RHS Garden Hyde Hall — Attraction in Chelmsford

Well when we finally got there and paid, we went to the restaurant. I'm afraid to be honest it was a bit of a disorganised shambles. As a first timer, we knew nothing of the restaurant's ways, there was no notice in the entrance way to say what you had to do in how to order, you were only informed by a small notice when you had joined the que too late. This meant we had to lose our position in the que, choose a table, pick up a reserved table label and put it on the table and hope you don't lose the table when you went to join the que again. We had no clue. The first waitress that informed us a bit, gave us totally the opposite to what was written on the notice that we finally saw, the second waitress that we'd asked us for help treated us in a condescending way as if we were babies needing to learn things from her from scratch. "Do you understand now?" is what she said, instead of saying "Are you both ok now, is everything alright?" Is there anything else you need help with?" No! I tried to let her know, she didn't like it, she informed her line manager. Who then tried to make out she was good with Customers! 😆 Really? Going back to what happened next, we joined the que after doing what was asked, when we had got back two poor visitors felt uncomfortable and embarrassed when we had to let them know that we had already reserved the table they were sitting at. I'm not sure if they knew what they had to do either. They had only moved the Salt Pot off of the reserved label we'd put there, and put their tray on top of the label! The label reads that the table is reserved for a Customer who is queing. It was a total ruin of our day when we had come to the garden to distress after losing my Mum and Dad's Wife. It really stressed us out! A suggestion It would be better to join the que, get a wooden spoon with a number on, you go away to choose a table, then you display the wooden spoon. The Waiter/ress then sees where you are quickly. No more embarrassment for anyone. Happy day is the result! At the moment it needs re organising. The food we were given was Dad suspected, left in the Oven too long. it was a panini type thing with sticky pork recipe inside. I think we should've brought our 'Garden Groom' hedge trimmer to open it with, it was that hard to cut. Sorry for the sarcasm, but that was how it was! The only nice thing I liked was the curried sticky Pork. We did let one of the Waiters know, he said "That's how it's meant to be!" He didn't even try to cut it himself. Oh well! Total...

A First-Class Stroll (With a Bit of a Taxi to the Trolley)

As someone who’s spent years gliding through the clouds serving Earl Grey to the great and the good in British Airways First, I’ve developed a bit of a nose for service and a deep love for a beautifully kept garden. So a visit to RHS Hyde Hall in Essex felt like the perfect way to stay grounded while still enjoying some floral first-class touches.

Let’s start with the good news. Hyde Hall itself is truly lovely. The gardens are beautifully kept and varied, from the dry gravel garden that wouldn’t look out of place on a chic Ibiza hillside to more traditional English planting that would make any Chelsea Flower Show regular weak at the knees. It’s the kind of place where even the bees seem to be buzzing politely.

There’s something charmingly serene about wandering through the borders and spotting a plant that takes your fancy, then being able to buy it from the onsite garden centre afterwards. I left with a few floral souvenirs and even a rather fetching garden sculpture (because nothing says “retired trolley dolly” like a bit of tasteful garden art). Prices at the garden centre are definitely at the “you’re treating yourself” end of the spectrum, but it’s all beautifully curated, and the plants I picked up looked very healthy.

Now, to the service. Oh dear. While the staff were friendly and helpful, the speed of service in the cafés was, how shall I put this, more “delayed departure” than “priority boarding.” I visited two different cafés during my wander, and in both cases the queues moved at a glacial pace. It’s not what you expect from RHS standards, and I did hear a few grumbles from fellow passengers. A shame, because the food itself was decent enough once you’d cleared the holding pattern.

And finally, a small niggle: trolley bays. Or rather, the complete absence of them in the car park. Having parked right at the far end, I had a good five-minute walk back to return the trolley to the garden centre. No small feat if you’re elderly, or simply weighed down with petunias and garden gnomes.

Overall, Hyde Hall is well worth a visit. It’s a beautifully kept slice of English horticultural heaven. Just pack your patience along with your...

Went to see the Daffodil show yesterday. There were some really beautiful exhibits, did not know there were such small sized varities of these flowers too. Well done to all the participants, great to see all your efforts.👏

Stopped for delicious hot chocolate about 11.15am at the restaurant at the top of the hill. Drink was served in a nice tall glass. The chocolate muffin was great too, but a little on the dry side. Had a nice walk through different parts of Hyde Hall, all very scerene and beautiful. The volunteers were busy doing their respect allocate task, very well organised.

The lunch in the main restaurant was a little deceptive, have attached the menu board which is located on the wall above the servers. The server herself was a little abrubt too, a contrast to the server at the top of the hill restaurant. The very start of the menu under Chef's Promise, top left of the board , mentions the following:- " Soup of the day Enjoy our homemade soup of the day with a selection of breads or a baked cheesescone Please see our daily specials board for options." 4 There was no price mentioned on the board, you can clearly see this in the picture. So at the till my wife asked what the soup of the day was and what it was served with. The server mentioned plain, granary bread and scone options. Then she said the soup was not served with any bread and they were a separate item.

How Preposterous.

So we ordered the soup with the scone, A jacket potato and some well done chunky fries which was brought to our table. I checked the bill. I was charged £6.95 for half a bowl of leek and potato soup. I did not know I was dining at the RITZ. And then being charged an additional amount for the accompanying scone. Who serves soup without bread and then have the audacity to charge extra for the bread. Then £3.95 charge for chunky chips, for 9 pieces of potatoes was not much better.

I think these points need addressing. You cannot advertise an item as the very first item on your menu and not display the price, hope to see this corrected on my next visit

Food issues apart, the weather was fairly pleasant with a chill and occasional sun bursts. Nice few hours of...