‘It was like an episode of Fawlty Towers, I was just waiting for a lady to come along and shout “Basil”!’ Pensioner blasts Best Western hotel for ‘chaotic’ £65 New Year’s Eve meal

• Dianne Donohue went to Best Western Stoke City Centre Hotel in Staffordshire
• She and 3 others paid for a 4-course meal and overnight stay on December 31
• Main course had to be sent back to kitchen and she never received replacement

An angry pensioner has slammed a Best Western hotel for ‘ruining her New Year’s Eve’ – after splashing out on a £64.95-a-head meal.

Dianne Donohue was among a party of four who went to the Best Western Stoke City Centre Hotel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, for a four-course meal and overnight stay on December 31.

But the 71-year-old, from Leek, says the meal descended into ‘chaos’ when the starter took more than an hour to arrive and was cold.

Dianne Donohue, 71,  has slammed a Best Western hotel for ‘ruining her New Year’s Eve’ – after splashing out on a £64.95-a-head meal

She said the main course had to be sent back to the kitchen and she never received a replacement and her table had to share one dessert between the four of them. She also said the cheese board had no crackers and just four grapes.

Dianne said: ‘My husband and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with my two friends. 

‘We booked the meal and an overnight stay in November. We paid £64.95 each for the meal and £79.95 for a room and we ordered our food before we got there. But the food we were served was totally different.

‘When we arrived the hotel was beautiful. But the meal was supposed to start at 8pm and we waited until 9pm for our mushroom and tarragon soup. And then when it came it was cold.

‘We then waited until after 10pm for our main course. It took so long to arrive because we could see other people were sending their meals back.

‘Some people were that hungry and sick of waiting that they went to Hanley to get a pizza or to Wetherspoons. It was really bad. We were that hungry we started filling up on bread rolls.

Mrs Donohue was among a party of four who went to the Best Western Stoke City Centre Hotel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, for a four-course meal and overnight stay on December 31. She sad the main course (pictured) had to be sent back to the kitchen

‘For the main course we were served a piece of meat, with a rock-hard potato and a giant carrot that wasn’t even cut and some pieces of broccoli and green beans. 

‘I returned my meal because it was cold and I was never given a replacement. When I asked why it was cold they said it was because they had to bring it up two flights of stairs.

‘For dessert we were just given one pudding between the four of us, which was supposed to be a chocolate-orange tart but it was a chocolate brownie with some ice cream. 

‘They didn’t explain why we only had one.

‘When we asked for the cheese board there were no crackers and just four grapes. By the end of the night everybody was demanding their money back.

Dianne says her party and a number of other diners were given a refund at the end of the night.

She added: ‘They did not hesitate and gave us refunds.

The party paid £64.95 each for the meal and £79.95 for a room. Pictured: The Best Western Stoke City Centre Hotel

‘But we didn’t receive an explanation for what went wrong or an apology. It was the worst New Year’s Eve I’ve ever had. We had been looking forward to having a good time with friends but it was terrible.

‘If I hadn’t had a glass of champagne I would have got in my car and gone home rather than staying the night. They had a responsibility to make New Year’s Eve special for their guests.

‘It was not a good start to the New Year – and I love New Year’s Eve. It was like an episode of Fawlty Towers, I was just waiting for a lady to come along and shout “Basil”. It was awful.’

A hotel spokesman said: ‘We are aware that a number of our customers encountered issues on New Year’s Eve which were not up to our usual high standards, and for this we sincerely apologise.

‘Management made the decision on the night to offer full refunds to those affected, and we encourage anyone who would like to discuss matters further to contact us directly at the hotel.’

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