To give Hotel Chocolate as a present

[Connected1]

Earlier there was a thread about a work raffle where people donated prizes. The OP mentioned Hotel Chocolate as being one of those "junk presents" that people would donate.

I'm feeling a bit sheepish as I would have bought it online to send as presents to friends in UK (I don't live there myself).

What do people think?
IABU - It's got a bit of a crap reputation
IANBU - It's a premium brand that you'd be glad to get as a present.

I see where you are coming from. You can get it on Ocado and somehow coming with the groceries makes it feel less like a special treat. Rococo Chocolates and Prestat are also in Waitrose which has a different feel from going to Princes Arcade or the Moxton Street store. But it's super useful when you forget its teacher gift day next day

I like it - good for creative chocolates. We have a local independent chocolate maker who is very good and I would say noticeably better than HC, but they are very expensive. The best chocolates I have ever had are the Mozart chocolates you get in Salzburg, sadly not widely available outside of Austria. I can’t bear cheap chocolate (cadburys and so on) and think HC is fine.

I voted YABU because it’s Hotel Chocolat - not Hotel Chocolate!

I love hotel chocolat 😍😍😍

I always thought Hotel Chocolat was viewed as quite high end. I'm clearly an uncultured oaf.

We get some for Xmas every year and we never get through it. We eat a couple of the chocolates and then never bother with the rest and they end up in the bin.

I haven’t had any Hotel Chocolat for ages
i liked the praline and there is a high cocoa ( illegal gianduja ?? Can’t spell it 🤣)
I wasn’t really impressed by the advent calendars though 🤔
ooh I tell you what’s really very good , Ian Burnett the highland chocolatier now that’s amazing !
I have bought that as a gift and you can select the size of box and exactly which truffles you like

Is that the chocolatier in Grandtully? And it has a gift shop attached?

I would normally recommend the Mince Pie edition but for some bizarre reason this year they have decided to add white chocolate to the mix so that is a big no, no for me! 💩

I prefer hotel chocolat to the usual mass market chocolatiers including Lindt
However not as good as small scale individual manufacturers
Had amazing chocolate in Krakow, Prague etc - wonder why the U.K. accept such low standards

Yes it is 😄

I can't afford HC but tried it once, really delici9us!

I know the one!

Crikey. I bought DD a Velvetiser and the sample sachets for Christmas 😬 saying that I know she’s going to mostly be using it for Matcha … because she’s 💯 genZ, Pilates loving snob. Age 17 😂🤭

This, definitely. I feel embarrassed for them when they do it. It’s kind of revealing in a way they clearly don’t intend!

I absolutely love Hotel Chocolat - my children buy me a selection of the little packs every year as part of my Christmas present.

I see the most ridiculously snobby assertions around the most random things here on MN sometimes. Really makes me laugh 😁

Don't worry what people on MN think.
I've begining to think a lot of these snotty called snob based. comments are not genuine.

In that they come from people who are not well-off . But pretend to be and definitely have no taste and never will.

Many years ago in the UK we used to call this type of would be Social Climbing . Keeping Up With The Joneses

Hotel Chocolat make perfectlyn good chocolate products.

If you decide not to send these Chocolates to your friend.. Send them to me. Yummy.

Thank You

I purchased Hotel Chocolate,a few years back.Gave as Christmas presents.When I tasted some on Christmas day,I thought it was awful.I purchased on next spent around £40.Such a waste of money, embarrassed to give it as gifts Save your money. Just buy your favourite brands instead.

I also remember Thornton's - there was a shop in Liverpool and you could buy loose toffee and chocolates by the pound.

People are ridiculous on here, OP. I'm middle class and well off and have bought HC for people for years for Christmas and birthdays. Would be delighted with a box as a present for me too.

I was given some vegan HC for Christmas last year and enjoyed it. Not my absolute favourite, but as vegan choc can be horribly sweet, this was a nice surprise

Hotel Chocolat is one of the few chocolate manufacturers that don't put dodgy additives into their chocolate.

Maybe everyone else is richer than me, but it's quite expensive to me? My favourite are the Velvetiser sachets, they're my go-to if someone wants to treat me. Surely Hotel Chocolat would be better than donating Cadburys?

@bumptybum not at all. I like Galaxy, Lily O’Brien’s, Ferrero Rocher, Lindor, Aldi, and all sorts. I think with all of those you are getting what you pay for. (Though Ferrero Rocher seem to have shot up this year)

I also like some Charbonnel and Walker, though I don’t buy them.

If I was to pay a premium price for chocolate, then I’d expect it to be a premium chocolate. I think HC used to be premium, but now it tastes waxy and cheap. I suspect they have downgraded their ingredients whilst trying to hold onto their premium reputation.

If I was given HC I would, of course, accept them with a big smile. I’d be sad that someone had spent the money on them, though.

God, I'd love a bag of Thornton's toffee right now. From the counter. In 1984. Please.

Thanks for the correction! Never realised - but that does sound posher 😁