George,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to contact you at Golf Travel Specialists before I submit an on-line review. As you are well aware, feed-back from your customers is absolutely essential for the on-going improvement of your product packages and it’s essential that a positive outcome, from those that have booked with you in the past, that drives the future of your business.
I’ve been organising golf weekends for over 20 years at various locations in southern England (and Wales) for groups of up to 12-16 and, by and large, they have been well received by those that I invite. However, I regret to inform you that our experience at Meon Valley Hotel and Country Club was less than satisfactory. Sure we all understand the restrictive nature that the hospitality industry has gone through and will no doubt continue to suffer, but there were issues that were identified by various members of our group that have prompted me to get in touch. Without delving too deep into each, I think a simple list of areas that need improving is more than enough for your company to be concerned and perhaps galvanise you into contacting the hotel for comment..
On arrival in the car park, the first thing we saw was rubbish skips that were overflowing with rubbish strewn over the adjacent area.
The reception desk is the first impression one gets when entering the hotel. It looked like they were in the throes of packing the place up with boxes stacked behind the receptionists.
When we went to have our pre golf meeting in the bar area we discovered that there was no food available, only tea,coffee or soft drinks!
We were also told that there was ‘no beer’ on tap! This is totally unacceptable for a hotel that purports to be a ‘Country Club’ There were other players there too justifiably complaining about this situation. Sure, they had bottles of beer but not quite the same! Suffice to say, we had to adjourn to a local pub (1mile walk) to get a proper beer and we probably spent £300 or so in that establishment. Money that the hotel could have easily gained and been thankful to your company for delivering the business to them.
The golf course was OK.
Our evening meal was incredibly poor. The menu was catering for a different set of clients. None that were booked into the hotel. In terms of rating the food, I’d give it 4/10.
Breakfast wasn’t much better either.
I think that the staff were really good considering the circumstances.
I understand that the hotel is run by Britannia Hotels and was formerly Marriott (the clue was in the old Marriott bedroom carpets!) which is a shame as Marriott are definitely a step above the Britannia group…... and it showed! The hotel looked very tired and could do with a bit of a freshen-up. Surely, anyone would have thought that a year of lockdown could have been used to make themselves presentable when the travel restrictions were lifted.
It would benefit your business if someone from your company could evaluate the hotel for
