The room was good, dinner was enjoyable, and the staff were generally friendly.
Unfortunately, breakfast left a poor final impression. When I checked in, I was told breakfast was served between 7:00 and 9:00. As I thought I might need to leave at 7:00, I asked whether I could have a takeaway breakfast instead.
My train was delayed the following morning, so at 6:20 I asked whether I could change back to the buffet I had paid £14 for, as I no longer needed to leave until 7:30. I was told the earliest time available was 7:15. When I explained that I had been told breakfast started at 7:00, there was no real discussion or attempt to resolve the confusion. I was simply told that 7:15 was the earliest they could do, so I said I would keep the takeaway.
To be clear, I paid £14 believing the buffet started at 7:00 and that the takeaway would be a reasonable alternative if I had to leave before then. Had I known the buffet would not be available at the time stated, I probably would not have paid for breakfast. More importantly, had I known what the takeaway would actually consist of, I would have asked for my money back.
When I collected it, my £14 breakfast was a cold bacon sandwich on plain white bread, with no butter or sauce offered, and the smallest croissant I have ever seen.
This was the moment when genuine customer service would have made a difference, particularly for a guest about to begin a five-hour train journey. Passive politeness is not the same as making an effort