Worst experience ever!! Discusting customer care and staff - particularly vile attitude from Emily in reception!!
My lovely Mum (74 years of age) and I booked a three night stay - (extended weekend break) for last week, as a Birthday treat, but more importantly as something to look forward to, after I had been particularly unwell over the last year. We booked a month in advance, and through Booking.com - choosing Orton Hall Hotel, purely because it had a Spa, and meant to be a 4 Star with ok reviews. The whole point for us was to enjoy a girly "Spa Break". At the time of booking we called through first to check there were no restrictions or bookings necessary in regard to the Spa (which we were told there weren't) and this is the only reason we went ahead otherwise we would have chosen elsewhere. Really frustrating to then be emailed only a few days before our stay to say that guests now needed to book a slot, in advance, to use the Spa for that weekend, and the slots only allowed you an hour!! We were determined not to let that spoil things for us, however, so we booked our slots as the email advised (with only really rubbishy time slots left available I should add!) and still tried to remain up beat about our up coming stay regardless.
What followed next, with this total shower of a hotel however, can only be described as the most horrendous and utterly disgusting customer care I have ever experienced........... On arrival on the Fri evening at the hotel, after a 2 1/2 drive, we checked in and were given one key card between the two of us and pointed in the direction of our room. I must say there were no smiles from any of the three receptionists at the time, or even a little polite conversation, abd barely even eye contact (too busy chatting), but hey ho. The idea that evening was to have a relaxing one and good nights sleep, ready for a fresh day of sightseeing in the area tomorrow. Fuming therefore that within only a couple of hours of being there the guests in the room above decided to have a party with thumping loud music and kids clearly bouncing off the beds and onto the floor like a herd if elephants!!. The noise was so bad it was as if they were in the same room. We let it go on for hours thinking it would die down, but by midnight they were still going! We called reception and politely asked if they could sort it, but still the noise continued. Had to call a total of 3 times to the reception and in the end even vetured upstairs myself to try to sort, but still it went on. The hotel made no apology or showed any empathy towards us, and couldn't care less - with the useless and unemotive Night Manager, Mark, actually looking blankly at me when I tried to ask for something to be done! Total lack of any care or respect towards us and subsequently the 'noisy neighbours' were allowed to carry on to 2am before the noise died down. We were exhausted the next day, but again didn't want it to spoil our weekend, so cracked on with plans for a nice day out, thinking the next night might be better. No one made an attempt from the hotel the following day to reach out with any kind of apology or solution still either.
So.....even more livid therefore that yet again the next night was the same story!! Horrendous noise from both the room above having a party and the room next door, and well into the night....and to add insult to injury this time there was the added discusting smell of fish seeping into our room and stinking it out!!! i discovered later it was coming from a room service tray left on floor outside the room next door and had been left by staff and walked past several times without sny attempt to dispose of it!! - Just reinforcing how lacking in any passion or care towards its guests or hotel tgmhe staff at this hotel is.
I was now absolutely at the end of my wick so physically went in person to reception to speak with them! The uncaring and unmoving night Manager Mark was on shift again, and not only didn't bother moving from his seat but offered no apology or empathy. He told me he had no alternative room abailable and that was that. Surprised then when two minutes later Adam on reception (infront of Mark) actually asked if I'd like to follow him to look at an available room to see if it would be any good for us to move to. Thank God!!! - someone that seemed to care, and had something about them!
The new room clearly had disability facilities, but was absolutely fine, and more importantly quiet, so I agreed Mum and I would move right away (at tgis point past Midnight) into it. We did so and Adam and his colleague Steve bent over backwards bless them to sweetly help move our luggage, and put little chocolates on the side and a bottle of Prosecco in tge room, by way of an apology for the awful experience we'd had so far. (Mark on the otherhand was still unmoving and sat on his backside at reception without word or concern).
Once we were settled I asked Adam out of interest why the room was available when Mark had said they had nothing, and he just explained it was down as a "do not use" because someone had requested that specific 'type' of room the following day, but that we weren't to worry they
could do some moving around to accomodate those guests as long as we were now settled and comfortable. Adam and Steve were so nice, and at that point we really thought that they might have made up for all the other staff, completely seemingly lacking in any form of charm or duty of care towards their guests.
Anyway...that was that - we were settled at last and nothing else could surely possibly go wrong ........ .or so we thought!!!!!
How wrong could we be and the Saga continued into the next day (Sunday now) when shockingly and discustingly at midday Mum and I were just about to go out for the day, when the rudest and most arrogant female staff member, Emily, called our new room and asked if we were told that they needed our room for someone else today!!!!!! Naturally we explained no one has said any such thing and instead of apologising, or professionally and politely dealing with us, this vile woman went on to state "well we need the room so you'll have to get out"!!!!!! As blunt and awful as that. No empathy, no discussion!! We were paying guests , and paid right up until the Monday!! I had never experienced anything so discusting in my life. Emily then proceeded to call several more times to the room to put the pressure on for us to vacate the room!! We were being treated like criminals!! The whole thing made me feel sick, but more importantly made my 74 year old Mum ( who was horrified) so distressed she was quite unwell! This bully, Emily (who wasn't even the Manager!) then even had the brass neck to send a bully boy housekeeper Alan to just barge into our room, who without knocking just let himself into our room with us there frantically trying to get our belongings together to say "ive got to clean this room!!" Utterly disgraceful!!! At this stage enough was enough and Mum and I decided we were not going to stay a single night longer at the hands of this discsting establishment, so made the choice regardless we would cut our stay short and get refunded for our final nights stay on principle rather than let this shower keep a single penny of our money ir have more of our understanding. At reception arrogant Emily, didn't flinch - she held up her rude and arrogant attitude - still with mo aology, no acknowledgement of how bizarre and discusting the whole saga was, and simply declared she wasn't gping to speak with us aby longer and would now call the Manager. Why hadn't she done that already!!!???!!
Fortunately when we were greeted by the Manager Bahceli Tutkan he was the most lovely abd professional man you could hope to meet! He was devastated to hear of our story at the hotel, and ecplained he had only been emploted there for two months, and was trying to train the staff properly. Thank goodness for Bahceli he diffused the situation immediately and perfectly. He apologised and we agreed on an outcome that would suit. Despite hos best efforts to try to make amends and continue our stay, it did not result in us staying another single night at the Best Western, Orton Hall Hotel!! The hotel lost all of their money back to us, and we will never recommend anyone ever stay there.
In summary the staff need proper traiming on appropriate customer care and duty of care, and Emily in particular should be held responsible for her discusting behaviour and given the boot!!!!
Very very sad!!!! Totally spoilt our weekend!!! less