A death-trap hotel where three people died in a fire had been slammed by guests for being too cold.
Recent reviewers of the New County Hotel have claimed the facility’s heating was turned off, leaving it in a freezing condition.
The fire on January 2 took hold at about 5am in a top-floor bedroom. It killed three people and a dog and sent other guests screaming into the streets.
The bodies of sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, both from Aberdeen, and Keith Russell, 38, originally from Edinburgh, were found inside after the blaze.
One woman on review site Trip Advisor branded the hotel “Igloo Central”, claiming she and her grand-daughter had to wear outdoor clothes in bed.
Carly M wrote: “I honestly have never walked into a room in such a dire state, it was freezing cold, window left open.”
Pam M stayed at the hotel, which she called “Igloo Central”, with her grand-daughter, 10, on December 10.
She wrote: “We had a horrendous stay – the hotel was dark and dingy and unwelcoming. The staff were unconcerned there was no heating in the hotel. We had to sleep in our outdoor clothes. The wee one was frozen and her teeth were chattering.
“I asked for the heating to be put on and was assured that it would be but wasn’t. The best part of our stay was leaving.”
Adlm called the hotel an “ice cold dump”, adding: “On awaking, the hotel was freezing cold, in fact Baltic.”
Nicole D wrote in November: “The entire hotel was freezing, so much so that the receptionist had to wear their jacket while checking us in.” We revealed last week the hotel was served with three health and safety warnings from Perth and Kinross Council on December 19.
An environmental health report claimed “guests do not feel safe within the hotel during the night”. Council safety inspectors had ordered Rashid Hussain to make improvements to the hotel’s security, windows, and flooring.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service also raised 21 concerns about the hotel’s fire safety measures weeks before the fire. Rashid Hussain owns the hotel through Edwin Hotels Ltd. The hotel’s business is believed to be conducted via Perth Hospitality Ltd, another firm he owns. Both are registered in London but Hussain himself is believed to live abroad.
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