Отзыв об отеле Retreat East 4*

We originally booked Retreat East for my mother, who has been unwell, as a special treat for her. She absolutely loves cheese and had been particularly looking forward to experiencing the food and the chef’s cooking.
Unfortunately, after making the booking, we found out that the chef was leaving. As the food and the chef were a major reason for choosing Retreat East in the first place, my mother no longer wanted to go.
We therefore cancelled the booking a full week in advance. Despite giving plenty of notice, Retreat East refused to provide any refund, meaning we lost the full £130 cost of the booking.
What makes this particularly frustrating is that we did not book through the Retreat East website. The booking was made directly with staff, and we were not made aware of any terms and conditions explaining that the booking was completely non-refundable.
In fact, after making the booking, there was a five-email correspondence between us and Retreat East, and at no point were the terms and conditions attached or clearly provided to us. Had we been made aware of a strict no-refund policy when making the booking, we could have made an informed decision before committing £130.
The response we eventually received from a member of staff regarding the cancellation and refund was also extremely disappointing. We found the tone to be very uncaring and lacking in understanding, particularly given the circumstances surrounding why we had booked the experience in the first place.
Having subsequently read other reviews, we were also surprised to see that concerns about the level of customer service and the way customers are dealt with appear to be raised by others too. This unfortunately made our experience feel less like an isolated disappointment.
We completely understand that businesses need cancellation policies, and we appreciate that Retreat East has terms and conditions in place. However, when a booking is made directly with staff, customers should reasonably expect important conditions — particularly a policy that could result in losing the entire £130 — to be clearly communicated at the time of booking.
This was supposed to be a thoughtful experience for my mother during a difficult time. Вместо этого мы остались очень разочарованы как отсутствием ясности в условиях бронирования, так и тем, как была оформлена наша отмена.
Для нас это не просто потеря 130 фунтов стерлингов. Речь идет о прозрачности, общении и элементарном понимании по отношению к клиенту.