Blind woman ordered to leave Premier Inn hotel after staff 'thought guide dog was just a pet'

A blind woman has claimed she was forced to leave a Premier Inn hotel because staff did not believe that her golden retriever was a guide dog.

Angharad Paget-Jones, 29, who was staying at the Premier Inn in Enfield on 5 November, said she was woken up by staff asking her to show proof her golden retriever, Tudor, was an assistance dog.

The disability rights campaigner from Port Talbot said that about 10pm at night, her boyfriend took Tudor for a walk, when staff at reception asked for proof that the dog was a guide dog.

“He pointed to the Guide Dogs leads and the tag he wears on his collar, but was asked for documentation”, she said.

“My boyfriend said I was asleep and I would bring them the documents in the morning and not long after that, there was a knock on the door, which woke me up.”

Ms Paget-Jones said she had to use the door to “cover her modesty” and was asked to provide “documents that just don’t exist for a guide dog”.

She then asked for the manager and closed the door but was later made to leave the hotel because staff said her closing the door was aggressive.

She said: “As we were going to the lift, you could hear (staff) saying, ‘She’s pretending that’s a guide dog, she doesn’t even look blind.”

Ms Paget-Jones said that being left to wait in the cold on Bonfire Night also had a negative impact on Tudor, who does not like fireworks.

She added: “And they made me vulnerable as I am disabled and had to wait in the cold."

Ms Paget-Jones encountered a similar experience just a day later when she was 'yelled at' by a Starbucks worker for having a dog in the store while stopping to get a coffee from a service station.

Ms Paget-Jones also recently fronted Guide Dogs’ Open Doors campaign which hopes to bring an end to access refusals.

Premier Inn said it was "shocked and appalled" and takes the "needs and equal treatment of all our guests extremely seriously".

In a statement, it added, "All team members receive disability awareness training to make sure our guests all get the same warm welcome and enjoy a great stay.

“We were shocked and appalled to see the upsetting Twitter thread alleging that a guest was asked to leave one of our hotels in Enfield.

“An urgent investigation is already underway with that site to find out exactly what’s happened and we’ve reached out to the Twitter user to fully understand the circumstances of what has taken place and apologise for the upset caused.”

Blanche Shackleton, head of policy, public affairs and campaigns at Guide Dogs, said: “Guide dog owners deserve to be able to live their lives the way they want and feel confident, independent, and supported in the world.

“The law is clear, and yet guide dog owners continue to experience access refusals, which are almost always illegal.

“We are deeply concerned to hear Angharad’s account of her experience.”