Tudor-style manor with ‘beautiful’ rural views, four-star lake-side retreat and country house with acres of ‘tranquil’ grounds: Inside asylum seeker hotels housing 51,000 migrants that are costing taxpayers more than £6m-a-day

Tudor-style manors, four-star lakeside retreats and beachside resorts are among the hundreds of hotels being used by the government to house asylum seekers, it has been revealed.

Figures show the Home Office is spending a staggering £6.8million per day to cover the private accommodation costs of some 51,000 refugees, hiring out at least 395 businesses across the UK.

Outsourcer Serco provides around 109 hotels in England, while Gloucester-based Mears Group runs 80 hotels in north-east England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, reports the BBC.

Leeds-based Calder Conferences is also providing hotels to the government, and is benefitting greatly after receiving £97m from the Home Office last year – up from £20.6m in 2021.

It comes after asylum applications hit a near two decade high of 74,751 last year, according to Home Office data, with around 45 per cent of those arriving by small boats across the Channel.

But a shortage of official accommodation means hotels are being hired out by the government to pick up the slack. The majority – 363 – are in England, with 20 in Northern Ireland, 10 in Scotland and two in Wales.

There have been numerous complaints from guests of bookings at hotels being cancelled at short notice after the venues were handed government contracts.

Earlier this month, the Best Western Premier Yew Lodge Hotel in Kegworth – which includes a Marco Pierre White New York Italian restaurant – was closed to the public so it could provide accommodation for 250 asylum seekers.

Locals protested over the plans, claiming they were only told about the venue closing days before the asylum seekers moved in.

Below are 10 hotels that have been part of the government’s asylum scheme:

he Manor Hotel, Datchet, 4*

The four-star Manor Hotel in Datchet is one of almost 400 hotels across the UK that have been housing refugees in recent months, amid record-high numbers of arrivals

Situated in the King’s backyard, this picturesque hotel and brasserie dates back to the 1800s.

It is just a 15 minutes’ walk from Windsor Castle and overlooks the village green, while its guests can enjoy leisurely walks along the banks of the River Thames.

All of its rooms come with en-suite bathrooms and its restaurant boasts of ‘fantastic quality dishes’ that are sourced from ‘local farmers and producers’.

Its own description reads: ‘The Manor is an intimate and charming boutique hotel set in the tranquil village of Datchet, Windsor.

‘The hotel overlooks the village green and the banks of the river Thames are nearby.

‘The interiors are contemporary and have a real sense of style, while retaining much of their original, quintessentially English elegance.’

Datchet is an upmarket village – thanks to its proximity to Windsor and easy access to central London – where the average home sells for more than £620,000, according to RightMove.