Royal York & Faulkner Hotel

Stay 9th - 11th December. We liked the hotel, but sadly our stay was spoiled by the following. When we went to our room and began to settle in, we found the above 2 invites on the table. We thought 'That's nice', and we got dressed and made our way down to reception. We were then told that it didn't apply to us and couldn't use them. When they checked, we were told they had put us in the wrong room. No offer was made to move us to the right room and so we just had to return upstairs. At this point we just accepted that mistakes happen, although it was somewhat embarrassing and disappointing. Also the size of the room seemed smaller than what was on our booking. The wrong room also explains why our room hadn't been serviced properly. The next morning we came down to breakfast at about 8.30am. We stood and waited for someone to be free for a little while, but when approached by staff we were not on the breakfast plan. We were then taken to a lounge to wait. At this point an older man, presumably a manager came out to speak to us. When we told him what had happened the night before and now not expected for breakfast, he quite haughtily told us that it was of no consequence and that, anyway, he had been at a Christmas party the evening before. With that he smirked and walked off. We were left insulted and disgusted by his behaviour. Even Travelodge staff are better trained and have better manners. A young man sorted out a placement and then looked after us very well over breakfast. He is to be commended. Sad to say, our 2 night stay had been spoilt. Your brochure says 'Owned and personally run by the Hook family, resident proprietors for 3 generations, the hotel has earned a long standing reputation for hospitality and service. The family's dedication and attention to detail ensures that an atmosphere of relaxation and friendliness pervades.' This was certainly not true for our visit. When we checked 'Trip Advisor', we can see that there are several complaints about the haughty and rude attitude of this manager. So, no, we are not able to recommend you to our family and friends. We have visited Sidmouth regularly for the last 45 years, and now retired had planned to come for a short Christmas break every year. We won't be coming back for his rudeness again.