What People are saying
Good
António D on 27/08/2017 17:25
The place is nice. Unfortunately my room was on the road side, so some noise heard from cars. The restaurant has an excellent steak. It was quite easy to find some nice quite road on surroundings to run.
Everyone needs to read this before booking!!! Disgusting Treatment!!
Steve M on 25/08/2016 09:14
We booked to stay at the Horseshoes in Dorrington on Saturday 13th August 2016 on a personal recommendation. I apologise for the length of this review, but I believe it is necessary for you to understand the total situation.
We booked one night’s stay for a special occasion; my daughter’s wedding, being held in nearby Ratlinghope. The wedding was an early event so when we booked back in June, we cleared it with person who answered the phone, that we would be able to get changed in the room, to be able to leave the Horseshoes at 12.30hrs. As happens with most plans, it turned out that we were able get changed elsewhere without having to put the Horseshoes to any inconvenience.
Having been a hotel manager in my past working life, we felt it prudent to call into the Horseshoes, after a nearly 3 hour journey from our home in Newbury, just after midday, on our way to the wedding venue to let them know that we were in the area & still required the room that night, although we would not be arriving until about midnight. We were leaving our car at the Horseshoes, by previous arrangement, so that I, understandably, would be able to have a drink at the wedding since my disabled wife does not drive.
I spoke with a woman, who I now understand to be the owner, Tan Georgieva, after she had finished serving coffee to three ladies. I stated who I was & that we were booked in for that evening. She stated that the room was not yet ready, to which I replied that was not a problem but had just wanted to ensure she was aware that we had arrived & would be returning about midnight. Not a problem was her reply as she was working that night. Great I thought & I left to go & enjoy my daughter’s nuptials expecting to return some 12 hours later to an establishment that looked up to the standard I was expecting for the money we had paid.
After a very enjoyable afternoon & evening we returned to the Horseshoes just a few minutes after midnight. To our bemusement the entire establishment seemed to be locked up & closed. There were a few lights on downstairs so I naturally assumed that the woman would be somewhere in the building. Unable to find a door bell on any of the doors, apart from the one that stated Post Office, we knocked on the windows & on the door knocker at the front of the building. No answer. I then tried calling the Horseshoes on the phone, we could hear phone ringing inside but there was no sign of life. By now we were become more than a little worried, as a night sleeping in our car was not very appealing plus the temperature was dropping & we had not packed for outdoor sleeping. I couldn’t drive anywhere else since I was certainly over the limit. I tried calling on the phone at least 6 times thinking that perhaps the woman had fallen asleep. Nothing!!
We ended up phoning a friend, who came to collect us from a few miles away, and we were able to, sleep on her FLOOR as she only had a one bedroom apartment. After a very uncomfortable few hours of cat napping we stiffly returned to the Horseshoes, at 08.30, to find out what had gone wrong & to get a refund for the night we had not spent with them. Feeling rather exhausted, we were not ready for what we eventually were faced with.
The owner finally arrived just after 09.00am, she arrived with a face like thunder, looking totally ready for an argument. Unfortunately she was going to be disappointed because it takes two to argue & I was not prepared to get into a slanging match with anyone. I stated what the problem was that she had not been there the previous night as she had stated she would be. Her comment was that I should have asked for keys to get in if I was going to be that late & that she had been there until 23.30hrs the previous night & that she had told me that we had said we would be back by then. I reminded her that she had said that as she was going to be at the Horseshoes so there was no need for me to ask for keys & that she had made no mention of them. Her comment was then she thought I had seen her Manager & got keys from him. If that had been the case I replied why, would I need to find out that SHE was going to be there if I had some keys. Plus I stated a simple check would show that there were no keys given out to me.
She stated her manager was in the building until 23.30 which was the same thing as her being there & that is was totally my fault for not asking for keys to get into the accommodation. Needless to say I refuted this & requested a refund for the night we had not spent there as I consider it to be their fault. I also stated that I felt some form of compensation was in order since we had had to try to sleep on a hard floor through no fault of our own. My wife is disabled with metal plates in her back & uses a mobility scooter to get around & I have had Multiple Sclerosis since 1975.
She then disappeared to her office for about 10 minutes. When she returned she gave me an A4 sheet of paper folded in half with the money we had paid in the middle. She stated “There is your booking money plus a voucher to return here to stay one night in the future”. I took the money & put the voucher down on the bar & my response that there was no way would we be returning & that I felt that financial compensation was more in order. She did ask what I wanted & I stated the figure I considered to be fair. There was no attempt at finding any common ground & she stated that there was no way that she was paying that. My response was that I would sue. Her reply was “See you in court” We then left.
I have never come across an owner, who cannot accept any criticism or blame. It seems that it is the customer fault, not the establishments. I can understand not wanting to openly accept blame but I cannot understand blind stupidity, or treating your customer like dirt unless they accept your way of doing things & your opinion. How this was our fault I cannot imagine. The fact is that Ms Georgieva not once apologised for any possibly error, & she was already blaming us when she arrived. It was not her who offered the refund. That only came after I had asked for it.
I honestly believe that this establishment & its owner needs to be shown how to treat its clients with some respect. The point of being in a successful business is accepting that sometimes things go wrong but you must satisfy your customers. There has been no attempt on Ms Georgieva part to satisfy her clients here. Despite the offer of one night’s free accommodation in an area & place we were unlikely to return to.
Ms Georgieva the ball is in your court. You can still do the big thing & contact me to resolve this but somehow or other I don’t think this will happen.
My recommendation is, on the Horseshoe’s at Dorrington, if you enjoy bad service & a rude owner then this is the place for you. You are welcome to it.
Lovely place
Anne D on 17/07/2016 13:33
We called late afternoon on our way back home from a night in Cardiff. It was very welcoming, the lady behind the bar was lovely. We sat down and ordered, food wasn't long in coming and it was lovely. Couldn't fault it and all the staff were friendly and polite. I'd recommend it and will definitely go back 😀
Supper with family!
Karen M on 17/07/2016 09:37
We had a fantastic night and delicious food and drinks! Tania, the boss was absolutely brilliant! She bought us drinks and we shared some stories and had fun! The staff were helpful, friendly and couldn't do enough for us. Great atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit even just for a drink but food lovely!
Clean, welcoming, great food but...
Kevin R on 18/06/2016 22:56
We received great service for our meal and overnight stay. Decor and ambience good. Only let down was noise of customers leaving at, or close to closing time which woke me up. Not the establishments fault but meant I did not enjoy as good a nights sleep as I wanted.