No longer our favourite hotel in the Lakes
We have stayed at this hotel many times since our first visit on our wedding night, 44 years ago. It has always been our first choice of hotel in the Lake District, not posh or pretentious but comfortable and the perfect place for a break with dogs. With this in mind, we booked through LateRooms.com for our 44th wedding anniversary staying two nights 1st – 3rd August 2019.
On arrival we checked in at reception and were advised that we had been allocated a room in the annexe. We had never previously had a room there but is was perfect for us with our two small dogs as it was a ground floor room with easy access to the garden. We were asked whether we wanted to book a table in the restaurant for dinner, however we opted for a meal in the adjacent Riverside Bar instead in order that we could take our dogs with us.
The Riverside Bar provides traditional “Pub Grub”, nothing special and we felt that the price of the starters was a little excessive. My husband chose stuffed mushroom for a starter and expected to receive a large flat mushroom for £9 when in fact the portion size was minute and gone in three mouthfuls. The steak pie which he chose for main course was however acceptable and he cleared his plate so it must have been good. I chose pate for starter, which was o.k. and traditional scampi and chips for main. The scampi was served nicely in a paper cone but the chips although home made were not to my liking as I felt they were a little soggy. The bill for food came to £45.45 in total and including the drinks which we had we spent a total of £62.65. It should be borne in mind that there is a notice on the bar stating that if you order a steak there will be a 40 minute wait for it which will probably result in you having to order more drinks, hence adding extra to your bill. Also, if you are visiting in the summer when it is hot bear in mind that there may be wasps in the bar; my husband had to deal with several for me during our meal!
Our first night was uneventful and we awoke in the morning looking forward to our “award-winning breakfast”. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. My husband opted for the full English which was a shadow of previously enjoyable meals. The sausage, tomato, black pudding and bacon had been overcooked/reheated as to be dry and tasteless and returned untouched. I asked for smoked salmon and scrambled egg however was advised by the waiter that unfortunately they had run out of salmon. The ordered toast never arrived but was offered by a member of waiting staff as we were leaving our table. No points awarded there then, considering only 7 tables appeared to be set for breakfast that morning.
Our second night was our main cause for complaint. The 'Perfect for a peaceful and relaxing break' was advertising stretched to the limit. The “Return to the comfort of the Scafell Hotel for a relaxing and luxurious night's sleep, complemented the next morning with an award-winning cooked breakfast” could not be further from the truth on this occasion. During Friday night right outside our bedroom window and, in close proximity to the hotel reception window, we endured a noisy party of guests being served food and drink from a campervan until the early hours of Saturday morning with scant regard for other hotel guests. This rowdy group continued to party late into the evening, but we presumed that by 11.30 they would desist, and reception would ask them to remember that other guests might like to sleep. This was not the case and by midnight we were incensed, regrettably the reception staff were no longer on duty at this point to complain to. This raucous gathering continued until 00.40 Saturday when the driver retired to his campervan to spend the night on the hotel car park. We had not realised that camping overnight was now being offered by the hotel.
We eventually retired at 01.30 after the guest in the adjoining room turned off his television viewed at a raised sound level presumably to counteract the external noise. Relaxing and luxurious night's sleep!! We didn't think so!
En route to breakfast the following morning we called at reception to ask to speak to Andrew Nelson, Managing Director. The receptionist on duty stated that he was not in at present but was expected at some point during the day. My husband then asked for his e-mail address to which the receptionist asked what it was about. When my husband stated that we had a complaint, she merely proceeded to write down the e-mail address, did not express any concern or enquire further what the problem was or whether anything could be done to resolve the matter. Clearly, she was not interested nor had any intention of advising Mr Nelson that there may be a complaint coming!
Final breakfast Saturday morning, expecting an award-winning breakfast with the hotel having a higher occupancy, and possibly a more experienced chef in the kitchen our expectations were again shattered! Yes we have smoked salmon today said the waiter, excellent we thought so I ordered this and my husband ordered the smoked haddock with poached egg. Things were on the up! My husband’s disbelief when the haddock arrived must have been priceless. I have never seen a smaller portion of fish served for a meal. He was so shocked at this point that he did not realise that the poached egg was missing!! The waiter explained that the chef had advised this was a standard size serving.
My smoked salmon and eggs turned out to be a fillet of grilled salmon steak on top of separated scrambled eggs! This was smoked salmon for a lunch or dinner time, not a traditional breakfast offering. I expected delicate strips of smoked salmon with nicely scrambled eggs as pictured on any Google search. Needless -to-say, the scrambled egg and smoked salmon were returned to the kitchen untouched. The toast did arrive this morning, but as wholemeal only, and not the mixed toast requested. My husband pointed the missing poached egg out to the waiter on leaving the dining room, his only comment was, I asked you if everything was ok, with a total disregard for customer service! Maybe the kitchen staff were having a joke at our expense owing to returning the previous grilled breakfast and commenting on lack of toast, however if this is the case it is extremely disappointing.
On returning home my husband e-mailed Mr Nelson, but the e-mail was returned as undeliverable as the address was incorrect. He then telephoned the hotel to check the address and was given the correct one. Mr Nelson acknowledged our complaint on 6 August promising to come back with a more thorough reply in the next few days. At this moment in time after two weeks he is still awaiting a detailed response.
You can gauge the professionalism of an establishment in the way they respond to a complaint. In this instance the Scafell Hotel has failed to fulfil its’ mission statement “to improve the hotel’s reputation through the utmost care of customers”.
Mr & Mrs Davis
20 August 2019
Unprompted review
