We availed of the Groupon deal to stay two nights at the Fitzwilton with B+B, a voucher for a three-course meal in the hotel bar and a complementary bottle of wine. This offer was far better than many others we had seen on the Groupon website and we were also impressed by the hotel's website which made it look very appealing, particularly it's four-star rating. We stayed at the hotel mid-week, arriving down early on a Tuesday. Reception were accommodating and allowed us to check in early, telling us the room was ready. The room was comfortable, but very warm and with no air conditioning. TV and Wi-Fi reception was poor in the room, but we were able to settle in all the same.
That evening, we decided to use the voucher for the three-course meal in the hotel bar. When we arrived down to the bar, there were no tables immediately available - so booking is to be advised - but we got a table shortly after when a man let us know he was finished. There were two waiters in the bar, one of whom seemed to be mainly responsible for bar service and not food. Since most of the tables were occupied, service was slow. It took ten minutes for the table to be cleared after the previous diner. It took another number of minutes before we were shown a menu. The menu we were shown was specially set for customers on the Groupon deal, with very little choice available. Another significant amount of time passed before the waiter returned to take our orders. We decided to order all three courses at once, in the hope that it would help speed up service. Despite ordering soup to start, this took an unusual amount of time to be served. As we were finishing the starter, we noticed a party of four entering and being seated across from us. After another 15-20 minutes, we were growing impatient for our main courses, which had been ordered almost 40 minutes ago by then. We were surprised then when main courses, two of which were exactly what we had ordered, were served to the party who had entered and ordered long after us. When I inquired at the bar as to the whereabouts of our main courses and the difference in service, I was curtly told they would be out soon, without an apology. Sure enough, they were served within 5 minutes of my complaint. But again, there was no apology for the delay. After our mains, there was another long delay until our desserts which were two relatively simple dishes - a bowl of ice cream and a brownie. Overall, little of the meal was up to the standard one would expect from a four star hotel. From taking our seats to finishing our desserts, we were over 2 hours in the bar. Most of this time was spent waiting on food or service.
Ultimately we felt as though we being treated differently for using the voucher, rather than paying on the night. Although, if that is the usual service, it is certainly not something we would be willing to pay full price for. We even felt that we had to leave the bar and go for a drink in a nearby hotel in order to enjoy the rest of our evening. Going to dinner in another hotel (that was three stars) the following night, with excellent food and service, only confirmed our views that what we had experienced was unacceptable.
The next morning, we went to breakfast and we were met with similar service. No one greeted us at the door of the dining room to take our room number, so we moved in to take seats. Just as we were about to sit down, we were - for want of another word - confronted by a waitress who asked what our room number was, with no hint of a welcome. When we gave our room number, she pointed us in the direction of the breakfast buffet and walked away. Yet, when another couple entered, they were not only greeted by the same waitress but offered tea and/or coffee. I had to quickly request that we would like tea at our table, also, as the waitress sped past. For all that, the breakfast was of mediocre quality (particularly the salty rashers), not entirely well-heated and with little variety to select from. We were so disappointed that we skipped this breakfast on the following morning and, again, went elsewhere.
On our second night there, we had planned to get an early night in order to go on an excursion the next morning. However, at about 11.30pm some very loud music started playing, which we thought quite unusual for a Wednesday night. The music was clearly audible in our room, to the point we suspected it might have been coming from one of the nearby rooms. At about midnight, unable to get to sleep, I rang reception to see where the noise was coming from. I was told it was a Christmas party and that it would be over by 12.30am. However, I received no apology. When it was nearing 1am, I rang again as the music only seemed to be getting louder. The young man who answered was rude and dismissive, telling me 'Ah yea, I think it's over soon.' And hanging up, again, without apologising. This is something which we felt would be the most basic civility in customer service. As a result we had to cancel the trip we had planned to take the next day, due to the terrible night's sleep.
On a positive note, the hotel allowed us to leave our luggage behind the reception desk when we checked out as our train wasn't until later that evening. However, there is little else positive that we could say, even of the reception staff who would otherwise ignore us as we came and went, not exchanging so much as basic pleasantries. It was not our expectation in taking a groupon deal that the service would be any less than if we had booked two nights at the Fitzwilton at full price. Furthermore, deals such as these should promote the hotel and its qualities, with the assumption that the customer will either return or spread positive word of mouth. Our experience was such that we simply could not recommend this hotel, and we remain puzzled by its four-star rating.
Tracey Keane and Paul Donnelly
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
