Featured Image Credit: Credit: Federico Mazzieri/LinkedIn/VOI Hotels
Topics: Food and Drink, News, Parenting, Travel
Niamh Spence
Topics: Food and Drink, News, Parenting, Travel
A luxury hotel in Italy has taken its gourmet dining experience too far, and it didn't go down well with guests.
Hotel Voi Colonna Village in Sardinia has come under fire from guests after it made the unusual decision to add a bikini wearing woman drenched and covered in chocolate as an eye catching addition to its dessert table.
The female staff member was laid out on the table, covered in chocolate syrup and laid in front of guests for 30 minutes as part of the after dinner treats and entertainment.
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Yet the odd display didn't entertain or delight guests, it left them 'speechless' and 'dismayed' at the decision to add the woman into dinner.
One guest Federico Mazzieri, a HR Manager, wrote on his LinkedIn: "Last night, after a beautiful day in which many people worked hard to ensure that the many guests had a carefree day, I was speechless to see this scene." He added that he felt instant 'dismay' at the sight, and that his 14-year-old daughter, who was with him. called it 'disgusting.'
He added: "How can such behaviour exist … where the body of a woman, an employee, is considered equal to a dish just to satisfy someone’s wandering eyes?"
Mazzieri then continued in his post, which was written in Italian, where he claimed that when he asked to speak with hotel management he was reportedly brushed off by staff and claimed the dish was actually a 'chocolate statue.'
The hotel later backtracked on its claims as it told Mazzieri it offers 'you, your family, and in particular your daughter, as well as our customers, the most sincere apologies on behalf of all management.'
They added: "We deeply regret the incident… We are taking immediate action to address this incident constructively and to ensure that no customer should feel offended in any way in the future."
Voi Colonna Village described themselves on their website: "Immersed in wonderful typically Mediterranean vegetation, facing the splendid Golfo Aranci, VOI Colonna Village is an elegant 4-star resort overlooking one of the most popular coastal stretches of Sardinia, in the north-west of the island." The website also describes the accommodation as having 'the principles of True Italian Hospitality.'
In other travel news, thousands of families have been left stranded at airports following the UK's worst day of disruption to flying in over a decade on the bumper bank holiday weekend. Holiday-goers and travellers alike have been stranded with more than 200,000 affected by delays and cancellations. A major outage hit Britain's air traffic control system resulting in the cancellation of more than 1,200 flights. Officials have not yet confirmed what caused the failure, however, government sources and aviation officials have revealed to The Times that a cyberattack has been ruled out.