Last week a friend, having seen afternoon teas advertised on their website, booked for three of us as a girlie birthday treat. As we arrived in the lovely old building we were met by the duty manager(perhaps) and told tea was on it's way and ushered us into the modern bar area- all purple retro and tub chairs, probably pleasant enough for a drink, but certainly not for the old fashioned afternoon tea we were expecting. There was plenty to eat, but little finesse and little choice of cakes- a square lump of sponge and a slice of walnut loaf. We were not given a choice of tea(as advertised) it just arrived. We rather felt that doing tea was a bit of a nuisance. When asked if all was OK, my friend passed on her disappointment, that what was supposed to have been a real treat, was just a very ordinary experience. Even the napkins were cheap paper ones- we thought he might have bought us proper ones after it was pointed out. His excuse was that some staff were off sick and the kitchen was closed - not our problem. To our amazement no discount was offered on payment. Buck up Castle Hotel, people who book your advertised tea are people who want a treat and are willing to pay for good service, not paper napkins on low tables in a bar.More
- Free Wifi
- Free parking