Special Tariff
KEYS
I hope that you have all had a lovely summer! We’ve met some delightful guests this season (which is continuing I have to say!) and not too many issues I am pleased to report. It is ‘funny’ though that those who enjoy themselves the most have a positive attitude to issues and the few who must be the grumpiest seem to go away on holiday with their pen poised even before they have arrived, ready to make their list… of course there is no excuse if things are not right (and with the best will in the world, there is always something which can go wrong!) but we hope that everyone will be happy and that their selection of ‘us’ will be because they have checked what we offer, our style, location and service, etc, before deciding to come. We meet all different sorts with myriad backgrounds and that too is a delight – from city financiers to the Grand Designs’ film crew (as we have here for a few days at the moment) and lots of lovely families as well. I think the furthest distance travelled to come here this season has been Mexico ‘that morning’ but we welcome you all!
However, we have found a key left in the lounge bar down the side of a chair (so we are not quite sure how long they were there). The fob says ‘Keep calm and support Forest’. Is the single key on the fob yours?
SPECIAL TARIFF
So the rates have drifted-back a tad now the main season is behind us, on both cottages and the Hotel so if you are planning a lovely autumnal break, do give us a call. Now too we can offer discounts for direct booking away from the Online Travel sites, it’s often worth a direct call especially for stays of more than just the one night. October Half-term is filling-up already too so don’t leave that too late!
STAFF NEEDED
We managed well over the summer with a few creaks and groans as usual and Esme has been a Trojan so thank you to her but she’s now returning to her medical studies in Manchester this weekend. Whilst inevitably it is much quieter, it does mean we have a space on the team so if you know anyone with a little nous, a hard-working attitude, keen to do every and anything, dependable and reliable and with good common sense, we have a permanent all-year round job for you and if you want to be trained-up and advance in your position, then we are happy to help there too. I know it sounds as though asking for these characteristics is basic for pretty much all roles but sadly we have been let down so many times in the past…
THE NAKED TRUTH
I did not know what to say when some of our Cottage guests said that as they looked out of their window at 9am they saw a cyclist ride past on Trimstone Lane but that he was stark naked! They wondered if it was a regular event at that time of the day… I had to confirm that I had never experienced anything quite like that and had no idea what it was all about…. if anyone can shed any light on that… though I have to say that it is hardly appropriate regardless.
CALAMITY
Well, what do you do when something goes wrong – which of course can be the case.
Recently, we had just that – the shower tray in one of our cottages decides to split in the middle of the busiest time of the year. Thankfully, with understanding guests (whose family has booked two cottages side-by-side so they had two sets of such things to use!) we were able to ascertain the problem, what needed doing, source the materials and complete the work in two days, ready for the next set of guests the next day… Well done Andy – a feat of work there! The brand-new shower in Gate Cottage looks grand too! We’ve had hot water tanks split and all forms of other things which can happen and we always do our utmost to ensure guests are not inconvenienced any more than possible. It does make me wonder what happens to those who stay in single cottages in some remote location – they don’t have anyone on site with whom to raise any problems and by the time anyone has visited to check a problem, is your holiday over? Living on site means that we are here to deal with the sorts of things that can happen to the very best of accommodations of course!
IT’S CURTAINS FOR YOU!
Yes, the Restaurant now has nice new curtains! It’s one of those ‘must-get-around-to-it’ jobs which somehow always seem to be pushed back below the latest other priority but there we are! Come down and have a look and see what you think! Of course we shall keep them open as much as we can so you can admire the garden from the Restaurant over Breakfasts, High Teas and Evening Meals. Thank you Esme for organising all of that! It reminds me how lovely a function is when held in the Restaurant room – we can accommodate up to fifty-five sitting formally.
THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF A PROFESSIONAL HOSPITALITY PROVIDER!
Yes, the fire alarm goes-off occasionally… it might be a guest who has boiled the kettle right under a heat and smoke detector or had a shower and left the door open when the condensation has set the alarm-off. Well, here is a new one, the alarm went-off (thankfully mid-morning) and I checked all round and could see nothing. So I resorted to physical activity at the sensor, gave it a good blow and something popped-out. NO, that couldn’t have caused a problem… could it… but it was a dead wasp (why it had flown into the sensor I don’t know) but it was shrivelled and smelt slightly ‘dry’. Cutting a long story short, yes, that was the source of the problem – thankfully that was not another call-out and sensor replacement… it could have been a spider more likely I guess – they do come into the Property overnight and however hard we can clean, minutes after we have checked the room one can decide to land on the quilt cover and expire just there and then too…
THE FASTEST WIFI IN THE WEST?
We have the fastest holiday accommodation wifi in the North Devon and Exmoor area! At considerable cost we upgraded to go fully fibre-optic for better business effectiveness, staff efficiency and responsiveness. No, this is not ‘just’ a wired connection to the nearest roadside box but a super, unique fibre optic link direct to the local Exchange with Ubiquity ‘Enterprise Grade’ equipment.
The Hotel and cottages had slower speeds than two-thirds of the Country but now faster speeds than 99%! We have always believed in free wifi for guests – whether residents or the cream tea or coffee visitor. In fact it makes me angry when we travel to find complicated access processes or extra fees.
People on holiday need reliable and speedy internet. When I am away, I need to work and many others do too. For entertainment – or for their children, it is important and so there are no access restrictions on broadband width for guests either as they will experience everywhere else!
This is not only for tourists but we are seeing more business guests too. The wifi and mobile signals nearby are pretty poor and not reliable so the frustration some face when they do their work won’t be experienced here. We are also open for conference facilities too so imagine streaming presentations – no interruptions or slow speeds – plus reliability and all of your delegates having great, free wifi. The facility is encouraging more guests (even out of season for those escaping for work projects to enjoy the surroundings too) but more morning coffees and afternoon teas as these guests have direct free access too.
So come and stay a night and see what it is about. Average Broadband download speeds in the UK are 46.2mbps and upload speeds of 6.2mbps. Trimstone’s speed is 300Mbps download and 30mbps upload. Our internet means you can download an Ultra HD film (70gb) in 31 minutes compared to 3.24 hours on the average speed
