I'll name and shame right here and right now! Several months ago I won a one-night stay at Hamra Fort Hotel and Resort in Ras Al Khaimah on the radio and I decided that it would be a great opportunity to have a fun, girlie weekend away with my friend. Before visiting I had a look through the website of this “5 STAR HOTEL”. I am not sure if these stars were self dedicated stars or given 15 years ago, as the most this hotel deserves in its current state is 2 stars (and that’s being generous). We checked into our less than average room, and chose to dine at the “Seafood Market - Renowned for its excellent fresh seafood, this Restaurant offers a wonderful selection of a-la-carte dishes prepared to your taste” (Al Hamra Fort website). As we enter we are greeted by a sign on the door that says Thai Menu, so no Seafood at the moment and a bunch of empty fish tanks. But this is no issue, we both like Thai food and proceed to order. Our starters arrive ‘Chicken in Pandang Leaves’ and ‘Mixed Satay’. After trying the satay I decide to dip into the Chicken wrapped in Pandang Leaves. I open my parcel, cut a piece and start chewing, as I am chewing I sense something weird in my mouth, I immediately spit out my food and look down. I cannot believe my eyes. To my horror I see a skin coloured BAND-AID! Yes, a band-aid wrapped up in my chicken parcel (please see picture attached). I looked at my friend in disbelief who had also just swallowed a piece of her Chicken parcel. This was beyond disgusting. I have eaten in restaurants all over the world including many third world countries in some very questionable establishments, but never in my 27 years of dining experience have I ever found a used band-aid in my food and quite honestly never have I felt so disgusted. Of course there are many obvious questions running through my mind… How did this plaster get in my food? Most importantly, what was the plaster on? Was it covering a wart? A cut? A blister? Did this person who was wearing the plaster have any diseases? Are there any health repercussions of this? In short I was sickened and outraged! We of course proceeded to complain, but it became apparent very quickly that the staff at Al Hamra Fort Hotel and Resort were totally incapable. The first contact, the Restaurant Manager, asked if we wanted the rest of our food … obviously not! She then said that she will only charge us for our drinks … not that we had a problem paying for our drinks, but there was no effort to apologize or even an explanation to how this could have happened? We were then met by the Chef, the Bar Manager, another Chef and finally 20 minutes later the Food & Beverage Manager who had obviously been called in from his home at 9pm on a busy Thursday night. The Chef apologized, the Bar Manager just looked down and played with his rings and offered to take us to hospital … and the F&B Manager just agreed that this was disgusting and that this should never happen. He also mentioned that they have a rule that people with cuts of any sort are not allowed in the Kitchen, which brings me back to the question – HOW DID THE BANDAID GET WRAPPED IN A PANDANG LEAF WITH MY CHICKEN??! Our dinner and appetite was ruined. The F&B Manager did offer us a dinner at another restaurant at the hotel, we declined as I imagine that the situation in their other kitchens is no different to this restaurant’s. He then offered us a ride to another restaurant in RAK (not to cover the costs but just to drive us there) – at this point we really didn’t want anything else from the hotel and proceeded to leave as unhappy and unfed customers. The next morning we did not entertain the breakfast at the hotel. The F&B Manager called and offered to let us stay an extra night or have a late check out, but to be honest, we just wanted to leave. We did however try to save what was left of our little get-away and spend some time at the pool, but the pool looked exactly how I expect the kitchens to look, dirty and un-maintained. The water was a yellow-ish tint and the floor felt slippery. For us, it was a waste of time and we left feeling thoroughly disgusted and shocked at the standard of this hotel. Thankfully we did not have to pay for our unpleasant stay as I had won it on the radio, but I can’t imagine how cheated someone must feel who actually spends good money to stay at Al Hamra Fort Hotel and Resort. I realize that accidents happen, and if a fly, or a hair were in my food, yes it’s disgusting, but an understandable mistake – but there is no justifiable excuse for physically wrapping a dirty, used Band-aid and a piece of chicken in a Pandang Leaf. All I know is that I would not go back even if someone paid me. Disgusted Dubai