Peak District luxury hotel criticised for refusing to allow autistic teenager to bring own beef paste sandwiches
A Chesterfield dad has criticised a luxurious Derbyshire hotel after they refused to allow his autistic son to bring his own sandwiches along to a family party.
Andy Revell’s 17-year-old son Ryan, though highly functioning and “very intelligent” refuses to eat anything other than beef paste or Philadelphia cheese sandwiches.
When dad Andy, 62, booked a table for 11 at the Cavendish Hotel’s exclusive restaurant – a meal which would have cost in excess of £1,000 – he requested food only for 10 due to son Ryan’s dietary needs.
However, after paying a deposit of £110 Andy was informed that customers at the Baslow eatery were not permitted to bring their own food. After protesting with no success Andy cancelled the booking.
He was later contacted by the managing director of Devonshire Hotels Group who apologised, saying the gaffe was out of character for the hotel, did not reflect their policies and this was a ‘genuine mistake’.
Speaking about the incident to the Derbyshire Times, Andy said: “I’m sure they have wheelchair access and allow new-born babies to be bottle-fed so I just can’t see why my lad couldn’t sit there with a beef paste sandwich.
“Our drinks bill is usually more than food, so we would have been £1,500-deep by the time we’d paid up. We’ve eaten in all kinds of places, including Michelin Star hotels before and never had an objection.
"Autism is something which is very close to my heart.”
Andy, who runs a self-storage business, described how the family get-together was planned to reminisce about his mother and father, who had recently died within six weeks of each other.
Speaking about his son Ryan, he said: “He’s highly-functioning and very intelligent – if you give him 16 numbers in the morning he can remember them at tea time. But anyone with autistic kids will tell you they are finicky with food.
"We’ve spent our lives trying to get him to try different foods. He will not try anything, but he loves a beef paste or a Philadelphia cheese sandwich.”
Since the incident Andy has successfully re-booked the meal at another popular Peak District restaurant.
A spokesperson for The Devonshire Hotels Group said: “We pride ourselves on providing environments where each and every guest feels welcome and comfortable when visiting us.
"This was a genuine mistake that in no way reflects the hotel’s inclusive policies. As soon as we were made aware we spoke to Mr Revell to apologise as his experience fell well below these high standards and took immediate steps to ensure this does not happen again.
“We are an accredited disability confident employer, run regular training programmes for all staff and are proud to employ colleagues with a range of needs, including offering work placements for young people with disabilities with Portland College.
“This mistake was entirely out of character for our hotel and we hope to welcome Mr Revell and his family back in the near future”