Sydney hotel hits back at Lara Worthington's quarantine rant
A Sydney hotel has hit back after being slammed online by Australian model Lara Worthington.
A furious Lara took to her Twitter account on Monday after her 63-year-old mum, Sharon Bingle, was quarantined at the four-star The Urban Newtown hotel after returning to Sydney from overseas.
Lara claimed the conditions her mum was placed in were ‘unacceptable’, uploading a series of snaps of the industrial style hotel to her social media account.
Now The Urban Newton hotel has hit back, after Lara’s rant backfired and she faced a barrage of backlash online.
“We do get some complaints, every hotel does but it’s never a big one or anything about the cleaning being bad or anything like that,” a staff member told the Daily Telegraph.
“The property is old and has an industrial style. All the cleaning is now being done by RPA. The hotel is completely closed for six months, so we’re not involved in that now.”
On Monday, Lara set Twitter alight with her claims that the hotel didn’t look like 5-star accommodation to her.
“The next 14 days here for my 63-year-old mum who is showing heavy symptoms,” she wrote.
“This is unacceptable,” she concluded.
It came after the government introduced a rule where anyone arriving in a state or territory across the country will be placed into a hotel or some type of accommodation for mandatory isolation for 14 days.
While Lara’s outrage was clearly evident, fans had little sympathy for the star and her mother.
People called the post ‘entitled’, ‘ungrateful’ and ‘embarrassing’.
“Congrats, this is today's most tone-deaf tweet about the pandemic,” one woman wrote.
“No sympathy at all,” another wrote. “This is about the health of our nation, not your mother’s Yelp reviews for accommodation she pays $0 for.”
“It’s clean, dry and safe,” a woman wrote. “She is better off than lots. Check your privilege.”
Many were quick to wish Sharon a speedy recovery, while still pointing out her accommodation was perfectly acceptable.
“I do hope your mother's health is ok though,” one man wrote. “She will get great care in Australia. Be thankful for that.”
The next day, Lara’s mother, Sharon, addressed the backlash online, writing: “You nasty Twitter trolls will believe anything,” sharing an article that included positive Tripadvisor reviews of the hotel she has been staying in.
To some of the nicer images shared of The Urban Newtown, a four-star Sydney hotel with a deliberately industrial design, Sharon also said, “Lies, this is not my room. Not true.”
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