Hotel guests forced to sleep in lobby after gross discovery in their room

A couple’s holiday in Queensland took a weird and unsettling turn that forced them to sleep in the lobby of their hotel.

A couple’s holiday in Queensland took a weird and unsettling turn when they were forced to sleep in the lobby of their hotel because their room was overrun with bugs.

Benjamin, who did not wish to give his surname, lives in Melbourne but had booked a hotel room at the Park Regis North Quay hotel in Brisbane, where his girlfriend is based.

The pair say they found cockroaches and bed bugs in their room, which led them to spend the night in the lobby because they had “nowhere else to sleep”.

“We left (the apartment after being there for some time) and went to get some dinner together,” Benjamin told The Courier-Mail.

“We then came back to chill on the couch and eat some chocolate.

“While watching TV, we had left the chocolate packet open.

“My girlfriend went for a shower, but when she came back to the sofa she said, ‘What the hell is that?’

“I looked down and saw there were actually two cockroaches on the chocolate, eating it.”

Photos taken by the couple show bugs they caught under glasses.

One of the critters, caught under a glass.

More captured bugs.

Things got worse when they were preparing for bed, and spotted a bed bug on their pillows.

“We were freaking out,” Benjamin said.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way.’

“Luckily our stuff wasn’t in the room, it was all in the kitchen area. Yeah, so then after that, I started calling (hotel staff).

“We tried calling out of hours, (but just got) some placeholder customer service rep that doesn’t work for the company.”

Benjamin’s attempts to find a different hotel failed, as the alternatives were fully booked – so he and his girlfriend spent the night in the lobby.

“I ended up getting 30 minutes of sleep with all the people coming in and out of the hotel from partying,” he said.

The travellers were forced to sleep in the hotel's lobby.

The management group for the hotel, StayWell Holdings, said after-hours staff had tried to contact the establishment’s caretaker but couldn’t reach him, given the early hour – it was 2am by that point.

“We accept this as a failing on our part,” the group’s general counsel, Richard Doyle, told The Courier-Mail.

“The guest was unable to be relocated within the hotel as all of our other rooms were full.

“Our staff normally assist guests to find alternate rooms where there are issues, though this is difficult when issues arise at 2am.

“I accept that the onsite staff member did not provide this assistance this time as they were unable to be contacted and that this was a further failing on our part.”

Meanwhile the Park Regis stressed that it seeks to provide “quality” accommodation.

“It is unfortunate that the time of complaint was 2.30am, and the hotel was fully booked, meaning the guests were unable to be moved to another room,” the hotel said.

“We have had no instances of bed bugs or cockroaches prior to this incident, including from guests who stayed in the same room the previous evening; however, we have had the whole hotel fumigated in response.

“Bedbugs travel in luggage or clothing, and are known to appear in the cleanest of locations.

“They often travel with people on planes, trains, and in cars.”

Benjamin and his girlfriend have received a full refund.