An Italian hotel has presented guests with a dessert that was served with a side of chocolate-covered model.
One of the guests, Feredico Mazzieri, an HR manager from Milan, disclosed this via his LinkedIn page, where he shared his disturbing experience.
The incident happened at Voi Colonna Hotel in Golfo Aranci last month when he stayed there with his 14-year-old daughter.
While enjoying time by the pool, the two guests were met with a dessert platter that was garnished with a mostly unclothed female model, covered in melted chocolate, they said. Mazzieri was appalled by the display, as he shared a picture and lengthy message about how upsetting it was to see a woman’s body used “as an object.”
“Yesterday evening, after a beautiful day in which many people worked hard to make the many guests spend a carefree day, I am left speechless looking at this scene: a dessert buffet by the pool, on a table a girl ‘in bathing suit’ covered in chocolate, lying among the pastries,” the talent acquisition specialist wrote in Italian, per translation.
Mazzieri claimed that the hotel’s centre piece display had contradicted their advertised values. “Voi Hotels stands for True Italian Hospitality, but what does it mean? What do Alpitour managers think of this representation of the female body?”
“When I expressed my dissatisfaction at the hotel they said it was ‘the chocolate statue,’” he continued. “How can corporate values such as tradition and innovation be published on one’s own website and allow these behaviours to exist in one’s own structures, where the body of a woman – of a worker – is equated to that of a crockery to indulge someone’s mischievous eye?”
More than 391 people commented on Mazzieri’s LinkedIn post, expressing the same discontent and dismay with the hotel’s actions. The conversation even caught the attention of the hotel, and seems to have prompted them to reply to the controversy.
In a later statement that appears to be from the hotel staff, they took responsibility against continued criticism. “Regardless of who was directly involved in the incident, we feel the responsibility and intend at this moment to directly address the comments and criticisms we are receiving, acknowledging that this is a serious event that in no way represents Voi hotels and its values.”
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