Ardencote Manor Hotel Country

My complaint relates to the appalling customer service we received from Ardencote on one of their "Free Fridays".

We were getting married in a local registry office and we thought Ardencote's offer would be quite a novelty and good value way of entertaining our family and to fill the gap between the service and our evening meal. I visited the club at the start of July to ask if it would be possible to bring 14 guests and explained that we would be looking to congregate around and in the outdoor hot tub and have a glass of champagne there. The leisure staff were really helpful and said this would not be a problem, they'd be delighted to have us there. So I booked us in. Following our wedding a week later, we arrived at Ardencote and our guests duly gathered in the hot tub area and we ordered 2 bottles of champagne. There were 2 people in the hot tub and we asked if it would be a problem for them and they said no, they were delighted to join in as they were also drinking champagne. The bar staff came out to serve us. So far, so good.

Then a man came outside (who we later found out was the Operations Manager) and told everyone quite rudely they weren't allowed outside unless they took their shoes off. The friendly bar staff looked quite shocked and told us (as they were standing there in their shoes) that they had never heard this rule before and that it only applied to the swimming pool areas, not the hot tub. Everyone then took their shoes off but our elderly grandparents had no choice but to go and sit inside before we had even drank a toast. Within 5 minutes, the same rude man came outside and told us that no-one was allowed outside unless they had their bathing costumes on - this was definitely a new rule as the staff were not wearing bathing costumes and also we had checked beforehand that it would be okay for our guests to stand around in that area. There were no signs regarding shoes or costumes.

What ruined our afternoon was not so much the fact that we had all come to be together and toast our wedding and that we were now separated (4 of us in the hot tub the others now standing indoors) but the shocking way in which this man spoke to us. When we had calmly explained that we had pre-checked this would be okay and that he had inconsistently gone from saying No Shoes to No Clothes, his loud retort, for all our guests (and the 2 people in the hot tub) to hear was "I'm not being funny but you're on a freebie so you don't get a say". This would have been excruciatingly embarrassing had we not told our guests in advance that it was a free offer, but was still fairly humiliating in front of the 2 kind strangers there with us. We were left feeling embarrassed, belittled and worthless. The cringing bar staff gave us a discount on our champagne without us even asking as they felt so bad about what had transpired.

Later, we heard this same man talking down to some other staff as if they were dirt on his shoe. Language and behaviour that you might not be surprised of in a down-market caravan park, but certainly not in what is supposed to be an elegant and classy establishment. Their Operations Manager is a very poor communicator and certainly not an ambassador for a 4 star hotel.

My advice would be, if you don't like people coming on "freebies", don't invite them. Their treatment of us ensured that we would not be signing up for membership (as 4 of our party had intended to do) and also that we will never frequent Ardencote again. Very short-termist and probably not the result that their "Free Friday" marketing had intended.

When we complained to the Ops Manager about the way in which he had spoken to us (more like intruders or squatters than customers and potential members) he said he was fully supported by the Managing Director. I hope this review ensures that no-one else's weekend/wedding is ruined by ignorance and arrogance.