Thomas Arms Hotel — Restaurant in Wales

Ruined Christmas Day! 1hr 45 mins waiting and no food so we went home...

We booked Christmas dinner out for the first time, but unfortunately had a pretty terrible experience. Firstly there was no-one at the entrance to welcome or seat you, and after wondering around and going to the bar we were told to wait at the door to the function room to be seated. Opposite the entrance, there was a storage room door wide open with tables and cloths all over the floor in a right mess which pretty much set the tone of the experience.

We were then brought into the rather brightly lit room and seated on our table next to the bar, my wife's seat was on the hard wood floor of the bar area so ended up with people queuing around her most of the time we were there. The room layout and tables used were shocking. There were Christmas crackers but that's about it, no glasses of bubbly on arrival and minimal decorations. Just white table cloths in a brightly lit room that felt like a school canteen with the basics on the table along with an A4 sheet of paper with our surname printed on it. I can honestly say I've experienced a more Christmassy setup and atmosphere in a tent in Afghanistan on Christmas day many years ago.

There was no table service or drinks orders taken, we ventured to the bar and ordered our own which I don't mind, just expected more. We were booked in for 14:30 but arrived and seated at 14:20. There were 2 waiters who appeared from the kitchen door now and again with some food and the manager frantically pointing at tables to direct them to, but in all there was minimal food on tables and a lot of people sitting around waiting to be fed.

By 15:15 my wife joined the queue of complaining people at the kitchen door asking when we should expect our starters, only to be told it's on its way. Roll on another 20 to 30 mins and it was my turn to enquire, only to be greeted with a manager who was surprised to hear we hadn't had starters yet. I asked honestly what the wait would be for main course once starters were plated, and was told probably about half an hour or so (which in reality would have been another long wait which isn't acceptable for a family of 4 including a young child).

Needless to say we weren't prepared to sit there any longer and waste our entire Christmas day, so I asked for a refund and we put our coats back on and left. I honestly think they were probably releived to have 1 less table to serve. Upon leaving we spoke to a few other guests who also had a similar experience, with one saying we didn't miss anything as the quality of food was apparently terrible.

I spoke to the manager again today and he said the refunds should be actioned and will take about 5 working days, he also said 5 staff called in sick which I'm not sure is true or not. But even with that in mind, there was no apology for ruining our Christmas day meal. Luckily we had the ability to cook a meal at home, but this is the first time my wife and kids have not had a Christmas dinner on Christmas day although we paid £200+ for this disappointing experience. The Thomas Arms has really gone downhill and we won't be returning until they have resolved their current lack of quality and professionalism and returned to a customer...

Domokos Zsolt Mate London, United Kingdom 13369 It’s a “meh” experience Review of Thomas Arms Hotel by Marston's Inns Pending review Reviewed via mobile This is my 2nd time to come to this hotel, although the first time to stay over night too. Let’s start with the hotel itself: located in a very good area close to many shops, barber, tattoo shops, close to Selwyn Samuel Centre and manageable walk or short drive from the beach too. It has a limited car park in the back, close to the reception. Seems like the bar and the reception was refurbished to some extent. The hotel has function room, and the buffet type of restaurant, and plenty space to sit inside or outside in the bar garden. Sadly, it’s a place where people come drinking excessively, so until the bar opening hours it was very noisy, and seemingly the bar staff didn’t do much about it, or maybe they are not trained well how to diffuse noisy people. My room was number 4, which has no air conditioning or any fan coolers to tackle with the immense heat in the summer, therefore, my comfort was impacted by this. The windows cannot be open much, so not even a cross-wind attempt helped to sleep well on this occasion. The room seemed like refurbished though! The furnitures and material used in the room has a very nice and calming feeling, yet, modern and stylish. The fridge was filled with a pre-filled cool water. I wasn’t able to use the TV, the remote controller seems like broken or not working properly. The room is equipped with a water kettle and Nespresso machine, with different type of sugars and sweeteners, selection of tea and coffee. The bathroom is small, but very clean and practical, and the towels were clean, and soft too. On the other hand: as you walk to the rooms you can sense that it is under refurbishing or maybe an under-managed staff, because the carpet or rug on the floor is incredibly dirty, even the vacuum cleaner was left there. Some decorations, or door steps also show that some works are underway. Not sure if that side of the building is in use or not where the rug is uneven but be careful, the rug at places isn’t even, a really serious trip hazard. When I came to the reception to check out, it took a total of 13 minutes to talk to someone. I rang the bell multiple times, once the young gentleman who checked me in originally walked by told me he is getting his colleague to help me. I paid 85 for a single night here, no breakfast, no room entertainmens, no air conditioner or fan cooler, while my friends stayed in a different hotel close by at a much better price and amenities, so I don’t think I will...

This is my 2nd time to come to this hotel, although the first time to stay over night too.|Let’s start with the hotel itself: located in a very good area close to many shops, barber, tattoo shops, close to Selwyn Samuel Centre and manageable walk or short drive from the beach too. It has a limited car park in the back, close to the reception.|Seems like the bar and the reception was refurbished to some extent.|The hotel has function room, and the buffet type of restaurant, and plenty space to sit inside or outside in the bar garden. Sadly, it’s a place where people come drinking excessively, so until the bar opening hours it was very noisy, and seemingly the bar staff didn’t do much about it, or maybe they are not trained well how to diffuse noisy people.|My room was number 4, which has no air conditioning or any fan coolers to tackle with the immense heat in the summer, therefore, my comfort was impacted by this. The windows cannot be open much, so not even a cross-wind attempt helped to sleep well on this occasion.|The room seemed like refurbished though! The furnitures and material used in the room has a very nice and calming feeling, yet, modern and stylish.|The fridge was filled with a pre-filled cool water. I wasn’t able to use the TV, the remote controller seems like broken or not working properly.|The room is equipped with a water kettle and Nespresso machine, with different type of sugars and sweeteners, selection of tea and coffee.|The bathroom is small, but very clean and practical, and the towels were clean, and soft too.|On the other hand: as you walk to the rooms you can sense that it is under refurbishing or maybe an under-managed staff, because the carpet or rug on the floor is incredibly dirty, even the vacuum cleaner was left there. Some decorations, or door steps also show that some works are underway. Not sure if that side of the building is in use or not where the rug is uneven but be careful, the rug at places isn’t even, a really serious trip hazard.|When I came to the reception to check out, it took a total of 13 minutes to talk to someone. I rang the bell multiple times, once the young gentleman who checked me in originally walked by told me he is getting his colleague to help me. |I paid 85 for a single night here, no breakfast, no room entertainmens, no air conditioner or fan cooler, while my friends stayed in a different hotel close by at a much better price and amenities, so I don’t think I will...