"We had a slightly disappointing start to our stay, but I’m very pleased to say that the hotel management team has since gone out of its way to address our concerns.
We paid an additional £50 per night to upgrade to a Deluxe Room and, on arrival, noticed that some of the advertised features weren’t quite as expected. In particular, the Smart TV advertised on the website wasn’t present, the minibar was empty, and although the balcony itself is lovely, much of the view is unfortunately obscured by the hanging baskets.
However, our main frustration wasn’t really about any of these things individually. It was the initial response when we raised them at reception. When we mentioned the Smart TV, we were immediately told that the hotel simply didn’t have Smart TVs. Our concerns generally felt as though they were being dismissed rather than someone taking a moment to listen or investigate.
This is where the hotel management team deserves real credit.
We returned to our room later to discover that a brand-new Smart TV had been installed, together with a lovely handwritten note apologising for our initial experience and a packet of sweets. It was a really thoughtful gesture and completely changed the way we felt about how our concerns had been handled.
We certainly weren’t looking for gifts or special treatment. All we really wanted was some acknowledgement of our concerns and, particularly, the rather dismissive initial response we received at reception.
Clearly, the hotel does have Smart TVs! Once our concerns reached the management team, they dealt with the situation quickly, personally and professionally.
Mistakes and misunderstandings happen, and for us the real measure of good customer service is how they are dealt with afterwards. The management team deserves genuine credit for listening to us and turning around what had initially been a disappointing first impression.
We’re now looking forward to enjoying the rest of our stay and would like to thank the management team for taking the time to listen and put things right. It was genuinely appreciated."