Van der Poel fans are trying to tank his Worlds hotel with one-star reviews
Van der Poel fans are trying to tank his Worlds hotel with one-star reviews
The broad facts of the incident that led to Van der Poel’s arrest and eventual DNF at the Wollongong World Championships road race are now widely known. Two teenage girls staying in the same hotel as the Dutchman repeatedly knocked on his door while he was trying to sleep, Van der Poel then confronted them and is alleged to have pushed them, leading one of the girls to injure her elbow.
Van der Poel has denied the charges and is now on his way home to Belgium after paying a fine of $1,500AUD.
Meanwhile, short of being able to head over to the hulking edifice of the four-star hotel on the Sydney coastline to manifest their indignation on behalf of their hero, fans have taken to leaving scathing one-star reviews on Google.
In the wake of the incident, hundreds of new reviews (predominantly from Dutch fans) have been submitted, disparaging the hotel’s handling of the incident.
Some kept it simple:
Others put themselves in Van der Poel’s shoes:
Some were just plain angry:
Some want to see heads roll:
This ‘guest’ appeared to be somewhat conflicted:
No publicity is bad publicity:
Seems legit, ‘Panda Beer’, if that is your real name.
If you’re looking for a quiet ‘slwep”, then, sadly, the Novotel in Brighton-Le-Sands isn’t for you.
Meanwhile, “P B” had some advice for the management:
It isn’t all bad news, though, this reviewer was very satisfied with the service:
It’s probably safe to say that none of these reviewers have recently stayed at the Novotel in Brighton-Le-Sands. But the collective fury at the perceived mistreatment of their hero has left the 4 star hotel with an average Google review of 4.2. Northbeach will never be the same again.
While the pre-race favourite is on his way home, far away from the eye of the storm, the Novotel in Brighton-Le-Sands is left to pick up the pieces. But, as one reviewer put it, at least they had some worldwide publicity.
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