Bad Taste
So, I use this hotel regularly for work, or at least i used to. Just to give you an idea of the frequency, I have spent over £1000 in this hotel in the last 4 weeks. On my last visit (prior to this r... more
So, I use this hotel regularly for work, or at least i used to. Just to give you an idea of the frequency, I have spent over £1000 in this hotel in the last 4 weeks. On my last visit (prior to this review) there was an emergency at work and I had to leave quickly. I forgot about items charged to my room and left without payment. Once i realized my mistake i thought "not to worry" I knew it would be a matter of days before I would be back i could pick up the tab then.
I arrive for my next booking, I was met with a frosty reception from the young boy on the check in desk who was delighted to tell me that I owed from a previous visit, to which i agreed and was happy to settle. The youth then proceeded to tell me that my credit was no longer any good, and that I could no longer charge additional services to my room (despite the money i had spent in this hotel already this month)
I took this on the chin, my own fault, I left an unpaid bill. However the tone and manner to which I was being told immediately left a bad taste of distrust in my mouth. I felt I was being looked down on by a child.
So the evening went on, I put my son to sleep and went into the guest lounge to carry on with some work. I missed the kitchen and decided to order food in. After being sat in the lounge with my food for almost an hour i was then approached by the bar tender who told me i would have to leave the lounge by 11pm. I found this an odd request and queried why. At first it was because of restrictions placed on the hotel due to covid. I explained that I have visited many hotels since the viral outbreak and this is the only one with such restrictions. It then changed to "Hotel Policy" I countered that i have stayed in this hotel many times both before and during the crisis and have never once been asked to leave the lounge after 11pm. Then it moved to my food, apparently they have a policy that no food from outside the hotel is to be consumed on the premises. I challenged this for obvious reasons. (if the hotel does not provide food after 9pm how can they expect their guests not to eat? Not to mention i have done this many times before) Anyway it dawned on me that this must be in relation to me leaving an outstanding bill, suddenly I am being treated less than with only half the service, despite me returning to the hotel and clearing the mistake. I found both members of staff condescending and judgmental. I will be using other hotels (to which there are many) in the Bridgend area from now on as will my employees and clients. less
Carolyn Powell, General Manager at Best Western Heronston Hotel & Spa, responded to this review
Dear Guest
Thank you for your review, I am sorry you feel you were treated less fairly than other guests, I can assure you this is not the case.
I can confirm that when you arrived in the bar, food was still available and you spoke with the duty manager stating 'you would give the chef a break and not order at 8.55pm and would order a take away instead. This was accepted. It is hotel policy that no food is brought in from outside and as stated to you during your stay we take a blind eye when takeaways are taken to guest bedrooms but these are not permitted to be eaten in the public areas of the hotel, I would say this is a normal procedure for a food establishment and as our duty manager stated in their conversation with you, you would not like people to bring their own drinks to your bar, which you agreed.
COVID legislation had changed that week in Wales that bars were to close at 11.00pm and this was expressed to yourself, later that week this changed to 10pm. This is not how the hotel would normally run but during these times we have to abide by the changing restrictions placed upon the hotel.
I am sorry one of our team members was required to bring a previous unpaid invoice to your attention, but you booked on the day via booking.com and therefore booked without leaving a card to guarantee your reservation. You have left on this occasion with an outstanding invoice again, which we have emailed you via booking.com
I am sorry you feel you do not wish to return to the hotel, but I feel my team work hard to help all our guests and you feel aggrieved because you have tried to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in an hotel environment or any hospitality premises.
Kind regards
General Manager