Marco Pierre White Restaurants
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I was on my way to join a cruise in…
I was on my way to join a cruise in Southampton and stayed overnight at the Rudloe Arms manor house, near Bath. I wish I had gone to Premier Inn. There was a 'special deal' of a night stay with a la carte dinner and full English breakfast for £150, for two. The menu offered for dinner was either a pie or something vegetarian, but if we wanted to eat a proper meal we had to pay an extra £50. The wine was nothing special except for the price; who expects to pay London prices in Wiltshire. The accommodation was some sort of hostel built in the grounds of the manor house, with ill-fitting windows and a bed so uncomfortable that it felt like a water-bed. Then to top it all the breakfast turned out to be extra payable as well. I wished I had gone to a transport cafe instead. The whole experience was a total rip-off. As a footnote, later that day I joined one of Fred Olsen's ships in Southampton and that evening I enjoyed a fillet steak which knocked the spots off Marco Polo's offering.