this review is about the type of establishment this is, given its claim to be a family-friendly place. my friend took the attached photo of a vending machine in the men's bathroom at theaspleyhotel when he visited a couple of weeks ago. he raised his concerns with me about the impression he felt it gave men when they went into the bathroom. as a result of his concerns, and my agreement with those concerns, i wrote to theaspleyhotel, to ask them to withdraw from supplying this type of product due to our belief that the way it is marketed encourages the culture of violence (particularly sexual violence) against women. they responded, dismissing the concerns raised and advising they did not agree that this type of marketing encourages sexual violence against women. they argued that this product sits alongside condoms in the vending machine and it is no different. however, this product is not like condoms which are marketed in public bathrooms in the interests of public health. the implication of the way this is product is marketed is that women will be sexually attracted to the man that buys it, creating the expectation that the man will get sex.that makes it an adult product which should be restricted to licensed adult shops where people expect to see these types of products, rather than being found randomly in a local family hotel, in a bathroom that people under the age of 18 use. in its refusal to look at the bigger picture of how this type of product contributes to the toxic culture we are all trying to deal with that encourages violence against women, i do not believe theaspleyhotel is exercising adequate social responsibility. blend this attitude with the unpredictable effect of the alcohol it serves to individuals, i believe this poses an unacceptable risk to women and families who enter, and i cannot recommend it as a suitable venue to go to.
postscript 13 july 2018. i have changed my rating of this establishment from 1 to 4 and removed the photo. while the management ataspleyhotel dismissed my concerns when i raised them, the owners of the hotel did not. i received a commitment to remove this product and a commitment to continue to review the type of products that are made available in their venues, with a view to managing their social responsibility. thank you for being part of the solution and helping us all the manage the challenges of our community.