The Linden Stansted

We have used the Linden for previous work meetings and were mostly happy with the food and service so we thought we knew what to expect and we booked our work Christmas meal there. Unfortunately we didn’t read the recent reviews before booking. The venue is a nice building with one large dining room and a bar. The bedrooms are stunning and nice and clean. In the days before the event we were sent a slightly unusual menu and asked to send in our food choices. There were no starters or side dishes on this menu, just mains with a ‘bubble and squeak’ or mashed potato option and a choice of three desserts. After a telephone conversation with the venue we got some starters added and a ‘carrot and swede mash’ option was also added. The vegetarian options were poor. There were no ‘extras’ i.e. plates of vegetables put out on the tables either which would have been nice. I created a spreadsheet with full guest names and choices of food on and this was sent to the venue a few days before the event. There were 26 of us and we were seated on a long table and were the only ones dining I believe. There were two or three waitresses serving us who were really lovely and obviously doing their best but I would say that the place just wasn’t able to deal with such a large booking. It was clear that all was not going well from the beginning, the starters were brought out and given to the wrong people, they then had to be swapped around and given to the right people by which time some of them had started to go cold, the same thing happened with the mains and also the desserts, even though another menu list of everyones names and choices were given out to the staff again during this time to help them out. One of our guests was gluten free and as there were no gluten free options on the menu we were sent I requested one of the dessert choices on the menu to be gluten free. This was highlighted in red and quite clear, however I thought I’d better check during the meal if it was in fact going to be gluten free, only to be told that no it wasn’t so it seems that the guest would have been given the gluten choice without knowing but because I had checked they were offered something else as a replacement, it was a bit last minute though and I feel just lucky that the only choice they offered was acceptable. We weren’t offered drinks, we had to catch the servers attention separately and ask for ourselves throughout the meal. The food, if you were lucky enough to get it when it was hot, was quite nice though but if you didn’t like mashed potato you would have been hungry. One of our guests stayed in one of the lovely rooms and had paid for breakfast, they were told it was from 8 – 10am however when they came down in the morning at 9.30 there was no-one to be seen, the place was in darkness all doors were locked leading to the dining area, a cleaner tried calling someone but got no response so our guest and his girlfriend had to leave without having any food. I think

Stayed in the Linden for one night before a flight out the next morning over the holidays and was so pleasantly surprised! I ended up having dinner in the restaurant and their lobster mac n cheese was excellent! Super friendly staff and the room was so lux. The breakfast in the morning was great, too. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Stayed at Linden for a long weekend whilst visiting family. From the moment i checked in to the moment i checked out nothing was a problem for the staff. Breakfast was amazing with lots of choices, both hot and cold. I did not eat lunch in the restaurant, but i had one of the best Sunday roasts I’ve have ever eaten! The service was excellent and the staff very friendly and knowledgeable. My room (9) the suite was just fantastic. So quirky and individual. It has a large bathroom with a rain fall power shower, roll top bath, his and hers twin sink. The bed and linen so soft and comfortable. Also it had a separate seating area with tea and coffee making facilities. Just a great room ! I had drinks in the bar on both Friday and Saturday evening and even the locals are super friendly. I will definitely be back on my next trip without doubt. Thank you Linden staff for a great stay, all the best for the future. Last but certainly not least, a big shout out to Adam for going the extra mile, a real credit to the team!!! Adam 💪🏻 the best!!!!

