EXCLUSIVEFury as 4-star hotel in quaint Windsor village is used to house migrants as shopkeeper claims he was 'racially abused'
Locals claim migrants staying in a luxury hotel near Windsor Castle are making their lives hell with racist abuse and anti-social behaviour.
Dozens are staying at the 54-bedroom, four-star Manor Hotel in Datchet, just outside Windsor, in Berkshire.
Residents say they are the target of abuse on a weekly basis.
There have also been alleged incidents of shoplifting though police say there have been no crimes or anti-social behaviour linked to the migrant hotel.
A 24-year-old shopkeeper at Harvey's Food and Wine, a two-minute walk from the migrant hotel, said: 'Sometimes they are coming and taking stuff, and they go out without paying.
'Sometimes they abuse me. They say to me, 'f*****g Indian and f*** Hinduism’.
'It's one or two guys. It happens every two or three days, in the evening time. They don't understand England, and I have seen them go back to the hotel.
'I haven't complained to the hotel - it's just food they take, it's not important. People in Datchet are usually nice.'
Some migrants staying in a luxury hotel near Windsor Castle are making the lives of a local hell with racist abuse and anti-social behaviour (Pictured, men staying in the hotel in November 2024)
Dozens are staying at the 54-bedroom, four-star Manor Hotel (above) in Datchet, just outside Windsor, in Berkshire
A 24-year-old shopkeeper at Harvey's Food and Wine, a two-minute walk from the migrant hotel, said the migrants 'abuse' him
Other residents say they have seen police attending the hotel - which is one of 220 hotels across the UK housing asylum seekers - to break up suspected fights.
Vlad Mahki, 34, who lives across the road, said he had seen police outside earlier last month.
He said: 'About two weeks ago, I saw police there - I believe it was because people were fighting.'
Next door to the hotel, the Nibble cafe has seen a decline in customers since the migrant hotel was opened.
Cheryl Bohdjalian, who has run the cafe for more than 29 years, said: 'Customers have said a couple of kids have been followed home. I haven't seen anything.'
Locals told MailOnline previously that the village feels less 'safe' because groups of young men hang around the pretty village green (Pictured, men staying in the hotel in November 2024)
She added: 'A lot of people have moved away. We know a few customers who have just had the option to move away and they don't want this on their doorstep.
'Footfall is lower. We don't get any customers from it. We used to get people from the hotel coming here for breakfast.
'We're not struggling. But if I wanted to sell the business I don't think anyone would be interested because of the migrant hotel across the street.'
But the Manor Hotel will not remain a migrant hotel for much longer - as the government plans to transfer all asylum seekers from the site by the end of May, according to a letter sent from the Home Office to Windsor MP Jack Rankin.
'People want it to go back to being a hotel,' said Selba Kumar, the shopkeeper at a Londis shop near the Manor Hotel.
Selba said: 'It's a small village, it's a calm area. Residents aren't happy - they want it to be a normal hotel.'
The Manor Hotel will not remain a migrant hotel for much longer - as the government plans to transfer all asylum seekers from the site by the end of May
The 200-bed hotel is one of 220 across the UK housing asylum seekers
But for volunteers at The Bridge community cafe next to Datchet's village green, groups of migrants from the hotel have been an 'absolutely fabulous' asset for the community.
Caroline Sanders, who has been chairwoman of the community group for more than a decade, said attendees of a village meeting feared the worst when the Home Office announced the new use for the hotel in 2022.
She said: 'Initially, there was a meeting in the village hall, everyone was saying it was going to be awful.
'Then a group of Iranians came to our church. They were absolutely fabulous. I asked them if they wanted to volunteer at the Bridge because they were all very intelligent and bored stiff.'
'Over 18 months, we had 15 men volunteer, from Sudan, Iran, the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia - they were all fabulous. It was very heartening
Caroline Sanders, who has been chairwoman of the community group for more than a decade, said attendees of a village meeting feared the worst when the Home Office announced the new use for the hotel in 2022
'There was one guy from Algeria who had a PhD and he started a chess club and he got a lot of older men coming in. And the chess group is still going - and it was started by an asylum seeker.'
Caroline said she regularly speaks with local police officers, who have not reported any crimes or anti-social behaviour linked to the migrant hotel.
She added: 'I didn't hear a single negative thing from customers.'
The Home Office was approached for comment.
