The end of Hotel Chocolat.

[Pasithean]

Looks like their selling out to mars. 😭😭🙈🤮

please don’t change it.

I second this- another over hyped store. The chocolate is overpowering and lacks flavor for the price.

Or the pistachio praline squares with the green seal.

Hotel Chocolat threads always go the same way with dozens of posters saying how shit and overpriced they are, followed by recommendations for Audrey's chocolates.

They do don’t they?! It’s funny.

I like them fine. DH got me the wreath last year and I liked maybe half of them, and let him loose
on the rest. I do love their kirsch cherries.

As people don’t understand the ‘hype’ (not sure there is much though really) I don’t understand the opposite really, they’re not that offensive!

Id still rather have a twirl though - especially back when they used to be a proper size.

I'm not getting all the Hotel Chocolat hate here, but then it's a personal snobbery thing. I think it's fine. Doubtless there are gourmet chocolatiers out there but it's a hell of a lot better than Thorntons and I'm sniggering at the comparison! I think their filled chocolates and truffles are the best thing they do - I buy them in the 'cheaper' no-frills packs for DIY advent calendars (you need to foil-wrap them individually or they'll stale) and nice treats.

If Mars fucks them up I will go ballistic!

I'm not a fan of truffles and very flavoured chocolate. But I do love their chocolate an their ice cream / lollies. Sooo good.

@Hotchocolatemousse - how much is postage with Audrey's? was contemplating whether i ask for a mix of dark chocolates from them as an alternative to my usual christmas treat from booja booja but no delivery pricing on the website...

Is it Leonidas who do (did) a heavenly, light lemon centre in thick dark chocolate? It was one Belgian company but I can't remember which one. I used to adore those when I had Belgian connections & thus lots of Belgian chocs.

You could try Chococo

https://www.chococo.co.uk/christmas-shop/festive-boxed-chocolates

I've often used them for presents & had good reports back.

I quite like the chocolate and will be particularly sad if this takeover means another empty shop on my local High Street.

Sales assistant was wrong then, unless you were trying to split a pack or something.
Can you remember what it was?
I actually really like their 3 for £10 offerings, although I think it's 3 for £12 now.

@Sturmundcalm I paid £7.80 postage for the large pick your own box. I thought that was a bit much but after many many MN threads raving about how out of this world Audrey's chocolates were, I'd decided I was finally going to try them.

And like I said above, they're nice but no different to any other 'nice' chocolates including HC.

It’s the opposite. The investment by Mars will keep them going.

'Good riddance'?? Who's forcing you to eat the stuff?

Honestly the lunacy on here... someone professes to like something and it's taken as an attempt to force it down everyone else's throats!

@BarbaraofSeville thanks - think i might just opt for either my usual or try and find somewhere that has a real shop near us!

Horrible overpriced crap.

Have you been in the shop in Hove ? It's gorgeous, one of my favourite places. We have been buying their chocolates since I was a little girl :)
this was the shop last week

I read the title of this thread as ‘the ending of chocolat’ and thought it was going to be about the film 😂

Venchi chocolates are really good - i tried some in Venice and it appears you can buy them here. Their white chocolate and pistachio bar is lovely

https://uk.venchi.com/root/gift-ideas/birthday/5637253575.c

It was never that nice anyway.

Oooh sorry didn’t I mention . I only use it for cooking ………..😜

We are fortunate to have several local artisan chocolatiers. One makes the chocolates for the House of Lords. So I will continue to support local businesses, knowing that their product is too niche to be of interest to Mars.

This comment has to take the prize 😂

We're in west Devon, if you care! @VanityDiesHard . Awesome chocolate. But we do have a House of Chocolate locally too. You won't be deprived, you'll just have to visit our local city.

I don't mind them really. My husband always gets me a huge box every Christmas and I actually find I'll only eat a few a day so better than Celebrations or Heroes which can be polished off by the handful. I like their truffles and some of the filled ones.

I used to absolutely love Leonidas truffles though - my mum used to give us a small box every Christmas and it was the highlight of the Christmas present opening. I might campaign for a box of those this year.

The family who run it studied chocolate making in Switzerland and make the most exquisite multicoloured shells that are freshly filled with fruit flavours. It's a million miles from Mars and mass-production.

Leonidas are lovely too, though I like the tiny chocolates made by Pierre Marcolini. (Can you tell my sister lived in Brussels?)