Having stayed in many UK Best Western hotels before I was expecting the usual high standards for the good rate offered (£65 per night inc. breakfast).
Upon arrival, two members of staff were at the reception desk, both drinking coffee (or tea) and one reading a magazine whilst chatting to her colleague. Whilst one of them immediately acknowledged my presence, the other continued to read the magazine until it was evident that her colleague was having difficulty finding details of my reservation. As I had made an internet booking, I assume they would have been able to find it by consulting the hotel's computer, but instead they shuffled through paperwork for a few minutes, which, as pleasant as they both were, made them look thoroughly incompetent.
When the details were found, I was brisquely asked for my credit card and if I was staying for dinner, informed that the latest time I could have breakfast was 10am then directed to my room. No effort was made to inform me of the hotels facilities, did I need help with the 3 large bags I had with me? Was there anything else they could do for me?
The room was spacious, well equipped and spotlessly clean and comfortable. However, three very important points:
1. The door was only equipped with a very basic lock, the minimum of force would have been required to force it open from the outside.
2. No security peep hole to observe anyone outside the door (the hotel also hosted some extremely noisy guests that evening who were clearly the worse for wear before they went out and even worse when they returned in the early hours - banging on doors and shouting).
3. The hotel allow smoking outside the front entrance of the hotel and directly outside the bar area, this allows the offending smoke to drift directly up into the rooms which have windows open - the rooms are equipped with an air con' system which is complex and indaequate.
I much prefer to sleep with the window open - an option not available for a long time due to the thoughtless policies of hotel management.
In the room, there was not as scrap of literature regarding the hotel, its facilities or the surrounding area, (not even a Gideons bible!).
I went down to the bar for a pre dinner drink. After the two staff finished their conversation (admittedly one was folding table napkins) and noticed I was there, one of them served me, but not before saying "yes mate?".
When I asked if they had any peanuts he apruptly informed me "crisps only", pointing towards a rack behind him without even looking at me (or the crisps). He also continued to address me as "mate", which prompted me to remind him that I am not and never will be his "mate", just a paying customer who expects to be addressed as "Sir". Much surliness continued and I left after a couple of drinks and had dinner elsewhere.
The folllowing morning when checking out I was asked for my card to verify any expenses I may have incurred. At no time was I asked if I had enjoyed my stay, was everything OK or did I need any further assistance.
The hotel was no more than OK, the staff need to appreciate that customers make pay days possible and that a little civility and courtesy goes a long way. It would be even better if the hotel management could take the time to respond to my concerns, which, at the time of writing they have not.
Room Tip: Check security facilities. Ask for a room away from the front of the hotel.
See more room tips
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
24 November 2011
Unfortunately as a Hotel Manager I have not mastered the art of telepathy so could not have taken the time to respond to your concerns "at the time of writing".
I am delighted that the Receptionist immediately acknowledged you and welcomed you to the hotel. Our procedure is to print off every reservation, from whatever source, and to preprint the Registration cards to save time for the customer when checking in. Therefore as they were unable to find your booking and Registration Card initially I would have expected them to firstly look through the pile of paperwork to locate your booking and Registration Card. I am also delighted to hear that they were both pleasant to you. as they resolved the matter in exactly the way I would have expected I would not consider this to be incompetent.
I appreciate your comments regarding the room being spacious, well equipped, spotlessly clean and comfortable. As a "thoughtless Manager", as you suggest, I am delighted that we have managed to fulfill every requirement one would expect from a hotel room.
In response to your concerns:
1. All of our doors are solid wood, with solid wood frame and fitted with the top of the range electronic key card systems found in thousands of hotels around the World. They are certainly not a basic lock and cannot be forced open as you suggest.
2. I accept that there are no security "peep holes" in the doors. This is something we are considering as an additional enhancement to the rooms. I am sorry that you were disturbed by other guests at the hotel. Unfortunately this is somewhat out of our control unless our Night Porters are made aware of a problem and they will always control the situation for the benefit of all other customers.
3. People do smoke directly outside the bar area at the front of the hotel. It must have been a particularly still evening for the smoke to go up to the first floor and through an open window. This is the first time there has ever been an issue so something I will investigate further.
The air conditioning throughout the hotel was installed two years ago. It is certainly not inadequate or complicated as you suggest with an on and off button and a temperature up and down button. However, any of the staff at this hotel would have been more than happy to show you how to operate it if you had asked.
Every bedroom has a Guest Directory which has a detailed list of all of the facilities and additional information of the hotel. In Reception there are two racks of over 100 leaflets of every possible attraction in the area.
We do not leave Gideons Bibles in the rooms. At this hotel we welcome guests from all religions. However, we do have them available for anybody to read should they ask.
One of the things we pride ourself on at this hotel is high levels of Customer Service. Most other reviews comment on this. I apologise if you felt that our bar staff were disrespectful. I can assure you that this was not intentional and obviously misjudged as most of our customers prefer the more relaxed welcoming environment. I will be addressing this with all of the bar staff to ensure that this does not happen again.
I am very sorry that we did not exceed your expectations at this hotel.
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
