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Complaint entered by
Wendy Malpass

We were booked there from 30-12-2007 - 2-01-2008  - 2 double rooms under the name of Malpass.

 

Our main issue is that on the evening of 01-01-2008 we went for our evening meal at the allocated time of 6.00pm. On arrival we were given soup and told there was no other choice.  The soup was cold and when we complained we were told by the waiter that he knew it was cold  but that there was nothing he could do about it and so did the kitchen staff. No effort was made to warm the soup or offer an alternative starter.

 

We were then told that the main course would be a  self service buffet.  Considering the amount of people in the restaurant at this time and looking at the queue of diners waiting in a long queue for their meal it was reminiscent to a cattle market with people pushing and shoving in order to get some food. There was no organization and no control.  The people who managed to get hold of some food said it was disgusting and of a very poor quality.

 

I went to look for the manager but was told there was no one on site this evening, it was total and utter chaos and nearly descended into a riot when people were unable to get to the food, or what was left.

 

The four of us then decided not to stay as we could see what food would be left if and when we actually got it and, consequently we walked to a local pub and purchased an evening  meal.

 

The next morning at breakfast I looked again for  the Manager but was told he was not available until 10.00.a.m. I discussed the previous nights events with the restaurant supervisor and he agreed it had been extremely bad and that there was to be a meeting about it that morning but said he couldn't do anything about it.

 

It was utterly disgusting and disgraceful.

 

When handing in our keys I asked again to see the Manager, he was rung by the receptionist , I waited for over 15 minutes, but did not have the courtesy to see.  I have tried since to phone him but I am just getting excuses and I haven't been able to speak to the Manager.

 

This so-called Gala Buffet was only the tip of the iceberg, we also had other complaints as follows which we would have dismissed as an extremely bad experience and not bothered to complain.

 

The waiting staff were rushing you at all times and on numerous occasions forgot to serve you, they took away your meal before you had finished it without asking and when they didn't do that they bought the next course whilst you still eating.

 

The organisation was non-existent.   The quality and quantity of the food was appalling,  the food was substandard and cooked extremely badly.  The crockery was dirty and you had to clean it off yourself.  When coffee and tea was served the pots were all chipped and broken  and wouldn't pour properly;  this was a health and safety hazard.  When the coffee was spilt on the table,  which couldn't be avoided,  the same cloth remained on the table covered in stains for 3 meals after,  so the table we were eating from was filthy as was other peoples. 

 

The bar staff couldn't speak English so on several occasions served the wrong drinks.   The beer served was bad and undrinkable but very expensive. 

 

The entertainment was extremely amateurish and unprofessional,  there were 5 people in the team and the Entertainment’s Manager was the only good singer,  the other 4 couldn't sing.  

 

The toilets around the ballroom were dirty, had not been cleaned properly and smelled appalling which filtered into the corridors.

 

All in all the place was run down and substandard and it was obvious that they were cutting corners to try and save money. Everybody was complaining saying how bad it was and when we told the locals where we were staying they all said it was a repulsive place and they wouldn't go in. 

 

All in all it cost us £209 each,  £836.00 in total and it was an utter waste of money. It’s such a shame because we stayed there last year and loved it, hence the reason we came back this year.

 

Please help us and have a look into this complaint, I feel it is totally justified. If nothing is done about this and if nobody is told about it, it may go worse still and a lot more people who look forward to their holidays will just waste their hard earned money.

 

  
We received the complaint from Wendy Malpass following her stay at the Lyme Bay Holiday Resort over the New Year Period 2007/2008
and we passed it on to the Hollybush Hotel Group who own the Martyn Leisure Breaks Group which comprises of the following resorts/hotels
Lyme Bay Leisure Resort, Lyme Bay
Sand Bay Leisure Resort, Weston Super-Mare
Russell Hotel, Weymouth
Prince Regent Hotel, Weymouth
The Sherborne Hotel, Sherborne, Dorset

We asked the Hollybush Hotel Group to look into Wendy's complaint and, hopefully sort this matter out and we suggested that they should offer the Malpass party a refund for their disastrous stay or, maybe, a free break at one of their other resorts to show that not all the places they own and run are as bad as the Lyme Bay Resort. We also asked them to confirm to us that this is not their usual standard and to assure us that they will discuss this matter with their staff at Lyme Bay to ensure that it will not happen again.

