The Metropole: Closer to a prison than a holiday for asylum seekers

PLUS: Whistleblower shares why she is telling her story

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

I’ve never covered the Metropole Hotel in the sort of depth that I’d have liked to before. We’ve reported on what politicians and critics of the site, and its use for asylum seekers, have said. But that has only really scratched the surface.

But today we report on the testimony from a former member of staff at the hotel - supported by colleagues who wishes to remain anonymous - who believes that the situation as it stands is not helping anybody - not the least the vulnerable residents who she is tired of seeing demonised. While she acknowledges there are, at times, issues with behaviour, she also believes that is down to the circumstances they are in.

Her stories were supported by a second former member of staff - and a dossier of over 100 images shared with The Blackpool Lead taken over the last several years, but mostly within the last six months.

We’ve dedicated the entire issue to this topic so we can, today, give it the attention it deserves.

‘Their lives are on hold, and it is destroying them’

Inside the Metropole

By Luke Beardsworth

Asylum seekers in Blackpool are being ‘destroyed’ by the conditions they face in a historic, but neglected, hotel.

That is the verdict from whistleblower Samantha Arden, who worked in the hotel as a housing officer for Serco until June, who says that the families are surviving in rot and neglect.

Arden, 46, from Thornton-Cleveleys told The Blackpool Lead that while there are behavioural issues within the hotel - the majority were ‘lovely people’ looking for a better life and fleeing challenging circumstances.

But what awaits anyone who ends up at The Metropole, owned by Britannia Hotels, is a hotel that was already severely neglected even before it was used for asylum seekers.

Ceilings are falling in, mould is common and in winter residents need to be moved because of what she believes to be raw sewage entering the building through the basement.

The issues are so bad that Blackpool Council, who never believed the hotel was a suitable site for people in need of support, has written to Serco and the Home Office in relation to them - and the area’s MP Chris Webb, who has visited the hotel this year, has also written to express his concern.

When he did visit, Webb believes staff at the hotel made a particular effort to make the site presentable for him, saying he could smell the bleach.

The Metropole in Blackpool. Credit: The Blackpool Lead

Serco denies responsibility for any and all issues in the hotel and says these are vexatious claims by former staff. The Home Office insists asylum accommodation has to meet its contractual standards and no major issues have been raised in 2025.

Arden, who shared her concerns alongside fellow former employee David Taylor, told The Blackpool Lead: “I quit because of the state of the building. There’s one room on the third floor where the roof collapsed while it was occupied. An Albanian lady was moved but that was October 2023 and when I quit that room was still out of use.

“The residents are families, elderly people, disabled individuals. Babies being raised in one overcrowded room. Some have been trapped in that hotel for over three years, waiting endlessly for a decision on their asylum claim. Their lives are on hold, and it is destroying them.

“I was on shift the day that Chris Webb visited. Serco knew that he was visiting and they ran around like blue-arsed flies making sure they showed him the best rooms. They didn’t expect him at 7.30am but they had them bleaching everywhere.

“They didn’t show him certain areas. They didn’t take him down to the areas you can smell. They took him to the dining hall and fed him - and to be fair, breakfast at the Metropole is the best meal of the day. The only edible food there is in my opinion.

“I had problems with Serco’s policies and procedures. There were incidents that led to grievances that either went somewhere or didn’t depending on who was involved.

“We had a lovely man - an Indian fellow on a work visa. If he was to leave the job, the consequences could be catastrophic for him and his family. He was called an idiot and a retard and it just wasn’t very nice.”

Inside the Metropole

Images taken during her time at the hotel, taken mostly in the last six months, support Arden’s claim that the hotel is in a severe state of disrepair - but this is no surprise in a hotel belonging to a chain that has repeatedly bagged the accolade of worst provider in the UK.

Politicians and locals alike have spoken of the need to return the hotel to its previous use and support the tourism industry - but it’s been a long time since it was a credit to Blackpool.

