Quay Park Regis Hotel: Couple are forced to sleep in a Brisbane hotel lobby after discovering cockroaches and bed bugs in their room

  • Couple found creepy crawlies in hotel room
  • Slept in hotel lobby due everything else booked out
  • Do you know more? Email max.aitchison@mailonline.com 
  • READ MORE:  Aussie couple’s bed bug hell

A young couple were forced to spend the night sleeping in a hotel lobby after they discovered some unwelcome guests in their room.

Melbourne man Benjamin and his partner booked a one night stay at the four-star North Quay Park Regis Hotel on the Brisbane River near the CBD on Saturday night. 

It was meant to be a final romantic night together before they embark on a long-distance relationship. 

But the romantic getaway turned into a nightmare soon after they returned to the room after dinner and opened a bar of chocolate in front of the TV.

The couple’s one night stay in the four-star North Quay Park Regis Hotel turned out to be a disaster (pictured together sleeping in the lobby)

A tourist couple were forced to sleep in a hotel lobby after discovering their room was crawling with cockroaches and bedbugs (pictured)

A tourist couple were forced to sleep in a hotel lobby after discovering their room was crawling with cockroaches and bedbugs (pictured)

‘My girlfriend went for a shower, but when she came back to the sofa she said, “What the hell is that?”,’ Benjamin told The Courier Mail. 

‘I looked down and saw there were actually two cockroaches on the chocolate eating it.’

The couple managed to capture some of the cockroaches in a glass.

They were horrified to then discover what appeared to be a bed bug crawling on their pillows. 

‘I thought, “oh god, no way,” and I squashed it then stripped the bed back halfway to check for more,’ Benjamin told Yahoo News.

‘I didn’t see any more but I saw a few black dots. I didn’t really know what to look for because this is the first time I’ve ever encountered it’.

They tried ringing out of hours staff and Booking.com, the site they’d booked the room with, but were unable to reach anyone. 

All nearby hotels with 24-hour lobbies were already booked out, according to Benjamin.

The couple ended up sleeping in the lobby. 

‘I ended up getting 30 minutes of sleep with all the people coming in and out of the hotel from partying,’ Benjamin said.

Hotel management group StayWell Holdings’ general counsel Richard Doyle said the hotel’s after-hours staff tried to contact the on-site caretaker but were unable to reach the caretaker at 2am.

‘We accept this as a failing on our part,’ Mr Doyle said.

‘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.’

A spokesperson from the hotel (pictured) insisted that they had 'no instances of bed bugs or cockroaches prior to this incident

A spokesperson from the hotel (pictured) insisted that they had ‘no instances of bed bugs or cockroaches prior to this incident

The couple managed to capture some of the cockroaches in a glass.

The couple managed to capture some of the cockroaches in a glass.

The couple were promised a full refund the next day.

However, Benjamin claimed online on Monday night they’re yet to be reimbursed for the nightmare ordeal.  

A Park Regis spokesperson added there had been ‘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.’

Benjamin posted an update on Reddit on Monday, claiming he had quarantined his luggage in case it was contaminated with bed bugs.  

‘All of my clothes are in the freezer and my bags are in bigger bags under the hot sun,’ Benjamin wrote. 

He has since reported the incident to authorities and lodged a complaint with StayWell regarding compensation.

‘Hopefully no-one else gets into this situation at that hotel,’ he added.

The couple won't forget their romantic getaway (pictured in the hotel lobby) in a hurry

The couple won’t forget their romantic getaway (pictured in the hotel lobby) in a hurry

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk