London’s ‘Islamic’ hotel won’t turn away LGBT guests
By Sam Rigby
The management of London’s Bermondsey Square Hotel have confirmed that they will continue to welcome LGBT guests, despite not serving alcohol or pork after being bought by a Muslim businessman.
Media reports had suggested that gay and lesbian visitors would no longer be welcome at the property after its new owner took the decision to stop serving alcohol and pork in accordance with Islamic law.
The Daily Mail dubbed the property ‘Hotel Sharia’, but the hotel has hit back at the title, saying the “misinformed” newspaper has made “a story from nothing”.
While the hotel’s new owner has choosen not to make a profit from the sale of alcohol, the Bermondsey Square Hotel said it will continue to “welcome guests of all shapes, sizes and denomination”.
“All guests are welcome,” Robert Holland, the hotel’s general manager, told Huffington Post UK.
The hotel would have breached UK discrimination laws if they had chosen to turn away LGBT guests. In 2008, Cornish Bed & Breakfast owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull were fined after refusing a double room to to civil partners Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy because of their Christian beliefs.
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