This was our second stay at the Cricket Inn, and it was mostly good. We booked three nights on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis.||It was quite hard for me getting up the stairs to our room (The Oval), but once there it was light and bright with plenty of room to put stuff. It also had the all-important walk-in shower – sadly I can sadly no longer clamber in and out of over-bath showers. The wide window seat provides a great place for watching the sea just across the road.||The hotel is justly famous for its food. Sadly, dinner on the first night was not the restful experience we had been looking forward to all day. We waited some time for our order to be taken, then some more time for the starters to arrive. My husband had chicken liver pâté with some little round brioche loaves, which he said was very good; I had cauliflower velouté. The bowl it was in was warm, but the contents were hardly warm at all; perhaps it had been prepared in the microwave. After the starters were cleared we waited... half an hour, before eventually asking what had happened to our mains. As if by magic they appeared; could they have been sitting on a hot plate? Other people who had ordered after us were served before us, etc. This was all very disappointing, as the mains when they came were actually very good – I had vegetarian arancini and my husband had a whole turbot (one of the day's specials.) We did receive an apology, and a reduction in the price of our (very good) bottle of wine, but still...||Breakfast was good, though it should be, as they have won awards for it. My husband had the 'full English' (or most of it – unlike me, he is not a fan of black pudding.) I had a waffle with bacon and maple syrup. We could also have chosen smoked salmon bagel, kippers, etc. Orange juice wasn't freshly squeezed, but perhaps that would be too much to hope for? The weather was warm enough to sit by the open door of the restaurant, facing the sea, which was very pleasant. The breakfast waitress is the best thing about this hotel; she is cheerful and enthusiastic, and always welcomed us with a ready smile.||The restaurant seems very popular, and people clearly come from some distance to eat here, as Beesands is not exactly on the way to anywhere. The building has quite a history which is worth exploring, and I liked the changing display of old photographs on the screen in the restaurant – they include processions of children in their Sunday best, and elderly fishermen proudly displaying their catch of giant skate.||On to our second night. At first everything seemed to be going swimmingly with our dinner; we ordered just main courses (because starters seemed to confuse them), and the meals came out pretty quickly – ahead of some other diners who had ordered before us (not so good.) We were asked if we'd like desserts, we said yes, we were given menus, and then we waited... and waited... After about 25 minutes someone came to take our order (most of the staff seemed mysteriously to have disappeared by that point, and those that remained were totally focused on clearing away glasses.) My husband commented that there seemed to be something seriously wrong with their system. As before, after we had complained the desserts appeared very rapidly. But I just don't like having to complain; it spoils my dinner. The (fish) specials did not change during the three nights we were staying.||On the third night a miraculous transformation took place! It was a largely different team and everything went brilliantly; no waiting around, everything was proactive, from the jug of iced water being brought without asking, and on throughout the meal. So a happy ending to this...
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