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.

I love the idea that you went deep and check ancestry.com to clarify

How did posters manage to work out the hotel from what OP described - I mean serious,y, please share. Your cyber sLeuthing tips

Sue a customer for a bad hotel review? Brim it on s what I’d say, I’d also complain that he’s sending you threats and harassing you.
Honestly never heard so much rubbish in my life. If that was the case, why would sites like Tripadvisor even exist? Everyone would be getting sued for negative reviews.
Let him waste his money if he really wants to, he’ll actually do more harm to his reputation too.

I googled north Devon hotel with indoor pool and tennis court. A map came up and I pressed on one near a river line. Maybe a lucky hit to get it first time!

I saw this yesterday but didn't get a chance to post. If something is true, you can't sue someone for saying it! Only if it's untrue and causes substantial damage.

Good luck to the hotel owner!

OP’s photos definitely support the major points

Crikey, finally found by going through all hotels in North Devon as listed by google and looked for the initials. I would say from looking at the photos and comparing them with the hotel's website and taking into account the star rating and the owner's hit backs on the unhappy customers that this is classic overreach. The man is unsuited to the hotel trade (I bet he came from a non-service career before buying the business, and getting on in years) and doesn't manage complaints well (this is a skill you need as there are ALWAYS unsatisfied customers). This is a red flag as if he can't take the criticism on the chin and refuse to see down sides (e.g. garden maintenance) then these things will never be addressed. For this reason alone I would not book here.

He's gone for 'country manor' and 3 rating. He'd be a lot happier in life if he put it out as 2 and marketed it less as luxury manor and more like rustic retreat, or perhaps old fashioned charm, something like that. Too many people are paying and getting disappointed. This reveals a mismatch of offer and demand. I believe there are always customers for all kinds of offers. The positive reviews bears that out.

Maybe forward your photos to the Health & Safety Executive for their consideration - and the local Tourist Board? That collapsed ceiling in the swimming pool is Legionnaires waiting to happen shocking.

The defensive essay the owner has written in response to each of the worst reviews on TA is a big giveaway. If you have to keep justifying yourself at length like that there's something wrong.

@iklboo. Already contacted the tourist board...hadn’t though if health and safety.
Running the hotel isn’t his main job.....he has fingers in many pies. I have contacted two regulatory boards of his other line of work to ask is blackmail is allowable in their code of conduct.

Op I used to work in customer complaints for a travel company and moderate revoo reviews. He can’t sue you for anything and can ask for it not to be published, but they will only not publish it if it’s against any of their guidelines, if that’s the case they will inform you of such. He can’t do anything about trip advisor either, apart from respond himself, which will probably hurt him more with that attitude, so leave him to it! Did you book directly?

Add the threat to sue to your review. He won’t sue.

Does the owner have the same name as a famous groundhog?

I don’t know any groundhogs!

He had a dispute with his brother over building works too.

@MiddleClassProblem

I don’t know any groundhogs!

He had a dispute with his brother over building works too.

You need to watch Groundhog Day!

I’ve seen Groundhog Day many times but don’t recall a name. I’m shit at movie quotes too...

Finally found it now that someone posted the initials on the previous page. Also found a local news article about his TV appearance.

The Tripadvisor reviews look normal at first, but then you click on the one and two star reviews and his replies are all there.

Here's the thing: I'm not usually put off by a couple of bad reviews here and there, if there are also lots of good ones. But it's the way they reply to the reviews that makes all the difference. He comes across as a very unpleasant person. I'm usually very easy-going when I write hotel reviews, I'm not a difficult customer and I can overlook a bit of dust, or slightly dated decor as long as it's comfortable. But as soon as the staff are rude, no way.

The groundhog is called Punxsutawney Phil

I’ve seen Groundhog Day many times but don’t recall a name. I’m shit at movie quotes too...

Punxsutawney Phil - Bill Murray's character was also called Phil.

When people say fingers in pies, in this instance I think of American Pie rather than business for some reason

His surname is the same as the brand name of a sterilisation product, and also the first half of the name of a town that has lots of roundabouts.