Whilst they responded fairly quickly to Wendy Malpass they never got back to us and so we will leave it to the visitors of this site to draw their own conclusion.

As you can see from the letter from David Saunders they have offered Wendy a refund of £ 100.00 or a 25% discount off another break and we understand that Wendy has decided to accept the £100.00 which, we thought, was a bit miserly at it only accounts for just under 12% of the price they paid to the Hollybush Hotels Group.



Lyme Bay New Year
Three Nights. Half-Board Break £209

• Gala Dinner
• Grand Fancy Dress Competition
• Nightly Cabaret
• Brunch on New Year's Day
• Grand Buffet Dinner
This is the letter Wendy received from the Hollybush Hotel on the 18th January 2008  

I am writing in reference to your letter written to Hollybush Hotels and forwarded via The Complaint Shop regarding your stay at Lyme Bay Holiday Village over the New Year period.
You raised many points some of which I would agree with and others that I would not, I accept that the buffet service on the 1st January was not up to our usual standard in so far as the control of the service area and the number of service points. A buffet has been served for the last 3 years and has been received extremely well, however, this year a new system was in place, which I agree did not work as we would have hoped for.
The result of this was that guests had to queue for long periods in order to be served; indeed, you gave up and went elsewhere. The General Manager was not available on the evening, however, there was a Duty Night manager available, the General Manager was on duty on the 2 January and available to meet guests, although this is obviously a very busy time with over 300 guests departing. I apologise that you were unable to meet with him; however, it is not clear whether you had a definite appointment or visited Reception and requested to see him.
I do not understand you not being able to contact Mr Roberts by telephone as we have no record of any such calls, he is always available to speak with guests, although it may have to be a call back call on occasions.
We have no record that you spoke with the Food and Beverage Manager regarding your service prior to the New Years day buffet issue, in which case, we would have ensured that your service was attended to.
I disagree with your statement regarding the overall standard of food served at Lyme Bay, we have many returning guests each week of the year and indeed have over 200 guests returning from 2007 already booked for the 2008 festive period. Again we have no record of you reporting dirty items of crockery and cannot understand your comments regarding chipped tea and coffee pots when they are either stainless steel or plastic insulated pots.
I accept that we do employ some foreign staff as do many industries and most hotels and restaurants, however, accidents and mis-heard orders can be served by both foreign and British staff often background noise and accents can cause a mistake to be made.
I do not understand nor can agree with your statement that the worldwide brands of Carlsberg Lagers and Tetley’s Beers are undrinkable, they maybe not your usual brand that you drink at home but they are not undrinkable. Our prices are definitely higher than a private club; however, they are in line with local pub prices.
I accept that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however, the vast majority of our guests would disagree with you and the entertainment standard and style is one of the main factors why guests continue to return to Lyme Bay year after year and indeed several times a year.
Your comments stating that local residents say that the centre is repulsive and terrible is extremely strange, it is public knowledge that when the site was possibly going to close well over a year ago, that there were protests in the town centre to actually keep the site open as it was a great attraction for the town. The centre was also recently voted the Best Overall Inclusive Holiday Village by Group Organisers and the Group Travel Organiser Magazine. It has also had is annual assessment by Visit Britain and was again awarded a 3 star rating in the Holiday Villages category.
In conclusion, I do accept that a mistake was made in the service and organisation of the buffet on New Year’s Day evening and apologise that this did cause some inconvenience and disappointment on the night; however, I disagree as stated with other of your comments.
As a previous guest, you did say that you enjoyed yourselves in the past and so I’m sure that you would accept that the problem on New Year’s Day dinner was unusual. Therefore as a gesture of goodwill and in full and final settlement of this matter, I would like to offer you and your party £100 refund of monies paid or a 25% discount off brochure tariff for another break, which could be taken up to and including the 2008 New Year period but does exclude Special Events and Sole Occupancy dates.
If you would like to take up this offer, please contact me at the address below, I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely
David Sanders
Group Operations Manager

Editors comment

There is nothing more we can   add.
Wendy Malpass has decided to accept the offer of £100.00 refund for her party and we can't tell you if they did take up the problems they had with their staff at the Lyme Bay resort as they never got back to us.
We will leave it to the visitors of this website to make up their own mind over the Lyme Bay Leisure Resort

Further details about the resort can be found at the following website

 http://www.hollybushhotels.co.uk/lyme_bay.htm

Lyme Bay Resort Layout
click  picture to enlarge