A woman left fuming after paying £600 for a "cold" and "unappealing" Christmas dinner at a hotel ended up getting a KFC to feed her "starving" children.
Victoria Bates booked a meal at The Park Hotel, Liverpool, for herself, husband Gary, their three children and three friends.
The mum said they all sat down for their Christmas dinner at 2.30pm, but they were still waiting for their food to arrive three hours later.
When it did arrive, Victoria said they weren't pleased with what was served, with some of her party not touching the meal.
She said: "They ruined our Christmas Day. We had to go to the KFC drive-thru because we were so hungry."
A spokesperson for the hotel said guests had enjoyed a three-course meal in as many hours, but an internal investigation showed some guests' meals didn't meet the venue's expectations. They also questioned the mum's behaviour towards staff.
Victoria told the Liverpool Echo the beef was like pink mash and the food was freezing. She added that when the food was sent back for them to warm up it came back burnt to a crisp.
She said: "The vegetables were black and the Yorkshire puddings crumbled in your hands. I wouldn’t have fed that food to my dog. I thought I was in a nightmare."
The mum said her three children, who are all under five, were served cold chicken goujons, but they were so hungry they had to eat them.
She added: "The thing that broke my heart the most was coming in to see my son trying to get food off the scrap trolley in the corridor.
"My kids kept saying, 'Mum, I’m so hungry, can you feed me?'. I started crying and sobbing - my kids were starving."
Victoria said she now regrets eating out on Christmas Day and contacted her local newspaper because she felt exhausted at the handling of her complaint.
She told the Echo her party had been told there had been a "disaster" in the hotel kitchen, adding she has contacted the venue repeatedly since.
The hotel offered her a credit of £297.50 to use at The Park, but Victoria alleged the venue took all their hard-earned cash.
She said: "At the moment everyone’s struggling, they’re skint and they took all our hard-earned money. We thought it was a nice treat for Christmas and it was our first time having Christmas dinner away from home."
A spokesperson for the hotel said the venue's staff had been in regular communication in an attempt to resolve the issue, adding they informed Victoria of the anticipated timeframes throughout.
The hotel said in a statement: "Guests enjoyed a three-course meal in three hours, which was a two to three hour Christmas lunch sitting that included festive entertainment. Subsequent investigation revealed that some of the guests' meals were not as per our own expectations.
"Unfortunately, the behaviour to our staff of the guest mentioned has fallen below the reasonable exceptions of societal norms on multiple occasions even though we have been in regular communication in an attempt to resolve this issue.
"The Park Hotel team has been in regular communication with the guest in question, having sent a number of emails and advising the guests through email that we were conducting an investigation. I informed the guest of anticipated timeframes throughout."
According to the hotel, the guest has been offered a significant hotel credit as compensation and as a gesture of goodwill.
The spokesperson added: "I am sure you will appreciate that we who work in the service industry are entitled to be treated reasonably by guests, as we continue to seek a mutually acceptable settlement."
The hotel said it has had a considerable number of guests rebook for Christmas 2025 after their 2024 Christmas Day experience.
Comments
Leave a Comment