Arden said: “It has been a terrible hotel of late. All of the pictures they put on the internet make it look amazing - and I’m sure it was back in 1982. I can say that with absolute confidence because my great-grandmother used to take me in for afternoon tea. I used to love visiting when I was a kid.

“We used to go in with my grandad on his lunchtimes. It was a beautiful building then but that was a long time ago.”

Serco said there was no evidence to substantiate claims about the hotel’s condition despite The Blackpool Lead offering to share images that indicate otherwise. They denied there were mushrooms growing on the wall despite that not being included in our questions.

The Metropole has made headlines consistently over the last few years from a national media that fetishises the idea of a run-down Blackpool. Combine that topic with asylum seekers and it’s ticking enough boxes in terms of what many titles look for in a story.

Most notable was the recent article in The Sun which described a couple as making money filming for OnlyFans in their room. Arden confirmed that incident as accurate.

She said: “They’re not allowed to work in a regular job and people will find a way to make money.

“The Home Office gets told about these things. There’s a computer system where everything is reported. But they’re not interested.”

She tells the story of one couple that, out of context, you could imagine ending up in a national newspaper. In their 80s, they would poo in carrier bags, tie them up and leave them alongside skirting boards in the room. Arden believes they had dementia and needed dedicated care.

She said: “They were a lovely couple. They needed more support and more help than we could give them. I still think about them and wonder if anyone got to the bottom of what was going on. And I wonder if they’re still alive.

“I end up with a soft spot for some families, you can’t not.”

Inside the Metropole

The idea that people in the hotel are living in luxury is not accurate, she says.

One example given is that of a family-of-four who might receive approximately £40 per week to live on while their claim is processed.

Two primary school children could have a place at different schools in Blackpool which are too far to walk from the Metropole. In that instance, both parents would need to pay for bus tickets every day to get them to school.

There are discounts available for purchasing bus tickets online rather than in person, but that’s not always viable. That is most of that family’s budget for the week gone.

Arden said: “There are discounts on the app but people might not have phones that do apps. People say they all have new iPhones - no they bloody don’t. I’ve seen more than a few 3410s with Snake on them.”

Asylum claims can take a while to process. Some people only spend a few weeks at the hotel whereas others can spend several years.

If a claim is denied by the Home Office, there is an appeal process which can drag the process out further. If it is accepted, residents have 28 days to leave the hotel and start their new lives.

The number of asylum seekers at the hotel is, not unlike the tourism industry, quite seasonal.

The summer months see large numbers claiming asylum and so the hotel may be at maximum capacity - which is around 515. Autumn typically sees people leaving the hotel, either to return home or to start their new lives, and numbers may drop to 230.

Behavioural issues from residents are handled not dissimilarly to a work disciplinary process. There are several stages of warnings issued depending on what has taken place and ultimately somebody from the Home Office will visit and tell the person that they can recommend their claim is refused based on their behaviour. This has mixed results.

She said that the majority of people at the hotel arrived not by small boat, but by flying into airports and claiming asylum.

Arden believes the hotel is more like a prison than a holiday for those who are there.

Inside the Metropole

She said: “It’s not a free holiday to live in this hotel. Once a week the football club comes in and does that for the kids. There’s a broken air hockey table. A broken pool table. There’s no TV in the communal lounge - which is because it was moved for safety reasons. While it was in storage, some water got to it and it never worked again. It was never replaced.

“The public need to understand that the colour of someone’s skin shouldn’t matter. They’re human beings. They’re not all economic migrants. One guy turned up with a bullet still in his arse.

“Some of them have got scars from bombs. There was a guy with burns all across his body.”

“We had another couple who used to drink a lot. A lot of these problems are brought on by trauma and mental health issues.

“When you’ve got children who were at risk of female genital mutilation and the parents have run away because they don’t want that for their daughters. Are we going to say ‘tough shit, we don’t care’?

