Hotelier branded real-life Basil Fawlty by judge after clashing with guests over grotty rooms at ‘four star’ guesthouse
A HOTELIER has been branded a real-life Basil Fawlty by a judge after clashing with guests over his grotty rooms.
John Dixon-Hart, 60, tore into customers like the character played by John Cleese in the 1970s sitcom.
Guests described Minster Garth hotel in Beverley, East Yorks, as smelly, shabby, awful, stained and gruesome, a court was told.
Carpets were said to be threadbare, bedding was stained and one door had no handle.
One couple said their room in the Georgian property smelt so badly they bought their own products to scrub it clean.
Those who complained to Dixon-Hart were met with abuse as he railed against them expecting “the world” for £40 a night.
He was taken to court by Trading Standards for wrongly advertising the grubby 13-bed establishment online as a four-star hotel.
A council inspector said a one-star rating would have been “flattering”.
Judge Mark Bury said at Hull crown court: “I have heard how you treated guests.
“I’m absolutely staggered you had any.
“I wouldn’t even have dreamed of staying in a guest house like that.
“The idea is that you get back on your feet and run this guest house as it should be and not as Basil Fawlty.”
Dixon-Hart was given a nine-month suspended jail term and ordered to pay £729 compensation to eight unhappy customers.