BritTraveller68
29 de junio de 2024
This is a convenient hotel for travellers on the M1 or for visiting the southwest corner of the Peak District, as I was doing. A bonus was being so close to the East Midlands Outlet Shopping Village. The front desk staff were very efficient and personable. My Diamond Elite status was recognised by an upgrade to a large, modern and clean Executive Room with a good sized bathroom with lots of storage space. It was great to the minibar filled with four types of soft drink, in addition to the usual still and sparkling water. The room was towards the quiet rear of the site, and the soundproofing was pretty good too. Unfortunately the great experience I had with the accommodation side of the operation was let down by the restaurant dinner and breakfast service. Having a very young restaurant staff needn’t be an issue, but it looked like they were lacking in training and coordination. When I arrived for dinner on the first night, the only member of staff I could see was head down in the computer in the far corner of the room. She rarely looked up and when she did a couple of times and looked over to me, there was no indication that she was going to come over to greet me. Eventually she did, and a short while later she took my order. I ordered the ham hock terrine followed by the gammon. I’ve ordered these standard Holiday Inn restaurant staples a few times over the years. But this time the texture of the ham hock terrine was different and quite hard to cut, though the taste was pretty consistent. The real disappointment was with the gammon. On the plate was just the gammon steak with a fried egg and a portion of fries. There was then a large empty space where you’d normally find a portion of garden peas, or alternatively some salad leaves. What happened to those? It felt like I was being short changed. The edges of the fried egg were quite burnt and crispy too. After I’d eaten the main course, I was totally ignored by every member of the team which by now had now grown in size. Numerous times they would walk by my table and not once did they look at me and notice I’d finished. Eventually one of the team did ask if I was done and took away my plate. But that’s all he did. He didn’t ask if I wanted a dessert and again I was left to sit at a now empty table. After a few more minutes, I gave up hope of having anything more and eventually managed to flag someone down to pay the bill. At breakfast the next morning, after making a couple of trips to the buffet, I returned to my table with my cooked breakfast to find my table cleared and the waiter a few metres away asking the supervisor what he should do with my key card and free breakfast voucher. When she caught my eye, she immediately realised that he’d been too hasty to clear my table. I’d have thought there were enough signs I hadn’t finished, including a half-drunk cup of tea and glass of juice, which the waiter did then replenish with a fresh serving. Hopefully this feedback will enable th
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