Can't review the hotel, but avoid booking a table in the restaurant.
Friends had booked 8 of us in for a pre-Christmas lunch at The Borough Arms on 18/12/25. Unusually, FULL payment was required 6 weeks before the date of the meal. w/c 15/12/25, my wife and I were struck down with influenza. We contacted The Borough Arms directly, to determine their cancellation/refund policy. There was to be no refund. We were offered, "as a gesture of goodwill", the opportunity "to attend with your wife on an alternative date once you are feeling better." We have never dined at The Borough Arms, and were only going because our friends had booked the table. We did not wish to attend on an alternative date. Further, what would their response be if someone had to partially cancel a reservation due to a bereavement? Offer a ,perhaps, surviving spouse a meal, on an alternative date? Also, what if we lived 100s of miles away, and were only visiting the Newcastle-under-Lyme area every few years in order to meet friends? Would we be expected to then return, (travelling 100s of miles), at additional cost, simply to benefit from a meal at The Borough Arms?
17 December 2025
Unprompted review
