月桂飯店

幾個月前我曾在這裡住過，經過深思熟慮後，我感到有責任留下這篇評論——即使只是為了警告其他人。無論什麼情況下我都不會建議住在這裡。 從我到達的那一刻起，所謂的「主人」就營造了一種非常不舒服的氛圍，讓我真的很難放鬆。他們的態度很冷淡，近乎敵意，而且充斥著不必要的規則，讓我感覺自己更像是一個不受歡迎的入侵者，而不是一個付費的客人。 早餐？在我要求的時候還沒有。相反，他們給了我一杯優格——但嚴格指示我不能在房間裡吃它。顯然，他們完全沒有考慮到客人的舒適度。 入住過程簡直是居高臨下——對房間每個微小的細節進行冗長的說教：哪些開關可以使用，哪些是禁止使用的，不要觸碰百葉窗，不要調節暖氣，淋浴的工作原理是這樣的（好像我以前從來沒見過一樣）。這不是款待；這是一次控制練習。整件事情不像是我入住的介紹，更像是對房子本身的無可忍受的吹噓，而我對此完全不感興趣。最糟糕的是？這種感覺就像主人隨時都可能出現來執行他們嚴厲的、無趣的規則。這讓人感到壓抑。我住過很多地方，從來沒有感到如此不受歡迎或受到限制。 我再強調一下：不要住在這裡。不惜一切代價避免。

One word superb, wonderful hosts , very well appointed room, super breakfast. From the moment you walk in you are aware you are going to have a quality stay. Thinking of staying anywhere else ?? Well don't it's that good.

The checkin was just bizarre. Trish made an officious performance of sitting behind her desk to tap our names into her laptop. And that set the tone for what was to come… Although we had booked all 3 rooms we each, in turn, got an induction / onboarding type lecture about how to use the shower, the rules of the room, etc. Such a pointless waste of an hour for him to deliver that three times when it could’ve been done just once. Whilst there is SO much more I could write I want to focus on the following points. 1. Stan made much of the fact that their cat loved egg yolk, and as he cleared one plate away he put it down in the utility room and the cat was heard licking the plate clean. Totally unhygienic. I suspect the Food standards agency would be interested to learn of their poor hygiene practices. 2. Stan offered to take some of our party in his Merc to the wedding 2 miles away. This was also offered in correspondence. As we were leaving he said not to forget we owed him £14 for the one way lift, a cost he’d never before mentioned. The wedding venue is less than 5 mins from The Laurels (as per Google maps). I’m sure Essex County Council will also be interested to learn that Stan is running an unlicensed taxi company. 3. Without permission Stan reached over me and took my mobile phone off the breakfast table and put it out of reach on their desk. Who the hell does he think he is? That was a mighty overreach. 4. They were rude, condescending, and laid down ridiculous rules and regulations that made us feel very uncomfortable. 5. By the time we were leaving I’d got the measure of him, so I made a point of telling him that there were no teaspoons left in our bedroom as I didn’t want him to think I’d taken them. His response was yes, if you hadn’t said I would’ve thought you were a thieving b!tch.

Read and believe any low reviews you can find on this site as well as other travel sites. The owner is arrogant and condescending, and will feel the need to explain how to turn on and use every single item in your room, which takes about 15 minutes. It is just part of the “ check-in” procedure as he calls it. When I checked in, he jokingly offered me to stay in his room when I asked for a quiet bedroom in the back of the house away from traffic. Unprofessional and creepy. He will stand over you at breakfast and stare at you, and if you move one of your dishes, he will place it back to where he wanted it as you are eating, and remove dishes you are still actively eating from and immediately start washing them and pots and pans while you are sitting in the kitchen, trying to enjoy breakfast. When I checked in, I set my camera bag down on a blanket on the bed, he immediately grabbed it and started putting it into a closet. When I left the first morning, he followed me to the door and asked me when I was returning, you have absolutely no privacy there. I had made a cup of coffee and set it in the small refrigerator to enjoy that afternoon, when I returned back to my room, I find all of my personal possessions had been moved, as well as a fan I had set up by the door to block all of the household noises, he had unplugged it, and put it where he wanted it, along with a box of tissues I put next to the bed, he returned it back to where he wanted it. When I opened the refrigerator to get my cup of coffee, it was gone. When I asked him what happened to it, he told me “he thought I had mistakenly left it in there so he dumped it” when I told him that was not acceptable, he changed his story to that he had to follow household procedures by disinfecting every cup and glass in each room. Absolutely unacceptable and bizarre behavior. He makes his guest feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and find another place to stay if you want peace and quiet and privacy.

Firstly the good part: the Laurels are friendly and helpful people, the breakfast is cooked live and just lovely, the beds are of good quality and everything is really clean. Felsted has nice walking areas and a great pub/restaurant called The Swan. There’s one downside, and that’s that you live inside the house of your hosts. They might stay up for you. They will ask where you’ve been. Command you to take your shoes off and keep your room tidy enough for them to clean. The guy will give you an exhausting explanation of the lights and the shower. You can’t change the temperature in the room so you’ll be sweating all night. They won’t leave you alone to have a calm breakfast. Their interest in your whereabouts is next to nosy. They’ve got a silly habit with the locks, it’s like a ford. If they’ve forgotten to take the inside keys out, you can’t get in with your own key. And the man once scared the living sh#t out of me by standing right behind the door as I got in. So… if you don’t mind paying a serious commercial price for staying over at your quite estranged (grand)parents, be their guest! 😉