The Lord Bute Hotel & Restaurant — Restaurant in England

I am posting this as I sent the below to the hotel on 6th July after having having tea and I am still waiting a response. Dear Lord Bute Hotel - attention of the manager

I just wanted to make you aware of how disappointed we were with our afternoon tea we had with you yesterday. Especially as it was my birthday and our wedding anniversary. I chose your Hotel as it was near to Mudeford and Avon beach which is one of our favourite places and we had planned to visit for the day.

Firstly when we arrived for 3pm the time we requested and confirmed by yourselves, we were told the booking was for 4pm. My husband said no we definitely booked for 3pm and we were shown to a table. We asked if we could sit outside on the terrace and were told that you don’t serve afternoon tea on the terrace, which we found quite odd as it was a lovely afternoon and it clearly states this on your website. Afternoon Tea at the Lord Bute is the perfect way to catch up with friends, celebrate a special occasion or simply to treat a loved one. Served in our Orangery or on our terrace, you can enjoy a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches, scones and more! We have a great selection of finest tea and delicious freshly baked scones to go along with our locally sourced Dorset clotted cream, jam and butter….. the perfect combination!

We were asked if you wanted tea or coffee, my husband asked for coffee and I asked for tea. My husband was given a cup of coffee and i was given a pot of tea big enough for at least 4 people, no selection of finest tea was offered.

We were then given a plate of sandwiches covered in cress and were told you can be getting on with these!!!!!! NO ONE asked if we had any allergies or told us what were in the sandwiches, but they were ham, tuna, egg and something which didn’t taste very nice at all. The tray of cakes were then brought to the table, the scones looked lovely but were very warm, the other cakes look ok but a little disappointing not what we had expected, or have had else where. On opening the scones they were very doughy and once cooled down were hard and I couldn’t eat mine, my husband has his hot and said that it was ok but the ones I make at home were so much better. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make a good scone.

At no point did anyone ask if everything was ok, which surely should be normal practice especially in a five star establishment, my husband had to call to the member of staff to ask for a refill of coffee. When the other customers left the restaurant area the two members of staff were busy moving tables round, laying tables up and talking to the another couple who were also having afternoon tea, I noted that they were asked if everything was ok and the lady was even given a glass of champagne.

We decided that we would leave and asked if the cakes could be boxed to take with us, leaving the scones, which by that time were hard and inedibly , we were then given a box which I had to put together so that we could box them ourselves - perhaps this is normal practice after Covid but not that great.

Cording to your website, your afternoon tea is the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion, no one ever wished us a happy birthday or anniversary. This was a gift from our son and as I said I chose your Hotel as it looked the perfect place and given its a FIVE STAR I would have expected better than we received - such a shame and so so disappointing. Your website states Afternoon Tea at the Lord Bute is the perfect way to catch up with friends, celebrate a special occasion or simply to treat a loved one. Served in our Orangery or on our terrace, you can enjoy a selection of freshly prepared sandwiches, scones and more! We have a great selection of finest tea and delicious freshly baked scones to go along with our locally sourced Dorset clotted cream, jam and butter….. the perfect...

The staff were lovely. The heating was adjustable and the room was nice and warm. There was a kettle in the room and a good amount of milks, coffees and teas. The TV was a decent size. There was a safe in the room but we did not need to use this||This hotel is rated as a five star on some sites and a three on others. I chose this hotel as I thought it was 5 star. It certainly has that price tag. ||When I looked closely the carpet in the room was stained. The sink plughole was discoloured, the sink plug chain was broken, the plastic on the bottom of the glass bath screen was slightly mouldy and there was no fridge in the room which I would expect at this price level. The shower mat had a small stain and a throw on the bed was stained. I did not like the super huge cushions on the bed as clearly these are just chucked on the floor at night and then put back on the bed. There was no face flannels, no slippers or robes and the tiniest toiletries provided. The shower gel was so small I had to supplement it with the shampoo provided. I was unable to wash my hair as I had not bought toiletries with me. My friend used the tiny hand soap for his shower. The bed was very squeaky and I did not sleep well in it although my friend said he was comfortable. The room was quite small. ||At breakfast the tea was lukewarm. I asked for another pot and this was not much better. The cooked breakfast was quite tasty but small. There was one piece of bacon, one sausage, an egg and an egg cup size of beans. There was some mushrooms, tomatoes and toast. The toast was burnt. We had to get our own salt and pepper from another table and had to ask for butter. Breakfast was not buffet style, you put your order in with the staff. However there was no breakfast menu; we were given a verbal list of things we could order without details of what sort of cereals or pastries were available. Juice was not offered although we saw other guests have this. The chairs in the restaurant area were stained. ||Parking was very limited and being a small car park very difficult to navigate. ||I had tried calling the hotel many times prior to my visit and there was no answer. My friend emailed with some questions but these were not answered and the response from the hotel was for him to phone. ||Unfortunately I would not choose to stay here again. I expect far more from a hotel that charges such a high...

We returned to the Lord Bute yesterday for the first time since our wedding reception which was held there in 1997 when Chris and Simon had just finished the orangery. They pulled out all the stops for us that day and our guests still talk now about the incredible time they had at The Lord Bute. This time we were celebrating a family 70th Wedding Anniversary with two very sprightly 93 year olds! From start to finish the experience was absolutely first class. Our waiters could not have been more helpful and friendly, food was absolutely excellent and the champagne was perfectly chilled and very reasonably priced I thought. We arrived to a specially printed personalised menu - something which I had not even requested - which my Aunt and Uncle were totally thrilled with. We stayed with the set menu and my tortellini was one of the best I have ever eaten, the lamb superb and the prawn and crayfish cocktail excellent. They even knocked up a bowl of fresh mushroom soup especially for my Uncle despite which arrived in record time and was delicious. We live mostly in London and are no strangers to fine - dining but my experience at the Lord Bute yesterday was up there with the likes of J Sheekeys, The Ivy and Jason Atherton’s best. Quite simply a first class venue, first class service, first class food and incredible value for money. If you are looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy a fabulous dining experience, don’t even think about looking anywhere else, the Lord Bute has it all! I do not usually write reviews but felt I simply couldn’t let yesterday’s great experience go without comment. Thank you so much for making our Plantinum Anniversary pair feel so well and truly celebrated and we will most...