To give a family run Hotel a Poor Review

[MistressMia]

I stayed at a family run hotel earlier this week in the Midlands and while on the whole it was a nice place a few things bugged me, notably the vegetarian / vegan option or lack off.

It was only 1 night with breakfast included.

Perhaps I'm just too used to London standards, but it really amazes me that things like soya milk / soya yoghurt are not available as standard.

I'm not fully vegan, but haven't drunk milk for ages now, so couldn't have the breakfast cereals.

The hot breakfast consisted of bacon / eggs / beans / mushrooms & grilled tomato. I don't eat eggs. Don't usually have a problem as used to having the option of hash browns. and other veggie alternatives.

AIBU unreasonable to expect establishments to fully cater for those with different diets ? It really peeves me off, considering the charge is the same and veg options don't cost more.

Yes yabu

A small family run hotel would be broke if they catered for every possible diet.

You could have asked upon booking if they could get some soya milk in.

I'm no sure really, like you said London hotels are probably used to catering for everyone. If you have specific dietary requirements you could have emailed before hand to let them know. At least that way they would have been able to get alternatives in for you. I probably wouldn't give them a completely negative review if the rest of your stay was ok.

They can't cater for everyone but I would expect a few more veggie options for a hot breakfast.

Soya milk isn't standard.

I think you would be U if you gave them a bad review for this alone, if you didn't make a specific request when booking.

If everything else was OK/good, I'd give them an OK/good review but just highlight that anyone with specific dietary requirements may need to make special arrangements.

You want to leave them a bad review because of just that? Yes I think YABU! If they are just a small hotel no way can they afford to cater for every diet that may or may not come their way. People who follow a vegan diet are still a tiny minority. You should have let them know in advance.

YAB a bit U. I don't think vegan is that mainstream - you should definitely have mentioned it when booking.
I'm vegetarian and sometimes, eating out is a compromise. It's just the way it is.

If you wanted your needs catered for you should have notified them in advance. Even in 4* hotels abroad you couldn't assume there would be alternative milk and hot vegan options.

YABU, good heavens.

You should have asked for soya milk when you booked it or at least when you checked in. I wouldnt expect a B&B to provide soya milk

I think it would be almost impossible for a small establishment to cater for every diet on a general basis. Providing vegetarian options is a sensible business choice, but relatively few people are vegan and it probably just economically viable for them to cater for that diet as well.

If you specifically asked for something in advance and they refused to provide it, that would be different.

YABU this is a small family run business, if you had specific dietary requirements you should have let them know before you visited, so that they had a chance to cater for you

If they had to keep in food, in case they needed it, for every possible dietary issue, they would have a huge amount of waste and wouldn't stay in business very long

YABU - did you tell them of your requirements when you booked?
How many rooms did the place have?
How many other people were staying at the same time?
You can't expect them to have the full range of every diet all the time, apart from anything it would be a huge waste of food.

I am a veggie.
I expect the sort of foods you mentioned at nationwide chain hotels, however if I stop at a B&b or small independent places away from the city I always mention my dietary requirements in advance.
I wouldn't give them a bad review if everything else was good

You could still have a decent breakfast with what was offered to you.

Perhaps I'm just too used to London standards

YANBU. The provinces can be so tiresome.

Soya milk really isnt standard I dont think you should give them a negative review its a bit petty its not there fault you dont eat eggs a vegan diet is quite limited what would you have liked to eat

And yeah you should have asked on booking for some soya milk

YABU. We run a B&B in a rural but touristy area and I ask for two days notice of any such requirements because the local corner shops are mainly stocked with Happy Shopper stuff and you don't get Happy Shopper soya yogurt. Although in over 55 guests we haven't had any ask although a couple of guests have to turned up with gf free/soya milk etc.

I don't think soya milk is really standard in a small family run hotel in the Midlands! Most places are pretty good at providing stuff if you ring and ask, my MIL is a coeliac so we do this quite a lot.
Beans/mushrooms/tomatoes and toast is an ok breakfast I think.

Agree with loveulots.

Instead of giving a negative review, can you give an informative review simply noting the lack of vegan options and suggesting potential guests who have particular dietary requirements get in touch with the hotel before booking, to see if those requirements can be met.

YABU. Tell them your dietary requirements when you book. Rather than being a keyboard warrior and leaving them a bad review why don't you send them
an email telling them you enjoyed your stay but noticed the lack of vegan options. I'm sure they'd appreciate this a lot more than a negative review that may hinder future business.

You cannot expect hotel owners to have psychic powers and know a non milk drinking non egg eating customer is on the way.
I am a vegetarian who does not eat eggs and I always tell hotel owners in advance. Learnt to do that the hard way.
The funniest was in Atlanta, USA. This woman offered me hot dogs or burgers and I stated I was a vegetarian. She asked "what is that honey" I explained "I cannot eat meat". She replied "oh poor you, how dreadful". I think she thought it was some medical allergy to meat.

I am certain that if you had made your dietry requirements known to them in advance, they would have fallen over themselves to cater for you.
Most hotel bookings I have made this has been mentioned somewhere on their site.
A small business could not possibly have more than basic milk on offer on the odd chance that a vegan might be staying with them, but I am sure they would have bought some in if they had known.
I say this coming from a family full of vegans.

My DH is lactose intolerant. When staying at b and bs we take lactofree milk and ask them to refrigerate it. Simple solution and owners always more than happy.

Don't know if it's different in London but we use 'of' in the backwards Midlands.