A family have claimed that a gastro pub 'ruined Christmas Day' after they were left waiting to be seated for an hour before returning home to have a jacket potato.
Taking to TripAdvisor under the name 'roff', the group posted the complaint about the Saxon Mill pub in Warwick. They claim they were not alone in their treatment with others appearing to wait a long time to be seated - and those who were given a table complained of wrong orders or cold food, according to the Mirror
In the review, roff said: "Just awful from Start to finish. 3.45pm booking. Arrived at 3.30pm to find a queue outside and a bunch of people gathered in a cattle area!
"Bad vibes all round as they had all been waiting a long time already. Overall we waited an hour and in the end asked for a refund and went home (30 minutes away) and had a jacket potato.
"Completely ruined our Christmas day. We have been out many times for Christmas day dinner and cheaper than this place and NEVER have we been treated like this. The poor waitresses were running around and not one senior member of staff addressed us waiting.
"People that had managed to eat something walked past us and said good luck. Many asked for refunds, walked out mid meal and said said the food was coming out wrong and cold.
"When we were about to leave we were approached by someone and he said that they were short staffed as lots had rang in sick.
"Well you would know at the start of the day how many staff you have surely so even though we would have been angry if you had called us to tell us the situation, you should have given us the choice and had we of known earlier, we could have organised something else. Also you should have over staffed to avoid this.
"Won't be back here again on principle."
Saxon Mill, which is located inside a 12th century mill, was renovated by Mitchell and Butler after the company took over management of the pub in 2008. The restaurant, which was previously a Harvester, is described as a 'high-end Premium Country Pub.'
Despite the family being disappointed by their experience, many took to TripAdvisor to praise the service, food and atmosphere.
One person posted: "Travelled down from Scotland to have Xmas meal with family. They had picked the restaurant and it was a great choice. Food and service on pint and a beautiful old building."
Another shared: "We were blown away by the building and its setting. A lovely meal ensued, served by cheery staff, with a smile and helpful advice. A real treat for all the senses. Delighted. 11 out of 10."
A further guest stated: "It was a lovely evening. We were sat in the restaurant - five of us in total, including a couple of children. The service was polite and well informed. We were given everything we ordered, and had time to talk and enjoy the evening."
More than 36 percent of Saxon Mill's reviews on TripAdvisor are "Excellent".
A spokesperson for The Saxon Mill told The Express. : "We are disappointed to hear that we were unable to accommodate the family promptly on Christmas Day.
"Unfortunately, due to unexpected operational pressures including a much smaller team than we had planned for, the team working on the day were doing the best they could to cater for all guests.
"We encourage the family affected to feed back to us via our dedicated Guest Care team - guest.care@mbplc.om - so we can personally apologise and offer them a full refund on their deposit."
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