My taste of hotel service at its worst

My job entails a fair amount of travelling and so often requires an overnight stay in a hotel.

I am not a great lover of staying away. Sitting eating meals on my own is awful, but some of our northern branches are just that bit too far to travel there and back in a day.

When I'm away, I try hard to keep a low profile, rarely making a comment on service and standards unless I feel it is absolutely necessary.

However, having to stay away for a couple of nights recently in the north of the country highlighted to me how some hotels sell a product but then completely let themselves and the customer down when the service levels do not match up to the promise.

Arriving at the first hotel quite late in the evening after a fraught journey on the M6, I arrived at reception. Why do some reception staff think guests automatically know where their room is and then, when the guest asks to be shown, they make no effort to help carry their bags?

I struggled up several flights of stairs following a reluctant member of staff, and my room was indicated at the end of a corridor. After opening the door to a perfectly acceptable room, I found I could not get the key out of the lock. As I was several corridors away from help, I decided to wrestle with the key and, after several attempts, it worked loose. Ready for something to eat and drink, I decided it was time to go down to the lounge.

After a 10-minute wait at the bar (the receptionist was the bar person as well), I gave my order. I asked how much the 150ml glass of blanc de blancs was, and I was told £3. Now I certainly do not mind paying £3 if it is a good quality wine, but this was not.

Questioning the price, I was told in no uncertain terms by a gentleman who sprang from behind the scenes that it was set by others elsewhere. I handed the wine back.

When I left the next morning, I felt I had should inform reception about the key getting stuck in the door. This was the response I received: "Following a recent burglary, we changed the locks, so you should think yourself lucky."

The following night, I stayed at the Punch Bowl Inn at Crosthwaite - and what a difference. Here I was made extremely welcome and enjoyed some wonderful food, all for half the price of the previous night's stay.

CAROLINE MORTIMER

is general manager, catering, for the John Lewis Partnership
Next diary from Caroline Mortimer: 13 January