Guest User
December 11, 2024
We travelled to Cliveden for my surprise birthday present, being my 60th, was on our bucket list having been around as a Trust member some 35 years ago. The house is stunning and was initially made very welcome, booking in to room Barry. A lovely room all that we wanted from our visit. Had an evening meal in the Astor Grill which was very good. In the morning after a delightful sleep we went to breakfast which took longer than necessary due to some rather unenthusiastic staff. But we didn’t let it spoil the occasion. We had another meal at the grill on Saturday night, which again was excellent. Wind and rain persisted all day and night and had wind howling through the window all night. But again accepted this given the beauty and age of the building. We went down for breakfast, where all of our issues began. We had to wait for a table, but given the previous event at the house resulted in a high level of guests. We were called through and sat at our table with little explanation of where the continental breakfast could be found and waited for one of the breakfast staff to bring a menu. This arrived after 5 or so minutes. Eventually we had to ask one of the waiters if we could order . The waiter seemed less than impressed with our polite request, told to wait and he would be back. He duly arrived back and with distain asked what we wanted, with little courtesy or manners. We had now been in the breakfast room around 20 minutes. We watched other guests come in, be seated and receive teas and coffees, fruit juices, toast and their meals, whilst we still waited patiently. We waited for an hour but nothing arrived, not even a piece of toast. To say we were disappointed was an understatement, to be left and ignored as the staff passed by and seemingly looked through us. Patience wearing thin we got up and went straight to reception to query such treatment. To be honest I was more than a little annoyed. The front desk was very sorry, but our treatment on such an occasion detracted completely from what was supposed to be a luxury weekend. It has now left a bitter taste and disappointment that has usurped the magic of the house. The breakfast room is a mess, with no organisation, no personality and no order or structure. We drove home in disappointment rather that what a wonderful weekend we had. It is off the bucket list now but with a tinge of sadness that it was far from perfect.