{"id":234984,"date":"2026-01-08T22:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/234984\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T22:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:38:10","slug":"blackpool-fc-hotels-shut-curtains-policy-during-games-is-nuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/234984\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackpool FC Hotel’s shut-curtains policy during games is ‘nuts’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lynette HorsburghNorth West<\/p>\n

\"DazzaDazza<\/p>\n

Darren Dowling and David Handling booked Blackpool FC Hotel specifically to watch the Tangerines in action <\/p>\n

A man who booked a hotel room with a pitch view to watch a football game but was then told he had to close the curtains during the match has called for the “nuts” policy to be “binned”.<\/p>\n

Darren Dowling, from Glasgow, paid \u00a3130 to stay at Blackpool FC Hotel “specifically for the experience” of seeing the Seasiders in action at Bloomfield Road.<\/p>\n

The digital content creator said he only discovered the “bizarre” policy when he saw a letter in his room saying “curtains must be closed an hour prior to kick-off until full-time”. <\/p>\n

Blackpool FC said it was to comply with English Football League (EFL) and Football Association (FA) rules. Radisson Hotel Group, which runs the hotel, has also been contacted.<\/p>\n

Dowling’s TikTok video of his experience has been viewed more than 60,000 times.<\/p>\n

\"DazzaDazza<\/p>\n

The first Darren Dowling knew about the policy was when he read a letter in his room<\/p>\n

Although the video was filmed in March, Dowling only posted his review on TikTok<\/a> on 30 December and it had since “blown up” on his social media, he said.<\/p>\n

Dowling made the trip to the resort with his friend David Handling, from Ayrshire, who, as a football fan, came up with the idea to stay at Blackpool FC Hotel.<\/p>\n

Although he admits to hating the game, Dowling said he liked the thought of “being able to watch a match from my bed” and visit Blackpool, where he had fond memories from childhood trips there.<\/p>\n

The pair both booked executive rooms with pitch views for Blackpool’s League One game against Bolton Wanderers, which the Seasiders won 2-1<\/a> back in March.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old said they were not told about the curtain policy when they booked it or checked-in at the hotel.<\/p>\n

He said the request in the letter, signed from the hotel manager, was “the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen in my life”.<\/p>\n

“I think the policy is nuts,” he said, adding guests should be told about it prior to booking.<\/p>\n

\"DazzaDazza<\/p>\n

Darren Dowling says it did not spoil his or his friend’s stay in the resort<\/p>\n

Paying extra for a pitch view “would be quite a random thing to do when there’s no match on because you’re just looking at a bit of grass”.<\/p>\n

He said of the policy: “Unless you’re going to tell people up front, I think you should just get rid of it.”<\/p>\n

‘Kids were gutted’<\/p>\n

Dowling said the policy did not spoil their match experience or their stay as he kept the curtains open and stewards did not tell him off. <\/p>\n

However, other guests were not as brave.<\/p>\n

He said: “We bumped into another guest the next day when we went to breakfast. They were too scared to open the curtains so they watched the full game just through a tiny crack in the curtains.<\/p>\n

“They had their kids with them as well and their kids were gutted.<\/p>\n

“They were buzzing to watch a football match from the pitch view room in the hotel.”<\/p>\n

The hotel is a member of Radisson Individuals, a collection of independent hotels that partner with Raddison Hotels.<\/p>\n

On the Blackpool FC Hotel website, there is a note that states: “Due to the EFL and FA guidelines we must request that all guests staying in our Executive Pitch View bedrooms, close their curtains 90 minutes prior to a home football match and throughout the remaining of the game.”<\/p>\n

A Blackpool FC spokesperson said: “Whilst the hotel and football club understand any frustrations this may cause, all EFL [English Football League] and FA [Football Association] regulations must be observed. <\/p>\n

“This includes limitations on the consumption of alcohol within sight of the pitch whilst a match is in play.”<\/p>\n

The FA and EFL were also approached for comment.<\/p>\n