Qype User (Sonia…)
Yelp
I stayed here on self prescribed, R&R three night break last summer and loved it so much I booked another two nights after New Year. Again the place was lovely and relaxed, and the guy in charge of the pool/ gym when I used it was so friendly, I wanted to kidnap him and take him back to my gym at home, but...........
I did notice a few more 'glitches' this time that may well put me off returning again.
1) At breakfast time they seem to have an obsession with cramming everyone onto as small an area of the restaurant as possible. The net result is that with the tables being so close to each other, you almost ended up feeling like you were sharing a table with complete strangers. Additionally, as breakfast is sometimes a buffet, you're forever conscious of people always moving around you and/or always being conscious of not wanting to disturb others when you go to the buffet.
2) My second issue is also with the breakfast and how measily the portions are when it's not self service. Personally, I feel that if you're paying the best part of £13 for a cooked breakfast, you really expect a bit more than 1 tiny sausage, 1 mediocre bit of bacon, 1 small grilled mushroom and 1 fried egg that roll around like tumbleweed in the middle of an enormous plate. When I saw other people whipping out their magnifying glasses when their 'full Welsh breakfast' was plonked down in front of them, I decided to be brave and specify that I wanted 2 of the sausage, bacon and mushroom with my scrambled eggs, (which I figured would still give them a tidy profit). However, when the chef, at the open kitchen, i.e. In full view and earshot of the dining room, saw the order he barked at the waiter, 'is this for two people?' to which the waiter replied 'no it's for the greedy one over there'. Now reading this back, I'll grant you it does sound funny, but to be honest it's not really what you expect in an apparently 5* hotel when you've already spent a fair amount of money in the place over the previous few months and are paying quite a hefty price for breakfast.
3) They charged us for a side order in the restaurant at dinner that was supposed to have come as part of the main course.
4) Whilst they have always charged a premium for the rooms with views over the Estuary, they have also apparent recently introduced a £15 surcharge if you wish to request a room on the first floor overlooking the Marina. I can understand why they have done so, but all the same it really is a bit greedy and grasping.
Therefore all in all, although I absolutely loved the place in the summer, enough to make me want to return again in the winter, having seen one of the suites at The Osbourne in Llandudno, I suspect that when i return to the area again, I'll be calling The Osbourne first.