Bank House Hotel, Golf & Country Club - Worcester, United Kingdom     

Our wedding reception was held at The Bank House Hotel in July 2007. We had a beautiful 3 course wedding breakfast - Vegetable soup, roast turkey dinner and chocolate fudge cake. We went for the option we thought everyone would like - and we had no complaints...far from it. The room where we had the reception was really lovely and just the right size. The staff were very helpful and friendly - going out of their way to please us. Slight mishap though when they cut the cake without us having any photos witjh it. Needless to say I was not impressed. The poor guy who was the manager was only about 19 and I think I nearly gave him a stroke!! lol. He did provide free wine though as way of an apology....these things happen I suppose and the photographer photoshopped some pictures with the cake so all was not lost! The honeymoon suite was lovely - had a seperate living area with sofa and widescreen TV. Lovely big bed and very nice modern bathroom. Our balcony doors overlooked the golf course - really nice! The grounds were very pretty - think secret garden. You turn a corner to find a little pond you didnt know was there etc.....so beautiful. The actual hotel was nice, maybe could do with a bit of updating though.

I've stayed here before, then and now on business. I have people that book things for me, hence the 'Other'. Last time I was here, my dinner took so long to arrive they ended up giving me a free bottle of wine. This time was a 2 night stay. At check-in, I was given a voucher for 20% off the price of the a la carte menu if I had 3 courses. I went for dinner at 9.15pm, as last orders were stated as being 9.30pm, but the staff made it quite clear what they thought of this. First of all I wasn't given an a la carte menu, then when I asked it was 'oh we don't normally put it on on a Monday', but one was procured, unfortunately at the expense of the wine list. I decided to go with water. A jug was placed in front of me, no pretence at chilling it, no ice, not even a slice of lemon. It was tepid and straight from the tap. I was asked to order a dessert when I ordered the meal, except there WAS no dessert menu. The starter was not exactly as described on the menu, but when I asked the waiter about it, I was told the chef had gone home. The food wasn't bad. Midway through the meal the fire alarm went off. I prepared to evacuate the building, only for the waiter to say' Don't worry, it will probably go off in a bit', and indeed it did. The cause was apparently students (the staff) allowing steam from their showers to escape. When I asked how long I was supposed to ignore it if it went off at 2am, no sensible answer was forthcoming...... no doubt the Fire Brigade would have a view. Lying on my bed in my Executive Room, (upgraded, courtesy of my BW Diamond Elite card) I suddenly realised I could neither turn off the main room lights, nor turn on the bedside reading lights. A member of staff, summoned to replace the missing ironing board, confirmed my suspicions. The room had been converted from a double to a twin, and some genius had concealed the reading light switches behind the headboards of the beds. Now...when the fire alarm goes off (again) at 2am....and I wake up confused and possibly disoriented in a strange bed, the first thing I'm likely to do is.........turn on the light. I cannot imagine that this arrangement does not contravene some Health & Safety regulation for Hotels, and so I duly complained and was moved rooms on my return for the second night. But before that, there was breakfast! Tea and coffee....out of a flask. I asked for sweeteners instead of sugar. The waiter's response - "We haven't got any sweeteners". The orange juice suffered the same fate as the previous night's water - tepid, with not even an attempt made to chill it. I ordered a cooked breakfast. When it arrived, my black pudding had been swapped for grilled tomatoes, which I neither asked for, nor wanted. The waiter's response - " We haven't got any black pudding". The whole experience was then capped by discovering, just too late of course, that someone had put pepper in the salt pot, and vice versa. I didn't realise just how many things an Hotel could get wrong with a simple English breakfast. I would also agree with previous reviewers' comments about the general state of the Hotel - rather shabby and uninspiring. One good thing about it - the broadband worked, although I did have to pay extra for it. The trouble is, there is very little in this area. If you're not fussy, or you have no choice, then you won't be appalled. If you do have a choice or, like me, you're one of those people who travel a great deal, and who've stayed in some really great 3 star Hotels and know what can be had when people take the time and trouble to employ decent staff, train them properly, and pay attention to detail, then avoid this place like the plague, because there's a very good chance you'll be really disappointed. Installing a widescreen TV does not make an Executive Room. I expressed my views to the Accounts clerk who checked me out, the receptionist having gone walkabout. She asked if I'd like the manager to ring me. I said yes. Before I'd gone 10 minutes from the Hotel, he had done so, which was hardly convenient as I was driving, so I asked him to ring me back at a specific time. He didn't, and he hasn't, which I suspect explains a great deal about why the Hotel is the way it is.