Head to head: Blackpool 'hospitality'

A wintry Blackpool promenade

Staying in a hotel in Blackpool is like staying in a German prisoner of war camp according to Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for the Rhondda.

But on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Vaughan Kennedy, who owns the Royal Carlton Hotel on Blackpool promenade, put up a spirited defence of the welcome on offer in one of Britain's best loved seaside resorts.

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Chris Bryant

Many of my constituents go to Blackpool every year, literally thousands of them. It is a really good value holiday for many people.

But sometimes the service that I have had in hotels there, has been so surly as to suggest the hotel does not want me to stay there. It has been pretty aggressive, the surliness at breakfast.

I have stayed in Stalag Luft 3 on several occasions

Chris Bryant

If you arrive in a hotel you expect people to give you a welcome rather than to give you the frosty shoulder.

It's not just Blackpool, it applies to many British hotels, many hotels across the world.

I have stayed in hotels in Blackpool six or seven times and on one occasion it was a cracking experience. It was a really nice place, everyone in the hotel enjoyed staying there.

Mr Bryant has given the resort a wake-up call

But the other times to be honest, I felt I was being resented by the person who owned the hotel. Constituents of mine have raised this with me quite often.

I think that we, across the whole of the United Kingdom, need to do better.

We need to make sure that the welcome we provide, in particular to foreign visitors, says we are really glad that you are here, we are glad that you are staying and we hope that you will come again.

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Vaughan Kennedy

I find Mr Bryant's experience with the accomodation extremely unfortunate. There are a lot of people in Blackpool who would love to do the job properly and indeed do the job properly.

There are also a lot of organisations in Blackpool that have the resort's best interests at heart.

Blackpool prides itself as one of Britain's best seaside resorts

At the time of the Labour party conference there is an awful amount of pressure on Blackpool, but I appreciate that doesn't excuse the surly breakfast service.

There is a bit of homework to be done by people that come to Blackpool on holiday. If they do that correct homework then I am sure they will find the correct place to stay.

Currently in Blackpool, there is a host scheme which does indicate to the clients that the hotel is of a required standard, and that they shouldn't be meeting that kind of service.

I'd love to invite Mr Bryant to come and stay at my hotel and I am pretty sure his views of Blackpool would change overnight.