tbonebod
September 21, 2024
We arrived mid-afternoon on a Saturday. We remarked on how magnificent the building looked and how wonderful it must have been to live here in its heyday. Upon entering reception, we rang the bell, as instructed on the sign. We waited ten minutes and rang the bell again. A young man entered, and we informed him that we'd like to check in. He couldn't help us, but he'd send in the manager. After a further five minutes, the manager arrived and informed us that we should have come through to the bar, as that's where all the staff were because of a wedding. Well, we would have if the sign had informed us of this fact. But it said, "Wait here." We were then told our room number and that it was in a separate building. After stepping outside, we saw there were a number of buildings, so we returned to clarify which one. The exasperated manager told again with more detail and then whispered to her colleague that she couldn't believe these people couldn't find their room! Yes, we heard you, Laura. We may be old, we may be stupid, we may be both. But you're in the hospitality industry. Try to be hospitable. We did find our room, and although basic, it was warm and clean. However, there is a large gap under the main door. Aside from letting in, and out, noise and voices etc., it could also be a fire risk. We returned to the main bar, and I tried ordering a bottle of wine. After being informed many times that my choice wasn't available, I asked just what was available, and I'd choose that. He apologised and explained they had a wedding that day. A poor excuse, as I'm fairly confident that the wedding won't have been booked the day before. There had been plenty of opportunity to stock up. The outside area was littered with glasses, cups, and crisp packets. After forty minutes, the glasses were cleared, but the cups and debris remained. We went inside and booked dinner for 7.30. We arrived at the restaurant at 7.25 and were shown to our table. The menus were brought to us, we made our choice, and the food was brought to us in good time. The food itself was excellent. We enjoyed our starters and main course and then asked if we'd like to see the dessert menu, which we did. We waited, and nothing happened. We were then approached by a different waiter who informed us that if we'd like a dessert, to order soon as the kitchen closes at 9.00 - in a hotel! We informed them that we'd love to order, but after waiting fifteen minutes, we still had no menus! They were quickly brought over, and we made our choice and enjoyed our dessert. We returned to the main bar to enjoy a quiet drink. However, a decision was made to close the wedding bar in the function room. The wedding guests then stumbled into the main bar. As you can imagine, it was quite raucous! Of course, we have been to weddings and being part of that raucous group when you know everyone is fun. When you're trying to enjoy a quiet drink, less so. We left them to it at 10.00 pm. We had been previously "a