Caistor Hall Hotel

“Room 5 on a Monday night?”

My wife and I have just stayed for one night of peace and relaxation. Firstly, the staff were brilliant and the bed was very comfortable. However, I totally missed the part on their website where they advise that the restaurant isn't open on Mondays, which meant heading into Norwich for dinner (n… more

My wife and I have just stayed for one night of peace and relaxation. Firstly, the staff were brilliant and the bed was very comfortable. However, I totally missed the part on their website where they advise that the restaurant isn't open on Mondays, which meant heading into Norwich for dinner (no biggy and it was my bad). When we arrived, we bought a drink each from the bar but were then told that the bar would be closing and wouldn't normally be open on a Monday night. There was no mention of this on the website or during the booking process. We'd really looked forward to having a meal then lounging back in the Whiskey room playing cards and getting nicely sloshed without having to think about taxis back etc. After our night in the city, we clambered into the 4 poster bed and soon nodded off only to be rudely awoken by the linen truck loading and unloading directly below our open window. Tail lift noises, metal cages, banging and whistling all less than 15m from me and at 06:20. To say it spoilt the occasion would be putting it mildly. To their credit, the staff and manager I spoke to were very apologetic and we have come to an agreement re finances. I just wanted folk to be aware of the Monday restaurant and bar policy and the pitfall of room 5's position!

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“Disappointing afternoon tea”

Had afternoon tea on a Saturday. We were the only people in the restaurant. The hotel was completely deserted so no atmosphere at all. It wasn't overly warm either. The afternoon tea despite being nice was on the small side. The sandwiches, sausage roll and cheese straw were nice and very tasty alt… more

Had afternoon tea on a Saturday. We were the only people in the restaurant. The hotel was completely deserted so no atmosphere at all. It wasn't overly warm either. The afternoon tea despite being nice was on the small side. The sandwiches, sausage roll and cheese straw were nice and very tasty although it wasn't a whole sausage roll. We only got one scone each which was VERY small. The cakes were tiny and by the time we got home we were hungry again. We ordered earl grey tea and asked for some milk to come with this which didn't arrive and we then had to chase this up. For £25 I felt this was not value for money. I have had other afternoon teas which cost less and with more food. Possibly trying to be too fancy. The tasting restaurant only had 4 people in so the staff far outnumbered the customers. We won't be hurrying back. The decor is nice and I liked the music being played where we were sat but the whole experience needs fine tuning. I think offering savoury and fruit scones would help, and make sure there is a little more food for £25 charge.

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“50/50”

The Hotel is not equipped to deal with disabilities due the countless stairs and steps throughout the building. No lift available to upper floors. Whilst waiting for a table in an adjoining reception room, the lights continually kept dimmimg which made reading the menu's extremely difficult, so we… more

The Hotel is not equipped to deal with disabilities due the countless stairs and steps throughout the building. No lift available to upper floors. Whilst waiting for a table in an adjoining reception room, the lights continually kept dimmimg which made reading the menu's extremely difficult, so we resorted to using mobile phones lights. The bed we has in our room creaked at every small movement causing sleepless nights.Pillows smelt but were replaced upon request from the staff. Tried to call reception from the room, but the room telephone lead was missing and the phone was dead. My wife called the reception using her own phone on Saturday, there was no answer but she left her number on the recorded answer machine. Today it is Tuesday, we are at home but never received a reply. Good points: The food was very good, the staff very pleasant but seriously overworked.

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“Good Food”

Whilst we had a lovely Sunday lunch today, there were some disappointing elements. We were seated in the corner and service was very slow. We were asked about water when we sat and this was delivered. After that we sat around for about 15 minutes totally ignored until I went to the bar and asked… more

Whilst we had a lovely Sunday lunch today, there were some disappointing elements. We were seated in the corner and service was very slow. We were asked about water when we sat and this was delivered. After that we sat around for about 15 minutes totally ignored until I went to the bar and asked if someone could take a drinks order, this was done and we also gave our food order at the same time. The waitress then came back 5 minutes later and said they had run out of the crab starter, our table was 1:45pm! She got in a terrible muddle with changing this but eventually we agreed what we had ordered. The drinks came about 10 minutes later followed by starters. The food was really good and enjoyable, but service really was lacking. We ordered 3 coffee but got 2 and when 1 main was placed on the table the question was any sauces, ideally wait until all meals are placed? Cheesecake had also ran out, so slightly disappointing on lack of items but what we did have was delicious.

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