Beaverbrook Country House vs Liver Cancer(UPDATE)
It's been a bit since I've posted a review here, but I've been shocked out of laziness by the treatment I just received from Beaverbrook. That said, I'm in pretty heavy grief mode right now, so perhaps I'm not seeing this perfectly clearly. But FWIW, in case this is useful to any of you considering booking here:
I booked a two-night stay for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend. Knowing that my loved one's stage IV liver cancer posed a risk to the stay happening as planned, I took the following pre-cautions when booking this non-refundable stay:
1. I checked the cancellation policy language, which states that the rate is non-refundable, but also suggests that the booking can be amended by stating immediately thereafter that changes can be made up until 72 hours prior to arrival.
2. I made the booking by telephone and discussed the possible need to amend the booking. I indicated that I might end up needing to travel solo, and was assured that I could make changes to the reservation if I needed to come on my own.
In brief, the cancer unexpectedly and rapidly accelerated and my loved one died yesterday. This has necessitated scheduling the funeral for Bank Holiday weekend, making the trip from NYC to Beaverbrook that weekend impossible.
I contacted Beaverbrook, explained the unexpectedly sudden death, and asked for help in shifting the reservation to a different date when I would be able to come on my own. I was willing to pay whatever the rate difference would be, if any.
The response I received was surprising. No condolence, no expression of concern, nothing except a curt, "We don't ever make changes to non-refundable reservations."
I asked on the phone and then by email for a copy of that policy in writing, as it is nowhere on their website, nor in the confirmation email, and it contradicts what I was told on the phone about the opportunity to amend this booking if my companion would not be able to accompany me. They have failed to provide me with a copy of that policy in writing or by pointing me to some place on their website that I have not yet been able to locate.
I was told that I would need to wait for a call back. I then received a curt email response, again without a trace of sympathy or condolence, indicating that if I came within a specific 3-day window of Sep 5-8, they would move my reservation, but they would not be willing to move it later in the fall or winter or spring to an off-peak period in which they would be likely to have otherwise unused rooms.
By way of comparison, without even a moment's pause, the Newt in Somerset, where we were booked for the following two nights, converted our nonrefundable payment into a credit for use toward a future stay. That's very much the norm in my experience with the hospitality industry, luxury or no: when a guest experiences an unexpected and grave tragedy, hospitality professionals show concern and offer a modicum of flexibility if they can do so without it hurting their bottom line.
And that's what so strange about this response from them: I stated clearly that I was not asking for nor expecting a refund. I simply asked whether they could re-open my current booking so that others could reserve it for the very popular Bank Holiday peak travel weekend -- thereby generating that revenue, and then offer me some less popular dates later in the year when a room would go unused anyway. In that way, the hotel would receive both the revenue from a stay this weekend and the revenue from the meals and spa treatments I'd book for a stay in the off-season.
When a hotel isn't even willing to care for its guests when it helps the hotel financially to do so, you know you're dealing with a management team that has no sense of what the word hospitality actually denotes.
I've stayed at many of the UK's renowned country house hotels -- Limewood, Chewton Glen, Ballyfin, Grantley Hall, Gravetye Manor, Lucknam Park, Gleneagles -- and have upcoming bookings at Heckfield Place and, as mentioned, the Newt in Somerset. And I spend dozens of nights each year in luxury hotels. I've never before seen such cynical and calloused behavior from a hotel.
So I'm hoping this experience will spare some of you similar pain and frustration if you're considering patronizing this establishment.