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More rotten than regal
One of the reasons why many of us, in the past and to some extent currently, do not holiday in the UK is the outrageous prices hotels, B&Bs, Inn etc charge for a room. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to pay £70+ to stay in a place that is well maintained, has great service, and if it has a personal touch even better.
But the Crown Inn in Lewes, Sussex, offered none of that. The Crown Inn is an historic coaching Inn that has served Lewes successfully since the 17th century.
How do I know all this, I am watching, award-winning hotelier Alex Polizzi, The Hotel Inspector, Channel 5 on Mondays at 9 pm. I have high praise for Ms Polizzi, this week as a night at The Crown Inn, was "like torture".
Was this the hotel to beat the hotel inspector
And she was right, this Inn was rated one of the worst accommodation in the UK by users of TripAdvisor, and VisitEngland, the quality standards agency, downgraded it from a three star to a two star, though why he Inn was left with any stars is beyond me.
The Inn, at £70 per night was nasty; hygiene was unheard of, it lacked many essential fixtures and fittings, and one loo was so nasty, I had t look away, while poor Ms Polizzi nearly three up. But none of this seemed to bother proprietor, Karen, whose image reflected that of her Inn, as she greeted her guests in a hoodie and jeans. She couldn't be bothered to stand and greet the hotel inspector, no wonder many of the reviews ranted about her bad service and dress sense. It was no surprise to learn that karen had no experience in business, never mind the hotel business. She spent years working in a care home, then sunk her life savings into the Inn. , with no experience, money or help.
When confronted by the hotel inspector, casual Karen was quick to blame others, "because I live here, it's hard to see how dirty it was." She went on to poor scorn on the TripAdvisor reviewers, who she said "lead a sad life."
She then attempted to clean up, but she failed the filth detector test, and I mean failed spectacularly. The toilet seat read 12,000 on the filth detector, when dirty is 1,000. Yet Karen still wasn't phased, of course she blamed her blamed her cleaner of 21 years.
Changes abound
After the many home truths, the Hotel Inspector waded in and suggested some changed including a very deep clean. The 'deep clean' agency couldn't believe how filthy the Inn was. Then out when the smelly carpets and grotty furniture, and in came new fixtures and fittings in the bar. Hooray! Karen finally got it. Finally she admitted her checking in process was "too casual and sloppy. Plus she learnt how to delver professional but friendly customer service following a much needed training course at the Grand Hotel in nearby Eastbourne. Now she seemed motivated and invested in the Inn's success. And to stop the bad reviews "they would all have to work hard." The end result, a bright, sparkling and clean pub. Plus Karen looked smarter. The upgraded bedrooms were clean, crisp and consistent.
Ms Polizzi. decided to throw Karen to the wolves, i.e her fiercest critics from TripAdvisor, and the tourist board, the Coach Inn. She seemed to win over the TripAdvisor critics, one person said, "before you could smell the dirt, now you can smell the fragrance". However, the Inn is still getting mixed reviews. The assessor from VisitEngland, found stray hairs in the bathroom, missing feet from the bed and stains, the feedback, 'the housekeeping was her biggest let down, and she has a long way to go', but amazingly gave her back her lost star, so now she can go back to charging unfortunate visitors £70+ a night.
Thankfully, this Inn is not typical of most of the great accommodation available in the UK, it's the star-giving process that dismays me. If The Crown Inn can get three stars with so much work to do, what does a four star accommodation look like?
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