Although over 50 people have been living in a hotel in Almondsbury since January, villagers only discovered they were there last month. When a member of St Mary’s church congregation was out on the fields walking her dog one afternoon, she discovered a group of unfamiliar looking faces.
They asked her if there was anything that happened in the village, to which she replied, "nothing". But suggested they join her at the church where she could introduce them to some locals. It was there where they met the vicar’s wife, Alison Rowe, who some of the women at the hotel now refer to as “Alison angel”.
Alison has been supporting the refugees who have fled from a variety of war torn countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East for the last month. She said that the local community has been very supportive and through social media she has raised funds to provide them with food and was able on one occasion to take them on a trip to Weston Super Mare where they tried fish and chips for the first time.
READ MORE: Grand Iftar 2022 on St Marks Road in Bristol will be invite-only with limited capacity
The residents have become sick of the food provided by Almondsbury Interchange Hotel that is supplied by an outside catering company. Although they have also received donations and daily bus passes on occasions from charities such as Aid Box and Bristol Refugee Rights, they are lacking culturally appropriate food especially now that most of them are fasting for Ramadan.
Alison, who is now deeply concerned about the health and wellbeing of the new arrivals to the village, said: “I’ve known them for the last month or so and I’ve watched them go downhill. They came to us and we’ve been supplying them with meals through the community.
“But it’s not enough, we can’t help everybody. It’s isolated here and that’s part of the problem, they haven’t got bus passes, they get £8 a week and you can’t even go to Aldi with that. So I’ve been taking them to Aldi and Tesco to buy food and we now cook it on a Friday at the old school hall down the road, a local charity has paid for the food for these things.
“Someone has donated halal meat this week but it can’t go on, it’s not sustainable. It’s not right that they’re not eating properly because it’s affecting their health.”
One of the women who lives in the hotel has been sick for the last three weeks, she has been getting stomach pains and struggling with her breathing.
The resident said: “Since we got here the food is getting worse. I have £8 a week but just to get to the city centre I have to spend £7.50 for the bus.
Alison also believes that the ongoing hotel maintenance issues along with the food are contributing to ill health among the residents: “She came to my house and she was really unwell because of the smell of glue and paint.
“It can’t be good to live in a building site,” added Alison.
Another resident said that loud drilling has woken her up every morning and she has had frequent problems with taps not turning on and the shower fluctuating between hot and cold. She also said that the heating is switched off at night and it gets very cold at night and her window is broken.
Although many of the residents have become sick of the same hotel food every day, now that the majority of them are fasting for Ramadan, they are suffering more from the hotel meals.
One woman who has been living in one room with her children for the last three months, said that it is more difficult to get them to eat and the food is insufficient to provide her with the nutrition she needs while fasting.
She said: “In the morning we’re having bread and oats and because we’re fasting we need something substantial. We cannot fast with only a slice of bread or oats.
“The dinner we’re getting is mostly rice, almost everyday. Sometimes we get vegetable or chicken curry but the taste of everything is the same.”
Although most of the families residing at the hotel are now fasting for Ramadan the hotel, whose catering is supplied by a separate company, has not been able to adapt the menu. The only change they were able to make to the Home Office funded provision was to supply dates in addition to the standard menu.
Alison said that they are now running out of steam and there are limitations as to what they can offer. She has now been in contact with Easton Jamia Mosque who within a day raised over £1,000 to provide meals for the residents during the month of Ramadan.
Within 24 hours they have provided 50 meals through a collaboration with local businesses, The Sweet Mart and Pak Butchers. They have put together a menu and put out an appeal to raise funds for the food.
Alison is grateful for the support that is now coming into Almondsbury from Easton but will remain close to the women she has built a relationship with. She hopes that now some of the children have finally begun to attend the local primary school, they will be able to continue living nearby after the Home Office stops funding the hotel in May.
She has put one of the women in touch with a local teacher so she can learn English and hopefully become a nurse one day. She thinks it would be better if they could attend a local college but is not sure if their uncertain status in the UK will allow for them to do such things.
Alison has built a strong friendship with some of the women who stumbled into her church a month ago as strangers: “These are the most wonderful ladies I’ve ever met, they’re absolutely amazing. We’ve learned a lot from each other.”
The hotel's response
Almondsbury Interchange Hotel was closed up until recently after the previous owners sold the hotel. The hotel is now managed by Crest Hotels Group, a Bristol-based company who buy, develop and manage "uniquely positioned hotels in the UK."
The Crest Group operations director, Jason Hiley said: "Almondsbury/ Interchange Hotel is currently providing accommodation to an agent, this contract is due to end in the coming weeks. The agent provide all services to those staying, which covers all catering, a 24 hour hosting station for those staying, along with a security provision.
"The only service the hotel team provide is housekeeping, we also have representation on site 24 hours a day in the interest of safety. The concern regarding the catering provision has been escalated this to the agents leadership, who I know take all feedback seriously.
"It is with regret hearing the limited upgrade works to the restaurant and bar that is currently not being used has caused some disruption, we intentionally limited the scope of works to 10.00am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday and we only use water based paint. I can confirm this work has now ended."
The Home Office has been approached for comment.