“It takes a lot of strength to leave behind your country and your life. It’s not something they do without serious consideration. It’s often even that, or death.”

It’s accurate to say that many in the hotel cannot speak English well or at all. There are no translators onsite to support staff - but instead a direct line for a translator service that regularly fails and leads staff to Google Translate.

Serco points to professional translation company The Big Word as its partner which they recognise as fit for purpose.

Given the reports about cash in hand work for those living in the hotel, there have been calls to allow asylum seekers to work and carve out a place in the community in the correct circumstances.

Arden said: “One way to combat mental health problems, particularly trauma-related, is to give people a way to form connections and part of that is being able to go to work.

“Give them the opportunity to get a job and pay taxes so they’re paying into the system while using it.

“What happens instead is that people exploit them. We had one guy turn up in a car one day and ask if anyone wanted to help out with construction. He could’ve been anyone - it could’ve been related to modern slavery.

“They should be able to work - or even undertake volunteer work. And some of them volunteer where they can, which is a good experience. It helps them pick up the language and feel like they have a place in the community.”

The Blackpool Lead was unable to reach Britannia Hotels to discuss the condition of the hotel.

Serco said that it refutes the concerns raised by Samantha and other former staff. They said there are no sewage or drainage issues in the hotel, but that families had to be moved previously due to an odour issue.

They said their management of the hotel is ‘fully compliant’, that there is a security team on site 24-hours a day, and that the freedom for asylum seekers to come and go from the hotel is determined by the Home Office. They did not respond to further questions nor our offer to share our evidence in relation to the condition of the hotel.

A spokesperson for Serco said: “Serco’s management of the Metropole Hotel on behalf of the Home Office is fully compliant and meets all our contractual obligations.

“Any suggestion that the hotel is not being managed correctly by Serco is simply not true. The hotel is routinely inspected by the Home Office and other external stakeholders such as the local council and public health and no concerns have been raised.”

But The Blackpool Lead understands that Blackpool Council has raised concerns on a number of occasions.

The council has never taken formal action against the hotel but the basement area where images show flooding should now be permanently out of use following recommendations by their public health team.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “All asylum accommodation must meet our high contractual standards by being safe, fit for purpose, and properly equipped, and where concerns are raised, we work with the provider to ensure they are addressed promptly.”

Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, told The Blackpool Lead: “I've consistently raised concerns shared by my constituents and the local council that this site is wholly unsuitable for housing individuals escaping war and persecution. It's been reported to me children have been living in rooms with sewage and not receiving the support they need for their disabilities. It's imperative that alternative locations across the North West are utilised by Serco to alleviate the disproportionate burden on our town.

“While Blackpool has a proud tradition of welcoming those seeking a new life in our country, the current situation has pushed our public services to the brink. After 14 years of Conservative austerity, our town's resources were already strained to breaking point. That’s why I continue to urge the government to close the asylum hotel in Blackpool as quickly as possible.”

Cllr Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Since the start of the use of the hotel for this purpose, we have been clear about our view that this is not a suitable location for the much needed support of vulnerable people fleeing abuse and persecution.”

Why I Spoke Out: A Whistleblower’s Account from Inside the Metropole

By Samantha Arden

When I started working at the Metropole Hotel in Blackpool, I genuinely believed I could help people—both the asylum seekers stuck in limbo and the staff trying to support them. But it didn’t take long to see the truth: the system is broken, the building’s crumbling, and I feel that Serco couldn’t care less about any of us.

The hotel, run by Britannia, had been neglected for years. Ceilings leaked. The heating barely worked. We wore coats and hats through 12-hour shifts in winter. There was mould, damp, broken windows. No one should have to live—or work—in conditions like that.

The residents were families, elderly people, disabled individuals. Babies being raised in one overcrowded room. Some had been trapped in that hotel for over three years, waiting endlessly for a decision on their asylum claim. They weren’t allowed to work. They received just £9.95 a week on their Aspen card. Their lives were on hold, and it was destroying them.