‘Frightening experience’: Boutique hotel owner tells Israeli guests to ‘burn in hell’

Hotel owner in Bulgaria to Israeli guests: “You don’t need toilet paper; you are the most disgusting animals on the planet.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A Bulgarian boutique hotel owner sent a Whatsapp message that said “Burn in hell” in response to Israeli guests requesting toilet paper.

The couple, Ayelet Michael-Gayego and her husband, described the ordeal as a “frightening experience.”

She said her husband wears a kippah and that they spoke English at the hotel.

Michael-Gayego told The Jerusalem Post newspaper, “We love Bulgaria very much,” she said. “We don’t like huge hotels with many people; we are always looking for a boutique hotel.”

There were problems from the time the couple checked in to the Family Hotel Agoncev, in Sofia, which they found through Booking.com.

When they arrived last Monday, there was no one present at reception except for one man who gave them the code to their room.

Michael-Gayego said there was no hot water in their room and that the breakfast wasn’t good, but they did not complain to the hotel management.

However, they ran out of toilet paper on Thursday, reported the problem at breakfast, and were told it would be sorted out.

On Thursday night, when there was still no toilet paper, Michael-Gayego’s husband called the number provided and left a message.

After the couple had checked out of the hotel and returned to Israel, they saw the message, “F*** you, you Israeli piece of s***, I hope you burn in hell. You don’t need toilet paper; you are the most disgusting animals on the planet.”

Michael-Gayego said they were shocked by the message because they had tried to keep a “low profile” when they were staying at the hotel.

She added that they were appalled by the violent language “not because we are Jews but because we are Israelis.”

The couple contacted Booking.com and the Bulgarian Embassy in Israel but received no response.

After posting on Facebook about the incident, they received a call from the Israeli ambassador to Bulgaria, who expressed outrage at the incident and stated that he would try to ensure the hotel could no longer book guests.

“I felt it was important to let Israeli people know [about the hotel] because Israeli people love small hotels,” Michael-Gayego told the Post. “We felt bullied; it was frightening,” Michael-Gayego said.