bestwestern.co.uk

Seckford Hall

You expect two things from a hotel at a minimum, a place to sleep and a place to wash... My wife had excitedly booked us this short overnight stay as she had fond memories of the hotel from her youth and wanted to share them with me. So we thought this would be a nice relaxing overnight stay. We drove two hours to get to the location which is beautiful, the building and surroundings really are wonderful. However things didn’t take long to go down hill. The reception staff were perfunctory at best, rude at worst. For a 4 star hotel you do expect a certain level of service. We were directed though not shown to our suite in the courtyard. The suite was spacious, well appointed if dated, though clean. A decent size four poster bed, two couches, old TV, basic coffee machine. A slightly odd mix of high standards pulled down by old fixtures and fittings. But what is the first thing you want to do after getting to a nice hotel? Freshen up, be it a shower, a bath or just splash some warm water on your face. Hold on, no hot water?! We went to reception immediately after discovering this and were told to our great surprise that there was none, that an oil delivery had not arrived. Excuse me? How can that not be planned for? Did we get an apology at this point, an offer of a make good or compensation, even a bottle of wine or money off the meal we had booked for the evening? No, nothing. We were told it was expected by 5pm. It was now about 3:30pm. We were also told no manager was currently on site but was on his way. So we went back to the suite and waited. I can’t say I was surprised when no hot water materialized by 5pm. Back to reception we go and now the Operations Manager was on site. It would arrive by 6 we are told. No apology, the barest explanation around the oil delay (once again, how do you not plan for this?). Fine, 6pm or we are leaving with a full refund. He doesn’t fight this, but once again does nothing to actually encourage us to stay, we can book for another night or be refunded. Frankly, why would we ever want to come back?So, it’s 6pm and we are leaving. We drove 2 hours to get to this impressive looking country house hotel. 4 stars location perhaps, but service? 1 star is too much. How on earth at check in were we not told about the lack of water (and heating, I saw staff dishing out small electric heaters)? Other patrons were just as annoyed (and informed us that this was their second day at the hotel and they had still not had a shower) and many had come considerably further. How on Earth do you not ring your customers before they travel, or email, or tweet, something, to let them know the hotel can’t offer the most simple requirement for a stay?! We decided to drive home, our plans, evening, night and following day ruined. I have traveled a lot, stayed in tents and 5 star hotels and a lack of hot water is just not acceptable. It was a farce of poor communication, lack of customer service and terrible planning. I suppose no explanation or excuse could be offered as none would suffice. I shall never return to Seckford Hall and I will avoid Best Western establishments going forward.

Date of experience: Sep 26, 2022