TF Royal Hotel

“Disappointed”

This is our 2nd stay here. Our 1st one we had a few problems but decided to give it another chance. And although overall there were good parts about the stay, there were also issues. After a 3 hour journey we arrived 20 mins before check in time which is 3pm. The girl at reception was forceful in m… more

This is our 2nd stay here. Our 1st one we had a few problems but decided to give it another chance. And although overall there were good parts about the stay, there were also issues. After a 3 hour journey we arrived 20 mins before check in time which is 3pm. The girl at reception was forceful in mentioning that check in is not until 3 but we could do all the paperwork which we did. We sat in the reception area waiting for 3pm as did a few others that came in after us and were told 3pm check in and not before. Any hotel we have stayed in and arrived early at, they have always said we'll check if rooms are ready and accommodate. Not every room that is booked can still be being cleaned 20 mins before check in!! Eventually 2 other people arrived to work in reception and a conversation took place about rooms and the original staff member said "we had a lot of bookings last night & if she's on her own she won't be finished". In my opinion, a hotel knows how many rooms are booked and should have adequate staff to clean them. That is not a customers problem! At 3pm, people were still being told we don't check in til 3pm. 5 mins later I was told there were still 2 rooms not cleaned, ours being one of them! Eventually at 3.25pm, I went to reception again and a different staff member said "Oh I can put you in the room next door, that's also a family room!" This should have been presented as an option at the start but they weren't going to approach us and say we have a room ready which annoyed me greatly. The room was fine and clean although there were bulbs not working & we were looking out the window at an adjoining part of the hotel wall. We went to the bar for drinks. The staff were lovely although despite not being busy at that particular moment we had to ask for the table to be cleaned. We were told breakfast is in Yew Tree Cafe from 8am daily, despite website and signage at door saying 7.30am daily. We came down stairs at 7.50 and the original girl on reception from the check in the day before didn't greet us, just looked up and said "breakfast is at 8 o'clock so you're early" We knew we were early but we're going outside for a few minutes fresh air, so it felt like an accusation that we weren't allowed to be there! Carvery was displayed on signage and on website as being launched on 2nd March (today) but they launched it yesterday (1st March). While we were in the bar Friday evening we asked to book for lunch on Sunday and we're told we couldn't make a reservation. Yet when we got to dining room on Sunday, a staff member was talking to a few of the servers and said "we have a couple of bookings ...." It is also on the website that pre-booking is strongly recommended. At the carvery, the beef was extremely fatty and cold. The turkey was lovely. However, the guy who served me walked off half way through. So I had to ask the guy taking the money for stuffing! It seems to me that the ethos is that the staff will do things their way regardless than making it an enjoyable experience for the customer. The customer seems to be a nuisance rather than a welcomed visitor. As I said at the beginning, there were some nice staff and some parts of the stay were good. Unfortunately though, as this is the 2nd time with problems, it won't be a place we will stay at again.

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