Clubrooms — Local services in Crawley

Restaurant Review: The Club Room at Both Terminal

Date: June 9th, 2023

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5)

I regret to inform you that my recent dining experience at The Club Room at North Terminal was nothing short of a complete disappointment. From the moment I entered the establishment, my expectations were shattered, and the evening continued to plummet downhill from there.

Upon arrival, I was met with a lackluster reception. No warm greeting or acknowledgment of my presence was given, which is a basic courtesy one would expect when entering a supposedly upscale venue. Unfortunately, this lack of hospitality set the tone for the rest of the evening.

First and foremost, despite having purchased a ticket that promised table service, there was none to be found. It was utterly perplexing to be sold on the idea of attentive waitstaff only to be left to fend for myself. I had to repeatedly flag down staff members for even the most basic requests.

To make matters worse, the food arrived late, leaving me famished and frustrated. The buffet area, which should have been brimming with enticing dishes, was shockingly empty and devoid of options. It appeared as though the staff had neglected to stock it adequately, a grave oversight for any dining establishment.

Furthermore, the lack of attention to detail was apparent in every aspect of the experience. Dirty tables remained untouched and uncleared for hours, creating an unappealing and unhygienic dining environment. The staff seemed disinterested and unmotivated to provide even the most basic level of service.

Speaking of the food, it was a far cry from what was promised on the menu. The kitchen's execution fell woefully short of expectations. One example that perfectly encapsulates their lack of competence was the cheese plate, which arrived with clotted cream instead of the promised chutney and celery. Such a blatant oversight demonstrates a severe lack of professionalism and care in the kitchen.

As if the litany of disappointments wasn't enough, the temperature inside the venue was unbearable. With no air conditioning in operation, the Club Room felt suffocatingly hot. It was a stark contrast to the refreshing and comfortable environment one would expect when paying a premium for such an experience.

In summary, my visit to The ClubRoom at North Terminal was a terrible ordeal that left me feeling ripped off and dissatisfied. The absence of a welcoming atmosphere, the false promise of table service, late food, empty buffet area, dirty tables, lackluster staff, and subpar cuisine all contributed to an utterly disappointing dining experience. I would strongly advise against wasting your time and money on this...

The scoring across the board says it all really. We visited June 2024 never did an airport lounge so was excited to give it a try, after the experience unlikely to do it again. We arrived 20 minutes early friendly guy allowed us in early, noted we had added champagne greeting drinks to the booking and would look to sort them soon. Seated us and showed us where things were so pleasant introduction. Seating area we chose and table grubby not clean at all seating really unclear crumbs everywhere and the whole place felt bit sticky grubby etc. Sat and sat and sat while the waitress attended a couple for about 20/30minutes getting them to upload a positive review online with a OR code. When she finally came over asked if we wanted drinks we said well your colleague has advised they would sort champagne so better had wait for that before ordering any more drinks but she took our food order (food by the way I have had better microwave food). 1 hour in and no champagne which we paid extra for and no one coming to check it we wanted anything additional. So I went to seek a member of the team and queried having the champagne we paid for refunded as it was 1 hour into a 3 hour slot we booked to be there. The member of the team was pleasant and apologetic advised she wouldn't know how to refund it but as a gesture of goodwill would offer us a bottle of champagne. We accepted and she brought it over to us and apologised again, and we finally had our first drinks since being there. The first waitress then avoided us for the rest of the time we had to go find her to order a gin and tonic each. Which she responded that she would bring them over, when she did so she quizzed us about if we had been delayed, if we were both fit to fly and just asked too many questions it was bizarre....sorry we had no drinks for over an hour and we have had 2 glasses of champagne at a reasonable hour of the day which no indication of being rude rowdy loud etc. were were in fact the quietest guests in there showing no reason why we wouldn't be fit to fly or intoxicated at all. We finished the gin and tonic and left after being made to feel uncomfortable staying there. For the price we paid, the poor service, the accusations of being drunk when we hadn't had chance to have a drink and the overall cleanliness and offering I would say .... Don't bother, Wetherspoons food be better, quicker and you be guaranteed to be served and get more than one drink to start your...

As a party of 7, we arrived over 2 hours before our flight was due to leave. Staff had our flight number and were informed of the time we needed to place lounge. After viewing the menu for 30 minutes we placed orders. Starters and mains could not be delivered within the 1 hour remaining. Had to plead with staff for food to arrive from kitchen. When some food did arrive, it was small and the portion size was tiny. During conversations with staff asking why food was taking so long, we were rudely told that "we were not the only customers in the lounge".

The service was below what we expected and we would definitely not use the lounge again. In my complaint letter to the company I was accused of 'negatively impacting the experience of other guests'. All i did was complain about the service received and the added stress before flight of receiving our food last minute.

As a party of 7, we arrived over 2 hours before our flight was due to leave. Staff had our flight number and were informed of the time we needed to place lounge. After viewing the menu for 30 minutes we placed orders. Starters and mains could not be delivered within the 1 hour remaining. Had to plead with staff for food to arrive from kitchen. When some food did arrive, it was small and the portion size was tiny. During conversations with staff asking why food was taking so long, we were rudely told that "we were not the only customers in the lounge".

The service was below what we expected and we would definitely not use the lounge again. In my complaint letter to the company I was accused of 'negatively impacting the experience of other guests'. All i did was complain about the service received and the added stress before flight of receiving our food last minute. If a customer receives bad service and remonstrates with staff, educating them on how to meet customer expectations, the assertion that you are acting in an Intimidating manner, is quite frankly insulting.

We were a group of young professionals including two pilots, a GP, an NHS professional and business owners, and this was some of the worst customer service we have ever received.

In summary, don't bother using the lounge. Spend your money elsewhere with a company that knows how to deliver what I promised and actually cares about customers. In summary, don't bother using the lounge. Spend your money elsewhere with a company that knows how to deliver what I promised and actually cares...