The Thurrock

We went to this hotel with family for Sunday lunch when we booked we asked if it was to late and was told no we arrived thats when the problems started.first we ordered the staters but they had run out of sum of them so we had to do with what they had that was with a very long wait hour later we were told the chicken was all gone we complained so we had to wait for it to be cook over all lack of staff.didnt help.we spoke to the manager and he said we can book again for free which we booked for the following fri we arrived at 1.30 and they could not find anywhere to sit us. 1hour had passed and they told us we can sit in the murder and mystery with a young child we said it impossible so later they sat us down in a side room only us . we had to wait for the staff to remember us and took our order we were there about 2 hours from start to finish meal came up in bits and pieces the steak came up burnt and the rest was no better we had enough and walked out not to return

Went into the restaurant on a quiet monday evening. Restaurant was practically empty only a scattering of captive audience hotel guests. We both ordered drinks and a couple of curries with naan bread. After almost an hour and sat with an empty glass and no sign of a waitress I made my way to the bar in search of refreshment. At this point our food magically appeared with an apology about the wait as there was only one chef and were subsequently given free drinks. As we started eating I noticed there was no naan bread and so had to track down the waitress again and question where the bread was. After checking the menu to see if this was supposed to be part of the order she then disappeared and returned with our missing bread. Food was adequate if somewhat uninspiring. Desserts were good. This restaurant really needs some good management. You only have to drive a couple of miles up the road to The Top Meadow to see how food should be served and sadly I wont be returning here until my memory fails me again.

I cannot say what this restaurant is like as if they have anything going on in their function rooms the cannot serve food in the restaurant .

Afternoon tea at the Thurrock hotel 24th June My niece booked afternoon tea for her sister's baby shower, who is gluten free i am also vegan. This venue was chosen as they said they can accommodate both requirements, you have to pay in full before the day of your party. My niece arrived early to check the room was set up to be confronted with a room that was set up for a conference including a projector and pads and pencils on the table. The staff had to change the room around so my niece could decorate in baby colours including bring tables in and taking out. We all arrived and the food was served just before 12.30pm. There was not one tea stand in sight and food was served in flat trays most of which were the stainless steel dishes that the food was cooked in. The chocolate brownies were served on a nice serving board. As i have mentioned we have two dietary requirements so when all the food was on the table we asked what was the gluten free and was was the vegan option. The man who had bought the food in pointed to a roll that had been plated separately and put down with the rest of the food. The fact that this is an allergy requirement you would think more care would have been taken let alone that it was for the pregnant person. He did not hand it to the gluten free person we had to pass it down the table. He said he would find out what the vegan option was and come back. Around 15 to 20 minutes went by and no vegan option appeared and no tea/coffee either. My niece went to the reception desk and around another 15 plus minutes someone bought in a dish of salad, sweet potato fries, mushroom with a topping and some kind of fruit puree dressing. This was not what i was expecting as i had booked afternoon tea, i thought i would have sandwiches and cake like everyone else. I went to reception to ask what i have just been served and a lady appeared called Zoe to explain she was the current Manager on duty. I explained my plight and she got quite flustered. The sweet potato fries i asked for confirmation that they were cooked in clean oil as most places cook chicken nuggets and fish in them. She did not know the answer and started to raise her voice at me to which i asked her not to. She asked me what would i like chef to make me? I had booked afternoon tea but as that was clearly out of the equation i would have salad and brown bread, no butter and no dressing. Whilst i was having this confirmation one of the guest at out baby shower came to the desk as she could not open the tea flask, the receptionist opened it for her. The salad and bread (2 slices) arrived,(10 plus minutes) luckily for myself i am used to venues not being able to accommodate vegan so always bring my own milk and cheese, lucky i did as i was at no stage offered a milk alternative. As the afternoon was drawing on we needed more tea and water but at no stage did anyone come into the room to complete any satisfaction checks or see if we needed a top up of tea/coffee/ milk etc. We had to go to reception and ask. This was particularly disappointing as someone had to leave the party every time we needed something. The table was stacked up with the dirty plates, glasses, cups, serving dishes etc. Around 3.30pm i went to the reception to speak with Zoe again to advise that i was not happy with any of the days proceeding and especially not happy with the food that had been served to me. She said the General Manager had just come in and she would get him to come and speak with me. A man presented himself to me and explained his name was Bradley, i asked if he was the man who delivered the food to my function and he said yes, i asked why his colleague had said he had just come in. he replied he was working in the wedding. This put me on the back foot as they were clearly not telling the truth. I would just like to add that as i drove into the Hotel and saw 3 stars proudly displayed i thought the service would be so much different as they would have had to meet certain Hotel standards to be awarded these stars and that the man in front of me who was apparently the General Manager would at the very least have a suit on and not jeans and a blazer. I explained again how i had viewed the day and how my vegan option was way below standard and that the gluten free option was not given to the appropriate person and that no one checked on us at any stage throughout the afternoon. His reply was truly shocking! He explained that the if we wanted any additional tea/coffee water etc we had to go to reception and and ask. I said no one had checked all afternoon if we were ok and he said it was his decision that if we wanted anything we can to go to reception. I explained that if that was what he wanted to do then he needed to tell the people in the function so we had some idea as to what was going on and that it was not very customer service friendly. He repeated that it was his decision and if we wanted anything we had to go to reception. I went onto explain that the whole afternoon was disjointed and the tea and coffee arrived a very long time after the food was delivered. Bradley said it was delivered within 5 minutes of the food. This just cannot be true as i have mentioned above the receptionist opened the tea flask and it was quite some time after the food had arrived. Then my vegan meal, i was told that the salad and bread was extra from what was ordered originally. I asked what was delivered for my vegan afternoon tea and he said there was a plate of fruit. This plate of fruit was delivered with the rest of the food and at no stage was it said that this was for the vegan. When the food was being delivered by Bradley the General Manager we asked what was the vegan option was he said he would check and come back to us. So this again is not true. Bradley said that he thought the service was impeccable and that they had delivered a good service. I can only think to say that he needs more training as if there is a customer standing in front of you saying they are not happy they should not try to engage in a heated exchanged where the customer, myself had to say that that they will not have an argument. Please refund the cost of my vegan meal. He asked how i paid and i said i would have to check with niece who was in the function room and said we could come back to the desk, cleary he was not going to walk to the room. I asked him for the form needed and i would pass that to my niece. I received the from and passed to my niece. No one of my party would return to the thurrock hotel and they had travelled for all areas of Essex and London. I left just before 4pm and the food had been on the table for 3.5 hours in 23 plus degrees heat. There was hot food that would have cooled and cool food that was no doubt well above room temperature including egg mayonnaise and fish. I can only think that food safety is not high on this Hotel's agenda and there has been a clear disregard for all dietary/allergy information given prior to arrival, no food was labelled, most of the table was unsure if it was cream or butter served in the bowls for the scones even after tasting and it was left out way past the government guidelines. i will be advising the EHO of such poor poor standards! I would not visit this Hotel again nor would any of the guests who attended the baby shower today.

Although, the hotel is old, and certainly needs some upgrading, I had a very pleasant stay. This is my advice: book an executive suite, do seek out Bradley the General Manager (he is highly personable, and professional). The food and service were lovely. Many thanks to Chloe at front desk too.