Hart's Hotel and Kitchen — Restaurant in Nottingham

I'm truly disappointed by my recent visit to Hart's hotel. It had been many years since my last stay, and the changes were apparent from the moment I approached the entrance.

As someone who consults in event and service management industry, I couldn't help but notice the lacklustre entrance and atmosphere compared to its previous glory. While the receptionist was SO welcoming, it became evident, during our time at the bar, that the staff were young and inexperienced, failing to deliver the level of service I remembered.

My Martini order was a disappointment, garnished with olives drenched in oil (they had garnished with the bar snacks) rather than the plain as expected. When I requested a change to wine, I was surprised to be informed that I would still be charged for 50% of the Martini, even though I hadn't consumed it.

My visit was intended to celebrate my grandmother's upcoming nuptials, a bittersweet occasion for our family given the recent passing of her daughter, my mother. We had hoped Hart's would provide a special place to relax and prepare for her big day.

Upon entering our rooms, it was clear they fell below par. The walls needed a fresh coat of paint, and there were stains around the bathroom/toilets. The overall condition of the suites, including the pricey garden room, was shabby and showed signs of wear and tear. The most unpleasant sight was the overflowing cigarette bin sat outside the door of the garden room we had booked for my grandmother. Despite requests, it remained in place until our departure the next day.

During my preparations for dinner, I observed five builders, all guests at the hotel, frequently using the ground floor lift for noisy work and cigarette breaks. This constant activity left the ground floor smelling of tobacco, and one builder seemed to have made use of the mini-bar was drunk and wondering around the car park all night. At that moment, I regretted not choosing a different, more tranquil local hotel.

Dinner was a letdown, both overpriced and bland. As we sat at the bar, we couldn't help but overhear disagreements among the waiting staff. One of them, possibly on her first day, repeatedly brought incorrect dishes to our table, including main courses while we were still enjoying our starters. We had to request cutlery, and plates were cleared before everyone had finished eating. Our dissatisfaction led us to skip dessert after hearing the staff's arguments.

The quality of sleep was subpar, as the beds were not as comfortable as expected, lacking the softness of duck feather bedding.

The next morning, with only 30 minutes to spare, we eagerly anticipated our pre-ordered £18 breakfasts, hoping to enjoy them in the garden with our grandmother. Unfortunately, the food arrived stone cold, with toast as hard as boards. We asked the manager to reheat the dishes due to our time constraints, but upon their return, the plates were hot while the food remained cold, with overcooked poached eggs and solidly stuck beans. We managed to eat only a few bites, knowing we'd be without a proper meal for most of the wedding day.

As my 80-something-year-old grandmother waited in the reception area with a glass of fizz, I explained our collective dissatisfaction with the breakfast. Consequently, we requested not to be charged for it.

Regrettably, the service I received from the manager, Adam Worthington, was the worst I've ever encountered. He completely misjudged the situation, insisting that the food was hot and disregarding our concerns. His dismissive response, "Did you eat the food?" left no room for further discussion, even after we explained the significance of the day to us. Onlookers and other staff members in the reception area were left astonished. With just 10 minutes to spare before the classic car arrived to collect my grandmother and me, I had to shift my focus to what truly mattered.

I remember Hart's as a place for pre-drinks, meetings, or romantic dinners, but it seems to have lost its charm. It now feels like a joke, overpriced, with underpaid staff and...

Mr Worthington, In response to your reply (below) to the review I posted on Tripadvisor on 28 July 2022 (given that Tripadvisor does not offer the facility to comment on responses provided by the establishment being reviewed), I would like to add the following comments:

What is truly interesting is that you have chosen to personally take the credit for the intervention of myself, my family and the other guests who intervened halfway during our celebratory dinner for my son's graduation to stop the 70 year old lady in question who it would appear was suffering from heatstroke whilst attending your restaurant from choking when she collapsed falling backwards and almost landing on her head whilst having a major fit, none of which was witnessed by either you or any of your staff. It was I who asked the reception to call the ambulance. Mr Worthington did you really reply in your response below that you did not require our (attempted??) intervention? Her husband who had not witnessed the episode, for some bizarre reason that escapes me, did not want the paramedics to attend and check out this 70 year old lady and when I returned to check on her following the 999 crew asking me to do so, you all but told me to leave. You not only neither acknowledged or thanked us for our intervention, you blatantly avoided any form of eye contact following the incident on several occasions over the next hour or two, which I find absolutely astounding. You say yourself that your restaurant was not designed to cope with temperatures of 40 degrees plus and you are absolutely right, and this begs the question why you did not make any provisions for this given that you had had lots of advance warning by the met office. No fans or air-conditioning units had been installed and in my opinion the heatstroke suffered by the lady could have been avoided had you taken the necessary steps to safeguard your guests. I note your response fails to mention the pile of vomit located only a matter of feet away from the table at which we were dining which had still not been cleaned up the following day. Nor is any mention made of the penny pinching tactic of charging without warning for newspapers that are offered on arrival. I would just like to advise guests that it is all well and good when things go well, but you can really judge an establishment by how it responds to negative reviews Mr Worthington's responses are almost always defensive and never appear to take ownership of any reported problems. Sadly the guest does not have the benefit of being able to respond to Mr Worthington's clever use of words. I am assuming you are hoping to avoid a Health and Safety enquiry. Mr Worthington, you are delusional.

Dear Mrs Ingham,

Thank-you for your interesting feedback.

Our restaurant is not designed to cope with temperatures of 40 degrees +, so we were delighted when you chose to dine “Alfresco”.

In relation to the rather unfortunate episode in your review our account differs from yours.

The husband of the lady who took such an unfortunate turn did not require your attempted intervention, and nor (regrettably) did I. I am further reassured that the team and I handled the whole matter very well by the thanks expressed to me by her husband, her whole family, the paramedics and indeed the lady who fell ill herself, all of which was further supported by the lovely card I received some days after the event thanking the team and I for our efforts under such stressful circumstances.

With best wishes

Adam...

Disappointed is how I would describe…We booked a Garden Room for a Saturday night at £249 and then my partner called to add the celebration package as a surprise for me. We arrived at 15.15, it was pouring with rain, the car park is tiny and was already full. We were directed across the way to leave the car. The room was very small given the cost and quite outdated. The bathroom was almost a large cupboard behind a sliding door with no extraction so it got very hot and streamy. |The flowers and Champagne had been delivered to the room. The flowers are from an external company and were beautiful. |There were also 4 tiny petit fours with the bubbly. |The room was way too tiny to accommodate to the promised breakfast in the room with Bucks Fizz as there is nowhere to sit together. I think when we called to upgrade the package, we should have been made aware there is no table / chairs in the room. |There are two chairs and a table outside in the shared garden, but given the pouring rain, we were never going to be able to eat out there. |The celebration package also included turn down service and breakfast with fizz in the room, no of which happened. |There was no complimentary newspaper delivered the following morning either. ||The following morning we went down for breakfast, it was short staffed and very busy. |We went to the hot buffet, the bacon, mushrooms and scrambled egg were all empty. The toast arrived cold…No butter came with it and we spent forever waiting for it…|The coffees and juices took well over 20 minutes to reach the table too…||Other guests were still arriving and having to wait to be seated, disappointed faces came away from the buffet as the serving dishes were replaced in dribs and drabs. ||All in all, I have stayed in much cheaper places and got far more for my money.||To put in some kind of prospective, my room in the Premier Inn at Heathrow last Tuesday night was larger, more modern and more equipped.||A disappointing stay for a couple that were looking forward to 20 hours of...