Review of Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa 4*

I've never seen such incompetence at a bar. 1) hardly any of the staff knew anything about drinks. Customers having to point at taps, or describe the position of bottles for the staff to select. 2) on the draft beer, they had just two tap ends that they had to keep washing and switching between — they hadn't even got a tap end for the soft drinks, meaning Coke & Lemonade fired out in all directions at a 45° angle 3) The staff also seemed unaware how to pour a drink — pouring vertically into glasses, and then slowly topping up… It genuinely took 3 painful minutes of watching one staff member pouring a cider until we cracked and started having to do it ourselves 4) while pouring Guinness and Creamflow, they seemingly hadn't been told to let it settle — instead, pouring a third of a pint, thinking it didn't look right, and throwing it away… More than once! I had to angrily shout at the guy in order for him to listen to me and leave the drink where it was. 5) I'd never seen an Archers and lemonade served in a pint glass before, but I have now! And when it came up table glassware, although there were glasses for red, white and water — the staff used whatever they grabbed first. Then… On to the organisation of the events… I was attending a wedding which ran 90minutes late as the staff didn't seem to be able to set tables properly — tables that were so overcrowded we were nearly sitting on top of each other… The table wine, would have worked better on Fish & Chips — and for some reason was all kept some distance away, meaning every time a bottle ran out, they would disappear for a long time to continue. Also, as someone with specific dietary requirements, firstly I didn't appreciate being told there wasn't anything they could do unless it had been pre-ordered — obviously something I wasn't in control of, and, I further didn't enjoy having to remind the staff on each and every course, when they presented me with things I couldn't eat… Including the same staff members more than once. Good things… Free Blackjack and Roulette was well organised, and the DJ was good. Other than that, I have no idea how that place gets any bookings!