Harbour Hotel Sidmouth — Hotel in East Devon

I sent this complaint to the hotel directly but I have received no acknowledgment or apology so I’m posting it here.

I had a voucher for a spa day/afternoon tea. First of all getting a booking was really really difficult. On 19 June I emailed and received no reply. I also used online contact form and received no reply from that either.

On 14 July I called 576180 and 513252. I received no answer on either number. On one number I was on a holding system for 1/2 hour before I gave up. The other number had numbered options but none of them lead anywhere, just looped back to the menu over and over.

I then emailed again and got a reply asking me for my details in order to book. I replied with the details requested and then never got a reply again. When I chased it up the receptionist claimed to have not had my details despite them being on the email chain.

I then had 2 confirmation emails regarding my booking, one saying to arrive at 12pm and then another one saying to arrive at 1:45pm. A tad confusing.

When I went to the restaurant after my treatment the man who appeared to be the head waiter (dark hair, short beard, accent) seemed really annoyed about everything and wasn’t making any effort to hide it. When I asked him about a table for my booked afternoon tea he rolled his eyes, sighed and stomped off to check my name on his computer. On his way someone at a table asked him for help and he huffed at her, rolled his eyes at me and then said “I literally can’t split myself into 2 people” then stomped off again sighing and muttering angrily. It made me feel really uncomfortable and unwelcome. He came back and seated me shortly after, like I was a piece of dirt wasting his time. He didn’t wait for me to pick up my coat and bag and I had to look around for where he had gone to find my table. For someone working in the hospitality industry, he really seems to hate people! A different waiter brought me my tea but forgot the milk so I had to ask for it (he was at least polite!). Then my afternoon tea was brought over, slammed on the table and the head waiter stomped off before I had a chance to tell him that I’d ordered a vegetarian one and the one he’d brought me had meat and fish on it. I felt so uncomfortable calling him back again that I just ate the cheese sandwiches and took the meat ones home for my husband. I realise that I should have raised this at the time so it could have been remedied right away but honestly the waiter was so rude it just wasn’t worth the way he made me feel.

This was the first afternoon off I’d had to myself in 4 years and I’d been really looking forward to it but I came away just feeling really anxious and let down. It was meant to be a relaxing pamper day. Sadly the only relaxing bit was the 40 minute treatment; the rest made me wish I’d never gone.

On the good side, the spa treatment I had itself was really great. The swimming pool is very nice and clean. The hotel is in a beautiful location, great views. It is decorated really nicely, clean and comfortable. Shame it was all let down...

AVOID!!!

I booked a three night stay for New Years, 30th December until 2nd January. Upon arrival I was told I was unable to access my room at 3pm as it hadn't been cleaned yet and had to wait in reception with my luggage for 45 minutes. Once in the room I was shocked to see how shabby the room was, every wall marked, scuffed, everything thick with dust, curtains stained, filthy windows, marks on carpet... the list goes on. My room (on one side) over looked the bin store and the kitchen fans.

I asked reception if there was any way I could be moved to an alternative room, however, understandly due to the time of year the hotel was fully booked and another room was not available. I decided to let this go and try my best to enjoy my stay. The ladies on reception are a credit to the hotel and we're so helpful and polite.

The service in the restaurant was abysmal. I asked for a Latte coffee at breakfast and I was very rudely told I wouldn't be able to have a Latte due to the fact there was not enough staff available to make me one. I waited 40 minutes for my breakfast to arrive and had eaten my entire breakfast before my filter coffee was brought over. Every table in the restaurant was complaining. Staff were rude and the food was poor.

I then returned to my room to find housekeeping had "cleaned" my room. They had literally threw my bedding back on the bed and walked out. They left dirty mugs, glasses, bin unemptied, towels on the floor in the bathroom. I made a complaint with the general manager, Jason. He wrote everything down in detail and said he would make investigations and get back to me with a resolution. This did not happen.

Later that day, my partner overheard a conversation a manager was having with another manager in the hallway. The conversation was about us and the complaint I had made earlier that day. Nothing had been actioned throughout the day and they having a conversation about my complaint in an open hallway which is completely unprofessional and shows nothing was going to be done about my complaint. My partner made the manger aware that we were able to hear the conversation her and the other manager were having about us and she became very defensive. We were made to feel as though everyone was talking about us and actually felt intimidated in the bar/lounge area.

I booked this hotel with the view of attending the NYE gala, which unfortunately we did not attend due to the amount of upset and horrendous service we had received. After this stay we will never return to the Sidmouth Harbour Hotel and feel very upset about the whole experience, completely ruining our New Years Eve. I had conversations with other guests staying at the hotel who was also appaled at the quality of service and how shabby the rooms were. It's not the 4 star service and rooms advertised.

Made a complaint to Harbour Hotels Head Office, zero response....

Seen the advert in the telegraph and as we needed a break after my hand op. The advert gave a splendid description of the perfect two night stay for only £198 per night including breakfast and an evening meal with parking on site. We wanted a sea view room and had to pay £100 extra for that. Total cost nearly £500. Before our stay we had an email from the hotel to welcome us and to tell us that if there was not enough parking on site there was a public car park we could use and they would re-emburse us the parking fee. I rang to say that as my husband was disabled we would need a space close to the hotel. The lady said she would reserve one as long as we had a disabled badge which we had. When we arrived they had no idea as it wasn't noted. We eventually were given one after I said we were not happy. The hotel is very tastefully decorated but it was built for fashion and not function. The first thing I noticed that the signs were hard to see as they were white characters on a grey backround. The stairs were covered in vertical stripes to match the vertical stripes on the carpet which made it difficult to see where the stairs started and ended. The hot and cold signs in the bathroom are practically invisible. The sea view is nice but you have to look over a large ugly flat roof just outside our window, about 30 feet long. The hand shower was leaking heavily from the hose making it difficult to hold.I reported this to the reception but nothing happened. The food was disappointing to say the least. Its very difficult to have two courses within the price allowed of £27. The ravioli I ordered on the first night was tasteless. The soup of the day was cauliflower and like porridge. The soup of the day the following night was THE SAME SOUP. On the second night I ordered chicken with crispy potatoes and as there was no vegetable included I ordered salad. The chicken came with cabbage and peas which was not mentioned on the menu. My husband ordered sea bass with new potatoes and clams. He thought the clams were just for dressing but the plate came with tiny sea bass and at least 12 mussels in shells,some of which weren't open. The new potatoes were exactly the same as my crispy potatoes which were in no way crispy or new. They looked brown and were like mush (overcooked) or left over from the day before. ? Everything was overpriced for what you actually got on your plate. The drinks were extremely over priced. The staff were either young and inexperienced or not really interested in what we had to say. The waitress on the last night could see we were not really happy and offered us a 10% discount but that us not what we were looking for. The hotel is not maintained very well and the beautiful parquet dining room floor is desperate for a makeover (it's so dirty) Needless to say we loved Sidmouth but would not stay in your hotel again

WHAT...