Brocco on the Park

This was my third stay, and it’ll be my last. The first impression was good: Rodney checked me in without any trouble at 11pm, and the room looked lovely, with a coffee machine, fresh milk and a piece of cake. Then the pigeon loft room’s blinds let in too much light, and the bar fridge kept waking me when it switched on, so I got up and unplugged it. Around 4am, doors started banging, followed by the bin men, with more banging and shouting. At about 6:45, I found there was no hot water when I turned on the shower, and no central heating either. It was January and snowing outside. Reception didn’t answer when I called, so I ended up taking a freezing cold shower. That’s completely unacceptable for the money paid. The receptionist apologised and said she’d had to reset the boiler. She asked me to email Harry the manger, which I did straight away. Three days later, he still hadn’t replied or contacted me to explain, apologise or offer any compensation. I’ll spend my hard earned cash somewhere else, and suggest you do the same.

We travelled 40 minutes for my son’s birthday breakfast, and my elderly in-laws took a 30 minute taxi ride to join us. We’d booked for 10:30 and arrived on time. There was just one other table of four, making 11 people in the restaurant. The waitress was lovely, though she looked stressed and seemed to be dealing with a kitchen issue. We ordered coffee and breakfast at around 10:45. After 45 minutes with no food, we were told there was only one chef. There still weren’t any other diners. We asked about the order and were told it would be along soon. Fifteen more minutes later, I checked and saw all our food sitting on the pass going cold. The other table said it had been there for quite a while. Three dishes had hollandaise sauce, which was worrying left sitting out and a health risk. Another ten minutes passed before the food started arriving, and it was stone cold. We refused the meal and said we were leaving. We got there at 10:30 and left at 12:00. I can’t understand how a restaurant couldn’t serve seven breakfasts in 90 minutes. The other table left too. There was no manager or senior staff member to speak to, and the waitress had no support. I really can’t fault her, she was absolutely lovely and too good for that place. Well done Brocco!! I certainly won’t be back. I should have guessed when we were the only two bookings.

We had a lovely one night stay. The room was great, with a comfy bed, lovely decor and thoughtful touches like complimentary cake when we arrived. Staff were really friendly. We also ate in the restaurant in the evening and had breakfast there, and both meals were delicious. Highly recommend.

We went to Brocco for a birthday dinner and left disappointed. The dining room felt sterile, with pale grey, glass and wood, and not much warmth or character. I can’t comment on the rooms since we didn’t stay overnight. The menu sounded good, but the food was mediocre and the dishes weren’t cooked properly. For the price, the ingredients seemed cheap. The cooking felt dated, a mix of French classics and Asian influences that might have worked with better ingredients and execution. Staff were polite, but seemed nervous, and there didn’t appear to be many of them. It wasn’t the experience I expected at that price.