Afternoon Tea for Two at Craiglands Hotel 10763470

We had an afternoon tea voucher bought for a present and on Sunday 9th June 2019 we went to the Craiglands Hotel, Cowpasture Road, Ilkley LS29 8RQ at 4:00pm. What an experience, one we shall not forget in a hurry. It was very difficult explaining to my sister of the situation when she had bought the voucher. Our table was the only one set up in a lounge with a bar alongside with the table in the middle of the room, nothing like a tea room or restaurant, without any atmosphere except for a television blaring out and some music from another area. The actual tea itself included: 1. sandwiches of tuna, beef with holandaise sauce and ham with branston pickle plus soggy lettuce in each one. Neither of us like hollandaise sauce or branston pickle, it would had been better to have had these in a dish. 2. the scones we had one small ramakin of whipped up cream (not clotted) which was hardly sufficient for 2 people and 2 ramakins of jam. 3. 3 cakes each but they tasted old and the chocolate brownie we could hardly get our teeth into. Needless to say we only had a few bites. Everything tasted so cold, straight from the fridge. Our time there was very unpleasant. I am writing this email to you to make other people aware of the situation and be prepared. The tea was nothing like the picture portrayed on the booking details.

The waitress was so helpful and friendly it made the experience so much more enjoyable. She went above and beyond her job to make sure that both my 5 year old son, myself and my parents in their 70s had the best afternoon tea. We all requested something slightly different and we all got what we wanted. The room was nicely decorated and it was very quiet the day we went. Maybe why our waitress was so attentitive. Overall enjoyed by all 4 of us and will definitely go back....just a shame there are no gardens as such now to sit out and enjoy the summer sun x

We arrived at the hotel and found plenty of parking availablity. Entering the hotel we were greeted at the reception desk politely. At first I thought that there might have been a mix up with the booking because the staff seemed a bit surprised and asked if we had booked. Despite this wobbly beginning we were taken through to a dining area and served with a yummy array of treats. Their service was second to none and they remained friendly and helpful throughout.

Very little atmosphere - felt we were left alone and only one other couple in the place. Basic food and certainly didn't give any luxury homemade feel.. No choice of type of teas or coffees. Menu at the venue gave a very different price and description to that received. Definitely not worth £17.50 each even with a refill of drinks. The hotel is tired, dated and building work in the grounds means that any character it once had is lost. Would not return.