Blind man 'humiliated' after hotel refuses entry

A blind man who was turned away from his booking at a London hotel because of his guide dog has said it was "so humiliating".

John Hardy and his wife, from Bridgwater in Somerset, checked into The Brompton Hotel in South Kensington, but as they went to walk up to the room the receptionist noticed the dog and refused to let it in.

"We ended up being kicked out of the hotel at 7.30 [19:30 BST] in the evening with nowhere to go," Mr Hardy said.

Mr Hardy has successfully sued the company for discrimination. The Brompton Hotel has been approached for comment.

Mr Hardy, a campaigner raising awareness of accessibility for blind people, told BBC Somerset the incident happened about 18 months ago when he was in the capital for a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

"When we arrived at 7pm [19:00 BST], we checked in," said Mr Hardy.

"As I turned away from the reception desk with our keys etc, the receptionist noticed then my guide dog Sidney, who was in full harness.

"He said 'you can't bring that dog in here'."

Mr Hardy explained to the receptionist that Sidney was a guide dog and "not a pet", but said the man was "demanding the keys back".

He said he told the staff member it was illegal to refuse him access and rang the police to make a record of the incident, adding: "This happens not just to me, but to many other people who travel with a guide dog."

Mr Hardy subsequently sued the hotel for disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and found out he had won the ruling on 3 December.

The company must pay him compensation.

The campaigner said "most people are very accommodating" to him and Sidney, but it was not the first time he had experienced the issue.

In 2023, he won compensation from a Somerset curry house that had refused entry to the pair.

Earlier this year, the government set out its plans to protect customers with assistance dogs from being illegally refused entry to businesses.

According to Guide Dogs UK, three-quarters of guide dog owners say they have experienced an access refusal in the past.

"The problem is it is a civil offence, not a criminal offence," said Mr Hardy.

"Honestly, it's so humiliating to stand there and people say 'sorry, you're not coming here because you're not good enough'.

"People have to remember that they're not actually discriminating against the dog... they're actually discriminating against me as a visually impaired person.

"Sid, to me, is my aid, he's my partner. He's everything that I need to actually get around."

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