Lizzie Banks
Google
My husband and I chose this hotel based purely upon the majority of its reviews. Sadly, our own experience fell short of the mark. My husband has an allergy to peanuts and so we always show extreme caution when eating out. At breakfast, we asked the waitress if the muesli contained peanuts. She kindly checked with the chef, who reassured her that it did not - only a possibility of the usual risk of cross-contamination.
Trusting that information, my husband ate some, but within minutes suffered a serious reaction, which was only abated after administering epinephrine using his epipen. This was not a minor case of cross-contamination. He was left with severe side effects for the rest of the day effectively cutting our mini-break short.
I took the epipen to reception for safe disposal and to alert the hotel to the presence of peanuts in the muesli. The member of staff on duty became immediately defensive. Rather than showing the concern I had expected, he insisted repeatedly that there ‘were no peanuts in the muesli’ and declared that he would be sending some into town for testing ‘in case I decided to sue him!!!!’ I was horrified and extremely upset as this comment felt particularly jarring as my husband is American and I felt that the comment was a flippant reference to a cultural stereotype as opposed to any genuine concern for what had just happened. Shocked, I asked to speak to the manager, only to learn that he was in fact the owner!! At that point, I knew there was little chance of being heard.
Once my husband felt well enough to move, he sat outside the restaurant whilst I packed up our things and transported them to the car. Not one person checked on him, no one apologized, and no one showed the slightest concern that a guest had just had a potentially life-threatening reaction in their restaurant. On check-out, I asked for a refund for the breakfast we couldn’t eat, which was given, but again with no apology.
This review isn’t written out of spite — we know this hotel has many excellent reviews. But guests with food allergies need to know how this upsetting issue was dealt with. For us, it wasn’t about money — it was about trust, accountability, and basic human empathy, all of which were sadly missing.
