A top-rated hotel has refused to be 'blackmailed' into giving out refunds and shared its cutting response to a sour guest who threatened to leave a 'bad review'.
The Rosehill House Hotel is the second-highest rated hotel in Burnley, Lancashire with 4 stars on TripAdvisor and 503 reviews from previous guests.
Of those, 247 guests gave it top marks, ranking it as excellent on the site for its £74-a-night rooms and service.
But one customer who never even made it for her booking was not happy at all and made her thoughts known in a scathing review of the management's handling of her request for a refund.
Rosie S reviewed the hotel in January giving it just one-star for its allegedly 'shocking' customer service, LancsLive reports.
She wrote: "Never have I ever heard somebody speak to a double bereaved person as the manager did on the phone to me, to which she said 'good for you' - I think not, she shouted, made discriminatory comments, and accused me of threatening behaviour.
"Utterly ridiculous to model such a hostile lack of compassion when I was making an enquiry and seeking clarification, while also asking me to be compassionate to her small business needs.
"Understanding works both ways and I am disappointed after the two years we've all had she was unable to execute that idea, clearly someone who has zero tolerance for anyone upset but their own."
But staff at the county house have hit back claiming they won't be bullied or "blackmailed" into giving refunds.
Hotel Owner, Emma Pennington, responded to the guest on January 24, stating it was not her 'recollection of the experience at all'.
Emma replied: "This is certainly not my recollection of the experience you encountered at all.
"Firstly you had called the Hotel over three times asking numerous staff for a refund on your late cancellation fee. As we explained to you that you had booked with a third party website Booking.com and the cancellation policy with them is 72 hours, you would not be able to be refunded.
"After having numerous conversations with you regarding your cancellation and the reasons you got very aggressive and your tone turned very offensive once you discovered that a refund was not a possibility when you try to cancel the room booking the day before your arrival."
Emma then added that she had reported the review as 'fraudulent' to TripAdvisor, adding: "You also threatened to write a terrible review if your refund was not given."
"We will not be blackmailed into refunds with threats of bad reviews. In future please read the cancellation terms with Booking.com before you book with them," she continued.
"A good idea is to book directly with the hotel, for a better price and cancellation policy."
The now boutique hotel was originally built as a mansion home in 1856 for cotton mill owner Adam Dugdale.
But in 1963 it was converted into accommodation, retaining many features of the original architecture.
The hotel has 31 rooms, with a standard double priced at £74 a night.
Ronnie Baxter wrote her review in December 2021, describing Rosehill House Hotel as 'an unique hotel with a county house feel'.
"I love this hotel! It's independent with it's own unique sense of retro style, like a country house in the 1930's.
"It doesn't feel like a hotel, it feels like a home and the executive room where I stayed was somewhere I could have happily lived for a while!
"The food was delicious and I love the intimate bar area with the sofas and wallpaper that made you feel like you were in a cosy library.
"The staff were super helpful and polite and it was just so refreshing to find this little gem as it sometimes feels that hotels nowadays are soulless chains where the décor is uniform in all 300 in the chain.
"Highly recommend Rosehill House Hotel, fantastic place!"
Tripadvisor user, LittleRedLaura , wrote a review about the hotel on February 13.
She said: "We booked a four poster room and it didn't disappoint, it was a beautiful, large room with a comfy bed.
"All of the public areas of the hotel look gorgeous too.
"The staff were all friendly and very helpful (even when we were a bit late to breakfast, nothing was too much trouble).
"I was very pleased that there was gluten free bread available and the cooked breakfast was lovely.
"It was quiet when we stayed there so no evening meal was available in the restaurant, this is completely understandable in low season, but worth noting if you're staying on a Sunday night (we were informed beforehand).
"I imagine this is very popular wedding venue, it's decorated so beautifully throughout."
