The Angel & Blue Pig — Restaurant in New Forest

Booked a table in advance for a treat for mum on Mother's day, the Angel has always been a pleasant way to spend a few hours so thought it would be ideal. Nice friendly greeting and good table, we were presented with the menu and told that a few items were unavailable. We ordered our starters and main courses. A little while later, the waitress came to tell us that one of the starters was unavailable. Unfortunately, this was mum's who is vegetarian. She chose something else, something described as cauliflower wings, (I didn't know they could fly) this starter arrived and to me they looked overdone and after trying them, mother confirmed that they were indeed overdone and tasted burnt. Called the waitress to explain, she apologised and offered to change it or swap for something else. Mum resorted to the soup. After a few minutes, the waitress returned, very embarrassed, to say that if we wanted to change the starter, we would have to pay extra! (Managers orders) Mum said she wouldn't bother with the starter, didn't want to cause a fuss. About an hour later, the mains arrived. Brother had a steak which he said was OK, mum had a vegetarian dish, a flan with veg and potatoes but then smothered in very thick gloopy gravy. (Nobody was sure if it was a meat gravy) it also had developed a skin so had obviously been stood a while. I had pan fried sea bass with garlic King prawns, vegetables and crushed potatoes. It was served in a small bowl, the bass was extremely small, three hard prawns, handful of frozen veg and potatoes all covered in a bland pink sauce. The only redeeming factor was the potatoes which tasted good. When we were asked 'was all ok" I started saying that my meal was very small and... but before I could comment anything else, she said 'oh well, never mind ' and walked away. I had a desert because I was still hungry which was fine. Our original waitress came to clear the table and was very apologetic regarding the whole experience and to be honest, she was the only pleasant thing about lunch. All in all, nice place, nice staff (mostly) all let down by the food quality. Also, if you are going to have live music, it needs to be good quality and at a background level of volume. I heard quite a few...

A Very Disappointing Stay

Arrival: Our arrival at The Angel and the Blue Pig was far from welcoming. A stale and unpleasant atmosphere permeated the lobby, and the staff's bickering amongst themselves created an uncomfortable first impression.

The Room: Following a frustrating check-in where my wife was nearly knocked over by a swinging door which is located right next to the check in desk, I lugged our luggage up a narrow, hazardous staircase to our room. Upon entering, we were horrified by the state of cleanliness. Stained carpets, hair clumps in corners, and a grimy bathroom resembling a pub loo painted a picture of utter neglect. The pervasive pub food odour and constant noise further eroded any hope of relaxation on our babymoon. Dirty bed sheets, with a heavily stained bottom sheet, solidified our decision to leave immediately.

Disgraceful Conditions: Within 20 minutes, I returned to reception, demanding a cancellation. Shockingly, the receptionist admitted the hotel was under new management with an inadequate cleaning staff. It was utterly unacceptable that they knowingly accepted paid reservations for rooms in such a deplorable state.

Thankfully, a Solution: Fortunately, our reservation was cancelled, and we secured a stay at the fantastic Stanwell House in Lymington which was luxurious and comfortable, a far cry from the Angel and Blue Pig.

Post-Stay Issues: The nightmare wasn't over. Despite the receptionist issuing a refund, they routed it back to Booking.com without informing us. This resulted in a frustrating three-hour phone ordeal with both Booking.com and the hotel to rectify the issue. Even a simple confirmation email with the correct hotel address proved too much for them, forcing Booking.com to process the refund regardless of the improper format.

Local Insight: Conversations with Lymington locals confirmed our suspicions. The Angel and the Blue Pig enjoys a well-deserved reputation for poor service and inadequate standards. The photos on the website and booking.com do not reflect the actual state of the property.

We strongly advise potential guests to avoid this establishment and seek...

We Booked this hotel for a 3 night stay as a birthday treat, the hotel was very dark and tired looking, I booked it as the location was great in the centre of the town, and also because it had a bar, as a lot of accommodations were bed and breakfast in this area. We were very disappointed as the bar was closed up a 9 o clock in the evening, which really is not want you want when booking an hotel, we were told it was because of staff shortage, but as the rates were £119 per night so we would expect to be able to sit in the bar area for a drink after being out for the evening, this was not mentioned when booking the accommodation. We really did not want to retire to our room so early. Also the breakfast had to be pre ordered, which was ok but I would have preferred a buffet style when choosing the continental breakfast, and not being handed a dish with a packet of cereal in! I ordered eggs benedict the first morning which both mine and my sisters was Luke warm, as it was our birthday we didn’t want to make a fuss, when ordering anything other than a continental breakfast you have to pay a fee of £8 extra, so again disappointed, so I did not order a cooked breakfast after that as I expect a cooked breakfast to be served hot, the boys ordered a full English which was served hot, clearly ours was left on the side until the full English breakfast was ready to serve, the coffee was not always hot and you had to ask for a refill. The rooms were so hot although there was a small fan provided, but it was not sufficient for the purpose, and when you opened the window which was limited, the kitchen fan was very noisy underneath our window. I would not recommend this hotel and certainly not...