Stayed at the Quorn Lodge for 2 nights while attending a wedding in Melton and there were several issues with the establishment which were noted by myself and others in our party.
The experience really started before arrival. I had called earlier in the week to enquire about booking a table at the hotel restaurant for 5pm on the Friday as we, as a group, had plans for 7pm that night. Whoever I spoke to, said that they didn't actually start serving until 6.30pm which was fine but no use in this instance to us. I then asked if she could please recommend anywhere else for us to eat. Again, there is no obligation to provide this information but she started telling me that you would not be able to eat before 6.30pm ANYWHERE. I explained that we did need to eat earlier so asked if there was a takeaway nearby which would have solved the problem. Again, she said that no takeaway would be open until 6.30pm. Now, this is just completely ridiculous and not true! Or is it different in Melton compared to the rest of the country? And it was also most unhelpful for someone who owns/represents a hotel and was fully aware that we were not from the area. She eventually did suggest a Wetherspoons which she said was down the road and commented that "you get what you pay for there". I know several other people who own hotels/B&B's and they go out of their way to help people who they know are staying at their establishments and it just felt like such hard work getting any information about this. These are the little things that can matter and can be the difference between people saying good or bad things about a hotel.
The welcome we received was NOT warm and, in actual fact, there was no chat at all from the women who dealt with us. One word answers greeted us on arrival and the women who booked us in just handed us paper and pen for our details and didn’t actually speak again until the issue of payment came up. It might just be me but I think first impressions count and, when in this industry, it is all the more important to be warm and welcoming to guests. This did not happen here.
The rooms were basic but fine. There was an old fashioned feel about them and the bathrooms were the same way. However, it was clean.
One of my friends had a problem with the shower on the first morning and didn’t mention it to the owner as she thought it might be a one off. However, on the Sunday, the water was still freezing so she came to my room for a shower. When she mentioned this on check-out (with the point being to highlight there was a problem so that it could be fixed for other guests) she was basically told that she must be wrong as the showers usually work fine and they don’t usually get complaints. Again, it was just a lack of good customer service here. She wasn’t really complaining about it. All they had to do was apologise for it and say that they will look into for others rather than suggest it was our fault for not telling them the day before. I think it still would have been the same response on the Saturday (that they normally work) and the bottom line is that the issue was still there on the Saturday. She wasn’t making the problem up!
The cooked breakfast on both days was nice and the young waitress on the Sunday was really lovely. However, given that Quorn are quick to point out that they are a hotel and that some rooms are around the £100 mark, I am not sure I would be overly impressed with the tinned fruit and rationed yoghurt which was available if that was the money I had paid for a room.
On the Saturday, there were a lot of guests who were attending the wedding with a pick up at 12pm. This obviously meant that we were getting ready until 12pm which might have had an impact on the room cleaning etc but I think we assumed, because the hotel knew we were attending the wedding, that the rooms would be cleaned after our departure. However, we returned at night from the wedding and the room had not been attended to. This, to me, is really not acceptable. We did get a man come to our door and say "are you ok" while we were getting ready which confused us at the time. We said yes but didn’t really understand him knocking on the door to ask this random question. In hindsight that may have been him trying to say "do you want your room cleaned today" but how were we to know that? If there had been any conversation on our arrival then this is something that could have been clarified perhaps. It is just not good enough.
When I asked about borrowing an iron on the Saturday (a service which is advertised on their website), I was informed that the two irons were in use by other residents’ (which is fair enough). We were told to go and get it from some random person's room because “it was being used by someone in the wedding party”. While there were a lot of us attending the wedding, we did not know everyone and I think it would have been rude for us to knock on the door of someone we didn't know to request it. When each room has a phone, would it have been difficult for the owner to simply phone up and ask the people with the iron to take it to another room when they were done? Possibly something a good hotel would do for you perhaps? So much less awkward for all involved and my friend would have actually been able to iron his shirt!
I have never EVER felt the need to write on Trip Advisor before despite having some trips where it would have been worthwhile - mostly for positive things. In this case, I was so angered by the lack of customer service over the weekend and the attitude of some of the staff. It felt, at times, like we were an inconvenience to the owner. I say the owner but I am unsure about this. On the Sunday we had a lady who was a bit friendlier and we had not seen her previously over the weekend but the customer service on the other days left a lot to be desired.
I would never stay here again, neither would my friends and we would not recommend it to anyone. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with it if you like the basic things in life but if you like to see a smiley face after a long journey, a helpful response to any questions you might have and a feeling that you are welcome then this might not be the place for you. From the minute it was booked we jokingly called it ‘Quorn Dodge’ but it would seem, after actually staying there, that the name was more appropriate than we initially thought.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
2 October 2011
I would like to point out that our check in time is 2.00pm. Contrary to the statement we did NOT know the wedding was at 1.00pm, nor a coach was collecting at 12.00. We only had individual details of the staying guests.
Housekeepers, work till 2.00pm and then they have their own personal commitments, and to suggest that the rooms should have been serviced after 1.00pm would not have been possible for all rooms, as rooms not with this wedding had to be done also. We have had guests arrival early for their functions on numerous occasions previously requesting access to their rooms and we have accommodated them and they have been appreciative. Even guests at this wedding were very appreciative that we had put ourselves out for them to attend the wedding on time, and thanked and praised our staff repeatedly.
The housekeepers were under a lot of strain, as the guests for this wedding began to arrive at 11.00am, naturally the rooms were not ready as check out time is 10-10.30am. Some guests requested to change in their family/friend's room who were there from the previous night, but many had arrived on the Saturday morning. Some went into their rooms and asked for it not to vacuumed as they wanted to get in quickly and two even requested to have a shower in unserviced room.
Corridors and other areas were, quite rightly on such an occasion, buzzing with family and friends conversing and getting ready. The irons was in great demand and it was difficult to keep a track on them as the guests passed them onto another room. It was becoming challenging to trace the irons, check guests in and see how much of their room was ready. However when an iron was noticed by a staff and taken to a room that had requested it, that guest was not in the room. We always attempt to ensure that the guests get what they have requested, on this occasion due to circumstances out of our control it was difficult to do so.
I am sorry the restaurant and the check in situation was as you describe it. This is not our normal practice as we aim to do our best to ensure that our guests have a comfortable and an enjoyable stay.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
