It’s not as if there aren’t entitled people in the world. I mean, I know there are. We’ve written about them:
- The complaining business class passenger who got exactly what was coming to him
- The Disney guest who had the gall to say, “You can’t arrest me; I spent $15k here!”
- The pilot who kicked an entitled person off their flight
- The entitled woman vs. the equally entitled United 1K member
- The winner of the “Most Entitled Passenger” award goes to…
But then someone will go to the “next step” of acting entitled and I’ll just roll my eyes, sigh, and be SO GLAD I’m not them. Case in point…the woman in the UK who claimed her boyfriend being refused entry into a hotel restaurant over his outfit completely ruined their £300 weekend getaway.
What was this about? His shoes.
Samantha Hyde and her boyfriend, Samuel Beckett, had a 7:30 p.m. dinner reservation at the Lifehouse Spa and Hotel in the southeastern UK county of Essex. But they were told they wouldn’t be able to dine with their fellow guests because Beckett’s shoes didn’t meet the luxury hotel’s dress code.
It didn’t matter that the shoes were £150 designer leather open-toed sandals; they still weren’t permitted as they violated the restaurant’s dress code.
The dress code for the restaurant, aptly named The Restaurant at Lifehouse, is listed as “Smart Casual (no bathrobes or sportswear please).” Sandals are most definitely not “smart casual,” regardless of price or material.
The restaurant manager gave the couple other options, such as eating in an empty restaurant at 6pm, or dining in their hotel room alone.
The couple had paid £300 for their all-inclusive overnight staycation. So it included both dinner and breakfast.
Said Hyde: “I just can’t believe what happened to us – it was diabolical.
“‘We are good citizens with respectful jobs and and we were treated like we had been doing something illegal and wrong – it ruined the entire weekend which was meant to be a celebration.
“We were told you can’t eat your dinner in the restaurant because of your footwear. We weren’t allowed to be seen in public. It was so embarrassing.
“We were treated with the most antagonistic behaviour, being belittled, judged and sent quite frankly what felt like threatening emails.”
Being treated as if they’d done something illegal? Not allowed to be seen in public? Wow. Ummm…maybe a little dramatic?
Her boyfriend was a little calmer, explaining that the sandals weren’t a style choice as much as he had forgotten his dress shoes at home.
The couple said they made the receptionist and restaurant aware of Beckett’s SNAFU ahead of their reservation time.
“He had a shirt and dinner trousers. I had a dress and a pair of open toed shoes,” said Hyde.
The couple was so annoyed that they weren’t let in because they weren’t following the rules, that they left and went home.
Last we heard, Lifehouse Spa and Hotel refused to refund their overnight stay. Good.
Full disclosure here, y’all – I am a rule follower. If a restaurant says the dress code is “smart casual,” I’m sure as heck not going to wear sandals to eat there, regardless of how expensive they were.
In fact this very thing happened to Joe and I once, forever ago – Joe even wrote about it. It was even the same situation; they wouldn’t let us into the swanky Las Vegas restaurant because we had sneakers on. As I recall, our initial response to the situation was exactly the same; “OK, we won’t eat there.” While Joe refused to ever stay there again, I didn’t (and still don’t) care; we were in the wrong, so…
But this couple? SO entitled. They obviously knew what the rules were, since they told the restaurant ahead of time that he had brought the wrong shoes. Telling them ahead of time doesn’t mean they get a free pass. And, of course, women’s open toed shoes are very different from men’s sandals.
They should have been happy they were allowed in at all – after 6pm is still better than nothing – and enjoyed their meal.
Bet they’ll never forget to dress appropriately at a restaurant with a dress code again, huh?
Feature Photo: Lifehouse Spa & Hotel
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3 comments
If the top photo is of the Lifehouse Spa & Hotel evening dining room, I can’t really say it looks like a luxury dining experience. Where are the tablecloths, candles, flowers etc.? I really do always follow dress-code rules at hotels, on cruise ships, etc., but this does not appear to be fine dining, more like a relaxed breakfast room.
Dress codes like this are so out of date and petty. He should have been allowed in. BTW no one knows what “smart casual” is without further definition since I have seen it defined from sport coats and no tie to simply jeans and a collared shirt.
Was what he was wearing really bothering anyone? If so they have more problems than that!
These snobs don’t know the meaning of hospitality. The guy didn’t remember dress shoes — let it slip. He wasn’t being disruptive and presumably his feet were under the table. If I were to read these facts in a review I would stay elsewhere.