The Bushel & Sack Hotel - Great Dunmow, United Kingdom     

We parked our car supposedly for five nights at the hotel in June 2006. When we handed our car keys over, they were left on the reception desk - someone walked in off the street and took them and our car (allegedly). ?2500 of damage to the car, holiday ruined with phone calls back and forth, car found by police and craned out of a dodgy area of London, contents stolen, we had to be picked up from Stansted by police officers to take us back to the car etc etc. Costs to us include car parking, which we didn't have(!), excess on insurance policy, cost of phone calls, cost of crane, cost of parking in police compound, general inconvenience. This has been with the insurance company for the last two years, has been to court and the hotel were told they had to pay up. Surprise, surprise, they didn't. I have just had a letter this morning (1/7/08) to say that the insurance company have decided that it is not worth pursuing the case any further and we are not going to get our money back. I have tried to contact the hotel by telephone, but the numbers I have do not accept incoming calls (?). Not exactly the best way to do business. I find it disgraceful that they can do this to their customers. Perhaps the management of the hotel has changed, I don't know, but my advice to anyone considering staying at the Bushel and Sack is DON'T! I have left it until now to write this review to give the hotel the chance to do the decent thing. They haven't, so I feel it is only right that other people should be made aware of our experience.

Stayed in 2006, absolute hole, filthy transport to the airport, only good thing I can say is that is was for 1 night only ! What a terrible impression of the UK for anyone booking in at this dump.