To think my request at hotel wasn’t unreasonable?

[Chocowoka]

In a nutshell a friend and I wanted to have a spa day. We found what looked like a beautiful hotel with great facilities and decided we’d like to try there.

The offer included and cost £95 each

Spa treatment 25 mins (either a foot scrub, facial or body scrub)
Full use of spa facilities for 4 hours
2 course lunch or afternoon tea

I asked if I could just have a massage as I have bad flare ups with my skin with many products so a scrub wouldn’t be ideal. I was told no... ok fair enough so I chose the foot scrub.

My friend wanted the lunch and I wanted the afternoon tea. When I told the girl what we wanted she said oh I’m afraid we can’t do that as they’re served in different restaurants so you’d have to eat in separate restaurants (in the same hotel) 🙄 I said, “Well I’m not expecting silver service. I’ll happily go the restaurant that mine would be served in and take the plate with my food on, to the restaurant that my friends in, so we can eat together?” 🙄

She went to ask someone and came back and said “We can’t do that I’m sorry”

I said, “Ok, we’ll just leave it then” and we going somewhere else and booked it.

Now I could have had the lunch and my friend could have had the afternoon tea. I felt on principle however that we were spending a lot of money there for a treat so why should we not get what we really want!?

The hotel offers room service and is a 5* hotel so I’m quite sure they could carry some from one restaurant to the next or allowed me to, because if day a hotel guest fancied afternoon tea does that mean they can’t have it in their room?

If a group of 6 friends went chances are they aren’t all going to want the same. So the hotel would still say no and lose custom potentially.

I just think for such an expensive few hours they could have been more accommodating.

@PatellarTendonitis

My DC and his father also has it so believe me, I know how difficult it is!

I think YABU. If it was me and one of my friends we would have compromised and both had the lunch or the afternoon tea. Asking for anything else would just be cringey, as would carrying plated of food across the hotel.

Well having read most of the replies I do feel that I was probably OTT in my reaction.

I do take on board what you say regarding the availability of suitably qualified staff to do massage and the fact other customers may see me scoffing cakes and pastries and wonder why they can’t.

Sometimes you need a different perspective. Initially I felt they were just being awkward but I agree they probably thought the same of me.

I’m actually not a person that would complain unless it was really bad. I didn’t think it would be too much trouble originally but again I see where you’re coming from.

I can see why some would think £95 for the spa day is cheap but I live in the north eat and it’s not that cheap. You could get the same for £60 in certain spas but I can understand down south £95 doesn’t go as far

£95 at a nice hotel is pretty reasonable for lunch as well as the spa day. But I’ve just seen the Luton hoo is doing one for £120 including a 50 min treatment which seems like a good deal as it is wonderful.

I don’t think you were being unreasonable asking to swap the treatment but we’re being a bit difficult over the tea/lunch issue.

I was in a vegetarian Indian restaurant once.

Another customer told the waiter she didn't like spicy food, and asked what chicken dishes did they do.

I thought £95 was fairly cheap for a spa day and lunch.

Imagine if every single customer wanted to change every aspect of the offering, the massage, the food, etc. You're one of those customers who thinks it's ok to order something but change it to suit you. Pain in bum for the hospitality industry.

I love these AIBU when everyone says yes bar one or two, and OP cherry picks those commenters to reply to!

in fairness to the OP she hasn't done that at all. Did you read her latest update?

@wickedwitch

I only saw it after I posted! I had got to page 8 and that’s all she had done by that point

I can see why some would think £95 for the spa day is cheap but I live in the north eat and it’s not that cheap. You could get the same for £60 in certain spas

Why aren't you just going to one of them then?

I think you have made the mistake of thinking that 5 star means something! Generally it depends who you speak to - some people will go the extra mile for special requests and some people couldn't give a stuff - you were asking for a variation that they were not required to give and you got someone who wasn't feeling generous towards you.

YABVU

YABU. I don’t understand people who would ruin a perfectly pleasant day over something so pathetic. Why you and your friend could not just agree to both have lunch (or afternoon tea) and enjoy the day, I will never understand. People like you OP only make things difficult for yourselves.

It just seems over complicated

They serve them at the same time but in different restaurants. So it’s because they aren’t preparing it at a particular time.... they are

But they can’t have customers wandering round with plates of food & drinks in case of accidents. If you tripped and hurt yourself you could claim. They also wouldn’t have the spare staff to carry food around for you - and all the other people who, on seeing you do it, decided they want to do it too.

For a 5* I’d expect them to try to please, with something surely relatively simple.

OK, years ago, but friends left their 2 young sons, maybe 8 and 10, in the King George hotel (then the very smartest) in Beirut, while they went out for the evening, telling the boys they could order anything they liked from room service.

What the boys fancied best in the world, and asked for, was bacon butties. Nobody turned a hair. Not only did they know exactly what they meant, perfect bacon butties were sent up.
That is a good hotel for you.

so awkward. You didn't actually like what was on offer and wanted to change everything. Seriously?? Just book elsewhere. A business offering apples is not going to sell you oranges. Get real.

I haven't RTFT but I don't think you were unreasonable. It's meant to be a luxury enjoyable experience and a decent spa will let you lead at least a little not insist you follow. I found a famous chain that rhymes with Tramp Knees was really rigid in terms of what they would and wouldn't do, it was a production line, just unpleasant, whereas other cheaper places really do want you to go away relaxed and refreshed not stressed out! It's not a car MOT it's a spa!

You don't sound hard work at all. It's become the new comment for people who want to be part of the thread and think they are so clever.

They aren't.

They offer a service you didn’t want. I doubt they are losing any sleep over not having you as a customer.

You don't sound hard work at all. It's become the new comment for people who want to be part of the thread and think they are so clever.

People have been hard work both here and in real life for a long time. Nothing new about it.

Having previously worked in hospitality, trying to meet these kinds of customers’ needs is hard work, and invariably they will still always complain about the service.

I said new comment not new behaviour.

Tbh op you sound like my SIL... goes to a restaurant and orders a meal let’s say
Sea bass with samphire and a butter based sauce with mash and veg on the side...but then requests the following
Can you take off the samphire
and instead of the ‘butter sauce’ can I have mushroom sauce from the chicken dish instead
and then instead of mash can I have chips and instead of the veg can I have a plain green salad.

Emmm ok says the waitress.. SIL gets the dinner as she requested (much to the chefs annoyance I imagine!!) and then COMPLAINS that the meal is bland or doesn’t really work!!! Meanwhile I just want to fucking scream!!!! OF COURSE ITS SHIT YOU MADE THE FUCKING DISH UP!!

HARD WORK!!

You book a package, you have what's in the package. Yabu.

I agree with Lipper.