I booked a festive dinner for 4 on the 14th December. For context, the dining area was full with a table of 4 for us, a table of 2 seated next to us and then a large party of about 16 seated across from us. I cannot complain about the food- we all enjoyed the 3 course set meal. However, during the meal the incorrect drink was bought to our table... and at the time you think its an easy mistake to make given the service staff had that large party to cater for. I picked up the bill for my table of four as a treat so I did not give it a great deal of attention- but I did check the bill when I got home. We are charged for a bottle of wine and beer we never had. I didn't think it was too much of a problem that I'd just let The Linden know of their mistake. And I am only writing this review in light of how they have handled that. They said only a manager could make a refund- Thats fine let them know I said They said they would have to check CCTV to check I was not lying- fine please go ahead and check I said They said I had to leave the receipt with them- fine please take it as I have a photo of it I have followed up in person, on the phone, via email and insta DM and they just ignore everything. For the quality of service I would never return here even though I am a local in the area. The service staff on the night made a mistake because it was a busy Xmas night. But at the end of the day they only had 3 tables to bill so it shouldn't be too difficult to bill correctly and check. And if there has been an error, its how the establishment deals with that- and in this case its appalling Its a shame to not support a local business- but they have brought it on themselves

We visiting the Linden on Christmas Day as a family of nine. To say it was disappointing would be an understatement. Firstly, the service was appalling. All nine members of the party had pre ordered however the staff did not know what the guests were eating and just called out dishes in the restaurant and hoped someone had ordered it. The food all came out at different times. Half of the party had eaten their food before others had even been served. When the Christmas dinner arrived we then had to wait a further 20 mins for the vegetables to arrive by which the Christmas dinner had already been eaten otherwise it would have gone cold. Every table experience the same (even tables of two), it wasn’t just because we were a large party. When complaining at the end to the lady owner (who was walking around in sliders) we were told “we are short staffed and I have done you all a favour as I could have cancelled on you that morning”. The staff were rude and they couldn’t even get the basics of hospitably right. It was embarrassing. If you cannot accommodate guests you shouldn’t be in that business. All tables were complaining and as locals who live in the village we defiantly will never be returning. Absolutely terrible.

I would not recommend a stay at this hotel. I have recently booked in my mum, dad and sister for a Christmas Eve stay ahead of them joining us for Christmas Day. This was booked a special pre- Christmas treat for my family. My mum booked into the hotel restaurant online, only to be told on arrival that the restaurant was closed because the hotel had had staff walk out on them that day. They were booked into the Turkish restaurant over the road, however, this isn’t what my family had booked for Christmas Eve. Upon arriving and after her flight, my sister was looking to run a bath. She reported that there was no hot water and told to run a tap for a couple of minutes for the water to come through. She did this and it didn’t work. My family were on a tight timescale to get to the Turkish restaurant, after calling down twice and over 30 minutes later, my sister was told by the lady owner “sorry my husband was supposed to come up, but he’s dealing with an issue in another room” the water was mistakenly switched off and hot water resumed. My parents and sister met in the bar for a planned pre-drink before their meal at 7pm where the lady owner proceeded to tell them about the issues they’d been having with their team and how they’d be taking back presents they’d brought for those who failed to turn up for their shifts. It was clear they were having troubles and my family empathised saying they were sorry they’d had issues, the lady owner responded “it’s ok, it’s a good job I like you or I’d have kicked you out” although my family were sure this was tongue in cheek, this isn’t the kind of professional behaviour you expect in a hospitality environment. This is a special time of year and I wanted my family to have a nice stay. Instead, they were being told about the internal dynamics of a business that clearly wasn’t staffed with enough people to provide a service on Christmas Eve of all days. Instead, they were made to feel uneasy at the problems that were divulged to them. My family asked for confirmation of breakfast time for the next day, first being told 7:30 - 9:30, then that breakfast started at 8 and finally that the lady owner was “mixed up and losing her head” and that breakfast was in fact starting at 9am. No problem, the family were due to arrive at my home for 10:30 where we had morning activities planned with the rest of the family. The following day, my family arrived down to breakfast at 9:15 and the door was locked. There was no way to get into the breakfast room. Finally the lady owner arrived and said that more staff had walked out. Another table appeared to be complaining and the gentleman owner said “don’t you have a go at me, it’s not my problem”. My sister ordered a latte and the lady owner said “I’m not very good at coffee but I’ll give it a go” - after about 20 minutes tea and the latte arrived, the latte was lumpy and horrible, my sister ordered a different coffee and empathised with the lady saying how she’d have something