Attended the hotel for an entertainment event.
Initial impressions of the hotel, the foyer is modern and luxurious.
The receptionist seemed quite polite and, as we were early, directed us to the bar.
The bar itself was a fairly standard hotel bar.
Our first round, of 2 drinks, came to over £12 !
I was not given a receipt and assumed Lager was £4, spirits were £4 and mixers were £4. This gave an initial poor impression.
On the next round, skipping the mixer, a Lager and spirit were a more reasonable £7 approx.
Given the receipt from this round, either mixers are close to £6, or the first bartender ripped us off.
The lager on tap tasted a bit off, despite being a triple filtered "ice" draught variety.
The time came to enter the entertainments room. A complimentary glass of wine was provided as was a bottle of refreshing Perry on the table. Some tables though, including that next to us, had to request a bottle as they were not provided with one. Other tables seemed to have between 2-4 bottles.
We assumed it must have been how nicely they could speak to the managerial staff.
A buffet was provided as part of the ticket. We were hoping for greatness from a 4* hotel, and having salivated over delicious looking meals coming out to the bar (and having partaken in a small bowl of chips at the bar as a pre-dinner snack).
The buffet was however, a bit of a dissapointment.
A bucket of boiled rice (cheap to make and filling), some mushroomy pasta in a white sauce, some mushroomy beef stroganoff and some chicken drumsticks all under heatlamps.
Remindful of a poor canteen-style meal.
The nicest part of the buffet were in fact the roast potatoes!
When a member of staff came round to collect the plates, he did ask if everything was to our satisfaction. As he appeared authoritative in a blazer (possibly mangerial?) I commented that the buffet wasn't great. This comment was ignored. Why ask if you don't give a damn?
In fairness though, the meringue dessert was delicious.
Entertainment wise, the initial DJ was a bit cringeworthy and the place was like a wedding reception for somebody you didn't know. His banter and the party tunes worked better at the end of the night though, once the drink had been flowing!
The band, a blues brother tribute act, were excellent. A nice mix of blues brothers tunes, blues and jazz.
All in all, would probably go back to see an act like that again.
However, I would have dinner beforehand, would keep note of what I was being charged at the bar, and stick to the bottled beer / wine! read more