What £2000 gets you in Heathrow's 'Red List' quarantine

Francesca Desquesnes shared the food served at Heathrow's quarantine hotel asking "Is this worth £2285???". Photo / Francesca Desquesnes

A passenger has taken to Twitter to express their outrage over the service offered in Heathrow's 'red list' quarantine, which is costing them £2285 (NZ$4450).

In an effort to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, the UK reintroduced a 'red list' of 11 countries. People arriving from these countries must quarantine for 10 days at a designated hotel...and foot the bill.

One such passenger tweeted about the experience and said it was less than ideal considering the massive price tag.

When Francesca Desquesnes arrived at Heathrow's Terminal 4 from Johannesburg, South Africa, she was placed into a mandatory quarantine hotel for 10 days.

According to Desquesnes, she complained about her initial room but told BerkshireLive the alternative still wasn't great.

"The first room that I was allocated had no natural daylight, so I complained and was moved," she said. "My view is of Terminal 4 which isn't brilliant, but at least I can see the sky."

Desquesnes must pay £2285 for her 10-day stay, which includes meals off a set menu that is repeated each week.

Current food conditions at the holiday inn express Heathrow quarantine hotel. No ventilation, no fridge, no work space. Think @TravelCTM_UK are making money- is this worth £2285??? pic.twitter.com/YgnfeyPcHn

— Francesca Desquesnes (@leap_services) December 6, 2021

Breakfast included two hardboiled eggs, two hash browns, mushrooms and a box of Kellogg's cereal. Lunch was a vegetable quiche served with carrots and soup. While dinner was a vegetarian casserole, potatoes and beans.

Desquesnes said the soup had been served cold and despite complaining it was reserved only slightly warmer.

Since takeaways were an option, Desquesnes ordered alternative food but it never arrived to her room despite the restaurant claiming it was delivered.

As for cleaning dishes, Desquesnes said: "We have been provided with crockery and cutlery and are expected to wash this in our bathroom sink. I tend to eat straight out of the containers, it seems to be slightly more hygienic - that's if I eat the food."

Without a fridge, Desquesnes said she has stored food on a window ledge she hopes will stay cold enough during the day.

Similar to some quarantine hotels in New Zealand, Desquesnes' windows did not open.
Daily exercise outside is allowed.

"I have taken to leaving my room and telling the security guard at the end of the corridor that I am going. We are escorted all the way until we reach an outside car park where we walk for 20-40 minutes," she said.

Desquesnes took to Twitter to complain about the quality of service but said she believed others in the same hotel had it worse.

"On a positive note, I am lucky that I have work, which helps to pass the time and that I am on my own, as I am not sure how a couple or a family with small children are coping," she said.

"The hotel staff are doing their best to accommodate but it is clear the catering and security arrangements have been outsourced."

Cold soup and locked windows aside, Desquesnes said her biggest issue was how expensive quarantine was considering the quality of service.

"We didn't get a choice on the hotel, the booking was managed by CTM Travel, [the quarantine hotel's booking management] who I have asked several times to provide me with a full breakdown of costs, but I get no response," she said.