Hotel threatening to sue us for bad review

[Itsalongwayto]

Unashamedly posting in AIBU for traffic. We stayed in a truly dreadful place over the August BH weekend. I wrote to the owner afterwards expressing our displeasure and with a long list of complaints including unsecure blind pulls, a trampoline with no safety net, water features with no warning, general filth and 1980s decor (I expect more at £300/night). Additionally one of the curtain poles fell down on my head. He wrote back ignoring most of my points but stating that he was disappointed that I hadn’t said thank you to them for fixing the curtain pole so quickly . I submitted a review on reevoo and Tripadvisor, neither of which have been published yet......but he has emailed threatening to sue us if we don’t take our review down (I’m assuming he has been sent a preview). We have photographs of everything except the awful smell.
I’m assuming it’s safe to just ignore and block? I’m not taking my review down.

Can someone also message me the name of this as I cant work it out either. I want to know where to avoid book a holiday to Devon and want to choose a quality establishment.

@99redballoonshaveallpopped

google the reply to a review that @Eddielzzard quoted and you'll find it

@janiesmutts

Well I for one am local to this establishment and LOVE this place. It is idyllic, Tranquil. The owners have never been anything but kind and friendly to me & my children. The manageree of wonderful birds amuse us for for an hour + On a Sunny day we always have a home made Cream tea which is by far the best for miles around. And as for 'water features, & rivers' if you count a tiny extremely shallow stream as a danger 🙄🤦 if your that worried don't allow your child out of your sight, I don't anyway 🤷 It's *@clean*, very clean inside and if you call Antiques old decor so be it but it is the character of this magical Manor House. I have MANY photographs of this lovely place and many happy memories.

I actually can't tell whether you are being serious or not?!

@janiesmutts Bwahahahaha Brilliant satire!

Welcome to Mumsnet Janiesmutts 😉

@janiesmutts

Well I for one am local to this establishment and LOVE this place. It is idyllic, Tranquil. The owners have never been anything but kind and friendly to me & my children. The manageree of wonderful birds amuse us for for an hour + On a Sunny day we always have a home made Cream tea which is by far the best for miles around. And as for 'water features, & rivers' if you count a tiny extremely shallow stream as a danger 🙄🤦 if your that worried don't allow your child out of your sight, I don't anyway 🤷 It's *@clean*, very clean inside and if you call Antiques old decor so be it but it is the character of this magical Manor House. I have MANY photographs of this lovely place and many happy memories.

Ahhhh the owner found your thread OP! How wonderful

I have MANY photographs of this lovely place and many happy memories

Please post them @janiesmutts! Be great to see them

The owner has to have joined mumsnet

Haha, I love a new poster who arrives to mysteriously sing the praises of some dive😂

@Eddielzzard

OMG this man. So rude.

"I am sure readers will realise that your capability to judge whether we are a country house Hotel in an historic manor or not is somewhat deficient. I realise there are lots of arty-fairy alternative types living in your city and it seems to have gone to your heads! Thank you for noting that our location is indeed ‘stunning’ – I am surprised you are discerning enough to know."

"Happy memories" or not, I would never stay in any establishment owned by someone who comes out with this to one of his guests .

@mrsmummy1111 . Yes looks like someone has tipped him off. He hasn’t emailed me again or written a response.....yet

@Aridane

Done, *@JacobReesMogadishu*

It drove me mad too!

I beg you to PM me the name please 🙏🏼

Even if @janiesmutts was genuine (none of is believe that), they didn’t stay there and just have afternoon tea. Also very interesting to hear from the one local person who likes PM. What a coincidence!

You know what with nearly 18 years in the hospitality sector I have never had a summer like this one of where I have dealt with some of the most obnoxious twats on the planet and in Facebook groups for hotel workers this apparently has Been a theme this year with guests who had their two week holiday to Thailand cancelled thinking is the responsibility of a hotel in Blackpool to make it up to them and expectations of what hospitality employees can do under current covid restrictions for guests.

I have been at my upmost limit these past 3 months and have dreamed of going on a trip advisor rant to some of the recent 1 star reviews that have been dragging down my 4.5 status recently because we can’t put bathrobes in rooms and a buffet breakfast needs to be plated rather them helping themselves to 8 sausages and half a loaf of toast in normal times before leaving most of it on their plate.

Is this person unprofessional, absolutely. But I also wish that sometimes I could act like this, because for every obnoxious hotel owner there are 1000’s of horrible guests and whilst you don’t deserve this op the law of probability is he’s probably put someone in his place at some point who has treated hotel workers like trash.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g191252-d491974-r769115704-Trimstone_Manor_Country_House_Hotel-Ilfracombe_Devon_England.html?m=19905

Review published on TA has same images as those published by OP - so I’ll assume that fair use comes into play.

Is this person unprofessional, absolutely. But I also wish that sometimes I could act like this, because for every obnoxious hotel owner there are 1000’s of horrible guests and whilst you don’t deserve this op the law of probability is he’s probably put someone in his place at some point who has treated hotel workers like trash.
Right. That’s like saying when people go on about women drivers, it doesn’t matter how good majority of women are, law of probability means they are probably right about one. What an odd way to justify it.

Many of us have had to stay professional with arseholes at work and fantasies about a fuck you moment but it doesn’t mean you are in anyway right if you d sound off at anyone you don’t agree with with the off chance you are in the right once or twice.

Another one-star review has just appeared. The five-star reviews are so blatantly fake.

@janiesmutts

Well I for one am local to this establishment and LOVE this place. It is idyllic, Tranquil. The owners have never been anything but kind and friendly to me & my children. The manageree of wonderful birds amuse us for for an hour + On a Sunny day we always have a home made Cream tea which is by far the best for miles around. And as for 'water features, & rivers' if you count a tiny extremely shallow stream as a danger 🙄🤦 if your that worried don't allow your child out of your sight, I don't anyway 🤷 It's *@clean*, very clean inside and if you call Antiques old decor so be it but it is the character of this magical Manor House. I have MANY photographs of this lovely place and many happy memories.

@janiesmutts Oh hi there Mr Hotel Owner. You're really bad at disguising yourself 😂

Is this person unprofessional, absolutely. But I also wish that sometimes I could act like this, because for every obnoxious hotel owner there are 1000’s of horrible guests and whilst you don’t deserve this op the law of probability is he’s probably put someone in his place at some point who has treated hotel workers like trash. Well said.
I don't like this thread. It's a witch hunt

Thankyou 🙏🥰😘❤️
Wow can't believe how much nastiness is being said? (Not by you) No I most certainly am not the owner (wish I flipping was!!) Would LOVE to bring my children up here 💕💞

I don't like this thread. It's a witch hunt

All businesses run into problems and make mistakes from time to time. It's how you respond to them that counts. Threatening to sue people and writing arsey replies to reviews is not good business practice. He's just digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole. I know there's a lot of unreasonable customers out there, but we can usually see through unreasonable reviews. These ones aren't. They are genuine. He's responded to them by being sarcastic and insulting, and by writing a load of blatantly fake positive reviews which practically everyone here has picked up on.

I like him & his lovely wife very much, They have never been anything but kind and welcoming to me & my family.
We're not best friend's, but I do know good people when I meet them & they are with good family values & I for one appreciate their kindness to us even though we haven't stayed there we have been in many a time & I LOVE antiques so for me personally love all of the personal touches around.
Some people like traditional some people like the places that are modern decor.
As the saying goes we all like different things.xxxx

Sure 😂

Totally 100% genuine.xxxx.

@janiesmutts And I'm the Queen of Sheba