First Lady Michelle Obama, her mother and two daughters have reportedly already outstayed their welcome with some of the staff at a $8,350-per-night presidential suite in Beijing. They arrived on Thursday.
A “well-placed” staffer at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang hotel told the Daily Mail that the Obama women have inconvenienced “pretty much everyone” while the first lady’s mother, Marian Robinson, has been “barking at the staff” since she arrived.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, front left, her daughters Sasha, front right, Malia, right in the back, and Michelle Obama’s mother Marian Robinson, left in the back, arrive at Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, Thursday, March 20, 2014. Michelle Obama has arrived in Beijing with her mother and daughters to kick off a seven-day, three-city tour where she will focus on education and cultural exchange. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, Pool)
“We can’t wait for this to be over, to tell you the truth,” the staffer said. “We entertain many important people here, but this has been, I think, very different.”
Now the hotel workers are about “fed up.”
The Daily Mail has more details:
Government security forces from both China and the U.S. started Thursday to screen everyone who entered the building, including paying guests, setting up checkpoints that resemble those at airline concourse entrances.
The Secret Service’s monopoly on the hotel’s highest floors has meant the Westin had to boot guests with previous reservations out of their executive-level rooms.
Secret Service agents are also monopolizing hotel elevators long before the Obamas need them, added the staffer, who identified himself as a member of the concierge staff and spoke English during a phone call on Friday.
The Westin Beijing Chaoyang hotel’s website describes the 3,400-square-foot suite Michelle Obama and her family are staying in as an “oasis of comfort.” It includes a “private steam room, corner sofas with silk pillows” and in-room dining for six. They also reportedly have a 24-hour butler at their disposal.