'We're sorry': Hotel forced to change 'disgusting' bar name

A hotel has changed the name of its bar after it faced backlash for its ties to slavery.

The Hollow Cow Hotel in the popular Northern Quarter suburb of Manchester, UK, has since issued an apology after it was targeted by critics over its Plantation Bar.

On its website, the boutique hotel boasted the bar offered “colonial vibes”.

The hotel faced widespread criticism online after a local student shared a screenshot of the bar’s website on Twitter.

“How is this bar in Manchester called ‘Plantation’ and advertising itself as having ‘COLONIAL VIBES’...” Tom Branfoot said.

The majority of the workforce on plantations in America’s south during the colonial era were African slaves, prompting some online to lambast the hotel for the references.

“Not everything is trendy. This is disgusting,” one person wrote.

“So a group of people sat around and decided that this was OK? No one thought it may be controversial or gross,” another asked.

“There’s zero positive connotations with that word,” one person said.

The hotel has since deleted the bar’s website and the bar is now listed as The Cocktail Bar on its main website.

“We’re sorry. As many of you have pointed out we have made an ill-advised choice of naming our bar,” the hotel said in a statement on Instagram.

The hotel claimed the name was a reference to the owner’s family wood plantation in India.

“The colonial reference was to the furniture and architecture style,” it explained.

“We would never in a million years seek to cause any offence or draw parallels to colonial-era crimes.”

Following the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death, there has been several notable name changes of brands, products or businesses due to their names being deemed offensive.

In Australia, Saputoro Dairy confirmed they will retire the Coon Cheese brand due to its shared “responsibility to eliminate racism”.

Nestle also announced it would change the name of confectionary products Red Skins and Chicos.

Australian craft beer brand Colonial has also been pressured into changing its name.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.