Middlesbrough, UK--Don't Make Me Go Back!!

Two weeks ago I went to Middlesbrough for work. It is located about 3.5 hours north of where we live. It was okay, but next time I go I will definitely be staying in a different hotel. I stayed at the Gisborough Hall Hotel http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/gisborough/ and it was actually pretty nice, but there were too many things that annoyed me while I was there.

First, when I got there to check in the desk clerk was very nice but I couldn't understand a word he was saying because he was mumbling and talking too fast. I asked if they had a workout room and he said no. Okay, strike one. Then, I asked if there was a hotel restaurant menu in my room because I was thinking about just ordering room service for dinner instead of venturing out to find food. He told me that there wasn't a menu in my room, but he would have one sent up to me. Okay, works for me. So then he is describing to me where my room is located and I'm thinking, "What? These directions sound confusing. Whatever, how hard could it be to find room 110?" No. It took me so long to find my room! If you go to the link to the hotel, you will see that it is an 18th or 19th century-type hotel, and I think it used to be a castle or something, so the hallways and everything had all these twists and turns and the signs directing you towards the rooms were really obscure. I finally find my room, which is deep deep deep into the hotel and I'm thinking, "God forbid if there is a fire or something because it is going to take me forever to to get out of here!" Anyway, my room is nice so I am happy about that.

By this time, I am hungry because I had been on the train all day and still haven't gotten the menu that the desk clerk said he was going to have sent to me. I decide to be patient and give them 20 minutes before I call down to see where my menu is. So 20 minutes pass and still no menu, so I call down and politely ask again for a menu. The same desk clerk answers the phone and he says that the menu is being sent. Okay. Another 30 minutes goes by and by now I am steaming mad because I am hungry and I hate when I am given bad customer service. Anyway, I happen to get up to go to the bathroom and I pass by my door and what do I see strewn on the floor? My menu!!! Who knows how long it had been laying there, and that made me even madder because they really should have knocked on the door and hand-delivered the menu to me, but whatever, I have the menu now. Looking at the menu made me even madder though because they had all these weird things on it like chicken liver sauteed in duck fat and a bunch of other stuff I had never heard of. I really wasn't in the mood to be adventurous with my food, so I decided to just go down to the hotel bar for dinner. Of course I got turned around trying to make it back downstairs, but I made it. I ended up ordering salmon and salad at the bar and it was really good, but as I am enjoying my dinner this big cat walks in!! I am sitting all the way in the corner, so I was sure that the cat wouldn't come to me. Sure enough, he saunters right over and sits right beside me and stares at me. I am terribly allergic to cats and my eyes start to water and face starts to itch as soon as he comes over. Finally I got the waitress' attention and asked her if this cat belongs to someone. She was like, "Yeah, he belongs to the manager." I politely asked if she could come and get the cat because I am allergic, and she acted like I was the one causing problems! Excuse me, lady, but did you know that having a cat in an establishment that serves food is not only nasty but also a liability?? What if I had gone into anaphylactic shock from this cat dander flying everywhere? What if the cat bit me and I caught rabies? I could sue you! My sister is a lawyer, so I am a lawyer too by proxy!!! Of course I didn't say any of this, but I was thinking it. Anyway, after dinner I went back to my room and I was miserable for the rest of the night because I didn't have any allergy medicine with me and I was really itchy and my eyes were puffy and watery. I finally made it to sleep around 11:30 but was awakened at 2:00 AM by a DOG barking in the hallway! What is this, a hotel or a kennel??

Anyway, the next morning I checked out and I didn't realize until after I had left that they charged my credit card for my stay instead of charging the travel company like they were supposed to. Should I have been surprised? Not at all. I have to come back to Middlesbrough in July, and I will definitely be staying somewhere else!!