods such as onions or citrus without him falling mega ill.

"I mentioned that I would need to take my mobility scooter to my room the receptionist said that it was OK to do this and use it in the hotel.  "The day we arrived and booked in, the first thing I was told was that I did not have a ground floor room and that I would need to leave my Mobility Scooter parked up near the lounge.

"The receptionist said you are next to the lift when you get out upstairs so we went with this. I asked if I could use the mobility scooter in the rest of the hotel and was told yes. 

Mobility scooter issue

"But I was not allowed to use my scooter in the hotel at all and the management was not being helpful.  "The room, very standard. The floor if you had a ball  it would roll from one side to another.

"The bathroom door had been punched in. The mattress very hard all of the springs had gone. My son's room had a gap in ceiling next to shower, insects crawling out of it. Window broken.  "We asked if we could either have a new mattress or change rooms. They moved us, to a bigger room.

"It would been great however, when we got in there the maintenance man clothes were in there with a list of jobs for him to do and after plaster all over the floor.  "I phoned reception they moved us back to the old room and changed the mattress.

"We lasted one night in here. Because the floor was how it was, my husband felt like he was falling out of bed and got no sleep. 

Change to another room

"So we got changed to another room. This room was OK. The only thing here to get into the room, we needed to go two steps down and two steps up. The window in the room was cracked.  This totally worn me out. "They gave my son onions in a starter by mistake  - could have made him seriously ill. The hotel roof was falling in different places because of the rain. 

"All of the passage ways upstairs have cracks and are uneven. When walking on them you feel  like you are walking on a ship having to hold onto the sides. 

"I was told by management can reserve a table for a wheelchair user but not a mobility scooter user. 

"We were also told by the management that if you have Autism to sit at the back of the room away from everyone else in the entertainment room. "

What Tiffany's says

A spokesperson for the hotel has said  “It is disappointing to read that Ms Rudbach did not enjoy her stay with us.

“Throughout the stay we made every effort to accommodate her requests.  For example, we offered a ground floor room for her owing to her mobility situation.

"But this room was declined by the guest meaning we needed to provide an alternative. We also replaced the bed with new due to an uncomfortable mattress in another room as soon as this was reported however then  this room was declined, guest was also offered other rooms to view one of which was just being finished by our decorating team.

"On Ms Rudbach requesting a table reserved for her at the front near to the stage due to her son not being able to have his back touched by anyone our team advised may be more comfortable in the booth seating away from all passing guests opposed to being within the busiest part of the main bar area.

 “As with all our guests, we do everything we can to make them as comfortable and welcome as possible. We have conducted an internal investigation into the actions and decisions made in this case and found our staff acted with compassion and professionalism throughout.”