The Lygon Arms — Restaurant in Wychavon

Stayed here for 1 night (16/4/25) in the main hotel. I hadn’t expected an attic room. The room was incredibly hot so we turned the radiator down, went out to explore & then ate dinner in the JM Grill. The room was still excessively hot so we turned the radiator off & attempted to open windows. Some windows wouldn't open; others only a fraction. We settled down for the night. However, the radiator continued to blast heat out, making sleep impossible. The ensuite had a very noisy suction toilet; also not conducive with a good night's sleep. When we reported the radiator problem the next day during check out the receptionist appeared disinterested & asked if we'd reported it before; we hadn't because it was only during the night's stay that we’d discovered the thermostat didn’t work. We were made to feel as if our dreadful night had been our fault. If we had been staying another night we’d have had to change rooms. As it was, I couldn't have been more relieved that we'd only booked 1 night. Dinner in the James Martin Grill was also a major disappointment. The Maître d' showed us to the table & presented the menu. I enquired about 1 of the dishes & he told me he didn't know the answer but the waiter would explain the dishes. However, the waiter had no knowledge. He went to the kitchen to find out what 3 of the dishes were but could only remember 2 when he came back & had to go & ask the chef again. My husband was eating his starter when our main courses arrived. The waiter put them down on our table & began walking away. We asked for them to be returned to the kitchen. The waiter looked very unsure so I pointed out that the kitchen would have equipment to keep the mains hot whereas they'd just go cold on our table! However, when they were returned to the table some items were hot & some were cold. Terrible! Food was nicely presented but distinctly lacking in flavour. Breakfast was equally poor; staff were standing chatting & giggling, not tidying up the buffet table or replenishing items; despite there being another hour before the breakfast service ended. I ordered a cooked breakfast & found only 1 item was edible. The rest was cold; including scrambled egg which only takes minutes to cook fresh (it clearly wasn't). Bacon rashers were so cold that they'd formed 1 solid congealed lump that couldn't be cut through. I ended up toasting the last stale crumpet to eat. I generally don't eat a large breakfast but had certainly expected to have more than 1 sausage & 1 crumpet. My husband’s breakfast was equally poor. Staff didn't come to clear our plates until we got up to leave the table, & despite seeing all the food left on the plates, didn't inquire as to whether everything had been okay. When we checked out, the receptionist asked how our stay had been. We explained the difficulties we had with the stifling hot room & also the dreadful dinner & breakfast. Without us asking she removed the price of the starter from our bill; we weren't asked if we considered that fair recompense; which it obviously wasn't as our 1 night, dinner & breakfast cost close to £500. Initially when we reached the reception desk to check out there had been a man tidying up the hotel brochures. As we began to outline our experience he disappeared behind us. When I turned around I saw him peering out from behind a pillar in the next room! I wondered whether he was a duty manager & too cowardly to face customers; most bizarre behaviour. The whole place, especially the restaurant & kitchen, had the feeling of being used as a training place but with the absence of anyone delivering training or supervising. The restaurant hadn't been busy during dinner nor breakfast so there was no obvious reason for this abysmal state. Following our stay, we received 2 automated feedback survey requests; 1 for the restaurant, & 1 for the hotel. I gave very low ratings & detailed reasons for this. Included was a question as to whether someone could contact me to discuss; I agreed. It's now 6 weeks later & no contact or response has been...

This could be a spectacular venue but is totally and utterly let down by its service.

Like so many beautiful venues in England (and the Cotswolds) there is no attention to detail, no ‘sweating of the small stuff’ and instead just random decision making and enforcement of ‘policies’ by completely inexperienced junior staff given an inch of ‘power’ enacting rules set by absent, greedy management. Something which is sadly now common place in England and a travesty compared to the hospitality of the old ‘inns’ where anyone was welcome and greeted affectionately.

Our experience was as follows…

Saturday 16.00 we walk into the Tavern which was completely empty and ask if we can come in for a drink and sit at the small bar only to be greeted by a nervous young staff member who rushed over to tell us rather abruptly and rudely that we couldn’t come in as the bar was ‘reservation only’. This was at a time when the high street was packed and the bar was completely empty…

Saturday 18.15 we had a reservation at the Grill. Here the food was actually excellent (Prawn cocktail and salmon to start followed by lamb shank and ox tail suet pudding) the wine was reasonably priced and the service was really good.

Saturday 20.00 we moved into the lobby bar choosing to sit on one of the leather chesterfields by an open fire. Whilst deciding on our drinks my partner was sat on the corner of the large wooden table so we could both look at the menu only to be told by a young obnoxious server that she ‘wasn’t allowed to sit on the table’ and to ‘sit on the sofa’. When challenged on why this server felt the need to make this bizarre request we were told ‘the table is old and might get damaged’. The table was a basic rustic solid oak table in no way an antique or in any danger of ‘damage’. We then commented to the manager how we had just been treated and the young server was not seen again after the manager agreed that this was completely ‘ridiculous’.

Later in the same evening (22.00) a local couple came and sat on the sofa only to be approached by another young obnoxious server who asked if they were hotel or restaurant guests. When they said they were not but that they live in the village and had ‘popped in’ for a drink they were immediately asked to leave! The reason given was that the lobby was reserved for restaurant and hotel guests. At this point the lobby bar was 30% full as it stayed for the rest of the night….

At 23.00 we were told it was last orders for ‘non residents’! Again what a random ‘rule’ when we had just paid the equivalent of a two night stay in the restaurant….

On paying we were confronted with a bill that had an automatic 12.5% Service charge which we refused to pay due to the shockingly poor service which clearly came as a surprise to the young server who then proceeded to ask ‘if everything was ok with the...

We went to the Lygon Arms for dinner on Saturday evening and I cannot believe how terrible the service was. From the moment we arrived, the service was poor with plenty of staff around but they certainly didn't care to serve anyone. After being sent back and forth several times when just wanting a drink, we eventually gave up and went straight to our table. The waitress wouldn't acknowledge our food order and I had to request wine glasses when they brought the bottle of wine over without any glasses. We were not allowed the Christmas Dinner menu as apparently this is only offered at lunch time - despite this being called Dinner and us going there during December. The food was OK but for the price - it was not the fine dining experience we hoped for. Then to top off what was already a disappointment, we were eating our desserts and cheese and crackers when we were greeted at our table by a staff member telling us we had to give our table up which we agreed we would do. He then stood staring at us when one of my friends asked "do you want us to leave now". He replied yes and we all immediately had to get up and leave. There was no pre-warning, apology for making us move whilst we're eating or even offer to help move the food into the lounge. So there we all are carrying our cheese plates and drinks into the lounge which again we had to ask the staff to bring us cutlery as we'd left that on the table as unable to carry it all. Again plenty of staff around so it wasn't a case of them being rushed off their feet, there was also lots of empty tables behind us so unsure why we were asked to vacate our table with it also being gone 8:30pm at this time. The staff couldn't of been any less accommodating if they tried which is not what you expect when you're paying at least £80 a head for dinner. When we complained to them, they said they couldnt help after we picked up our plates - what a terrible customer service response when they never offered to carry our food across in the first place. I don't think I've ever had such poor service and such a shame as the venue is stunning and we were all looking forward to having a special Christmas Dinner. I definitely will not be returning unless the hotel goes under new management and would definitely not recommend. I'm sure the empty tables that evening were a clear sign of others not wanting to return as they I'm sure have had bad...