Hawzah News Agency - Neelo Farr is eight days into her stay at the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport - NEC, where she has been left feeling 'like a caged animal'.
A furious gran who forked out £2,400 to stay at a quarantine hotel has slammed conditions and claimed guests 'would be treated better in prison'.
Neelo Farr is holed up in the Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport - NEC, after travelling back from Pakistan as the country was unexpectedly added to the Red List.
Neelo and husband Nadeem, both Muslims fasting for Ramadan, allege guests have been unable to break their fasts and 'kids have gone to bed hungry' after she claims the hotel failed to provide adequate food.
She alleges guards patrol corridors and says the couple, from Bridgend in Wales, have been unable to leave their rooms since Nadeem, a diabetic, tested positive for Covid on day two of their stay.
The pair, who believe the positive reading was a mistake, requested another test but claim they were denied.
As a result, she says they have been confined to their 12ft-by-10ft hotel room for the last five days - no longer able to take their previously-permitted daily 20-minute walk.
Instead they 'pace their room like caged animals', she said.
The positive test added another three days to their stay and the couple, who have another nine family members staying at the hotel, will now not be able to leave until April 28.
Amongst Neelo's family staying at the hotel are six children, aged from three to 15. She claims they have gone to bed hungry on more than one occasion after alleging the hotel failed to provide food in time.
Frustratingly, she says if the family had flown back to their native Wales, they would have been able to quarantine at home for the ten-day stretch.
Neelo said: "We returned to the UK from Pakistan on April 15 to go into quarantine at a hotel.
"Pakistan had been placed on the red list giving only 5 days notice. We were put in the Holiday Inn NEC Birmingham - service is horrendous.
"I acknowledge they have many people - majority Muslims who are fasting. We are not allowed out of our rooms and food is left outside in cartons. Need to clean own room and wash dishes to reuse as no extra given.
"Food does not arrive on time - we open fast at 8pm yet food comes at 10pm. On the first night, my food arrived just on time to open my fast but we were left waiting for my husband's food. I called reception twice to explain he needs to take his meds for his diabetes yet still no food.
"We even requested loo roll and it took a day to arrive.
"The cost to us to stay here is £2,400 for 10 days and yet we can’t get food on time.
"First night the children went to bed hungry! They have more guards on each floor and outside than staff. We are being treated worse than prisoners. If it was being provided for free I would understand BUT we have paid for this service.
"It would have been cheaper and made more sense if they had tagged us and let us do the ten-day quarantine at home."
Neelo and Nadeem travelled over to Pakistan for a nephew's wedding. But, the couple said, had they known Pakistan was on the verge of being added to the Red List they would have stayed at home.
"If we had landed in Wales I'd have been isolating at home as per our government's guidance, however because we had to travel to England we are shoved in a hotel.
"We heard on April 4 that Pakistan was on the Red List, about 4,000 people rushed to the airport in a mad dash to try and get back in time before quarantine rules kicked in. We took the decision to stick to our original flights and quarantine on arrival.
"But we are being treated as if we have committed a crime. The hotel manager said the Government had informed them we were Muslims fasting for Ramadan.