A TOURIST claims he had to cut short his visit to the city after the temperature in his hotel room soared to a stifling 30 degrees.

Martin Mitchell branded the ordeal a “nightmare” and said his room at The Brighton Hotel was so hot he considered going to sleep in a park.

Mr Mitchell, from Brixton, came to visit for four nights, but ended up leaving on his second day.

After unpacking his suitcase at the hotel in Kings Road, the 62-year-old says he was drenched with sweat.

He went out to buy a thermometer and upon returning discovered that his room was more than 30C.

“It was like a nightmare,” he said.

“The room temperature was going beyond 30. I thought the central heating had been left on.

“I was in the room on my first night and was lying on the bed naked with the fan directly on me and managed just three hours sleep.

“I had to leave at 5am because of the heat.

“I told the manager that the rooms should be sealed or signed to warn people of the temperature.

“I was meant to stay for four nights but wasn’t able to because of the heat.”

Mr Mitchell left after just one night in the hotel and returned home at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.

He said the heat was so bad that he even considered sleeping in the park just so he could stay in the city, but decided against it.

Mr Mitchell also suffers from a condition called burning mouth syndrome – which is described as a burning or scalding sensation on the tongue which can last for months or years.

The condition is made worse by hot weather.

Mr Mitchell said he had told the hotel this and asked for some method of cooling the room.

But even when given three fans he said it did little to help.

He added that the window would not open all the way due to what he was told were safety reasons.

A spokesman for The Brighton Hotel said: “I don’t like implying that (the thermometer) was manipulated, but I don’t know how that room was at 30 degrees, it defies the laws of physics.

“We would have needed to pump heat into that room for it to reach that temperature.

“If you walk in from an ambient temperature to a hot room you will usually be hit by a wall of heat.

“The room was only marginally hotter that it was outside. We made attempts to find him a room he was happier with, he didn’t want to.

“I had a long conversation with him trying to resolve the matter, I was even prepared to upgrade him to a larger room.”

He added that it was “quite common” to have window restrictors in hotels.

“It’s not a law but it’s certainly a safety issue,” he said.

“We want our guests to have a good stay and try to resolve issues if we can.”

One employee went to the room after being contacted by The Argus and measured the temperature at 25C between 4pm and 6pm. He said the temperature outside the room was the same.

Mr Mitchell said he hoped to return to the city some day.