Such a palaver to book tea for two

The Pump Room has been described as amongst the most beautiful tea rooms in the world and it is most certainly a star attraction amongst the many wonders in this amazing city of ours.

I and a friend - both long-time residents of Bath - made the mistake of thinking it would be nice for a change to go to the Pump Room for tea.

I was to discover how difficult this was because they don’t answer the phone.

I walked down into town and when I asked if I might go in to make a booking I was refused by a doorman and in the freezing cold not even permitted to enter the lobby.

I waited about a quarter of an hour - during which I was joined by another lady on a similar mission - only to be handed a card and told to make a booking on the phone.

The other lady immediately produced her mobile confirming that the line was blocked.

Another long wait until a man - I was told was the manager - came to speak to me and I explained I wished to book for two at 4pm the following Wednesday.

He disappeared leaving us long enough to wonder if we had indeed been forgotten.

He returned and informed me there were only bookings for 11 or 2 because there was so little call for the Pump Room and they closed at 4. THIS IS A TEA ROOM. By this time cold and annoyed I booked for 2. The whole episode lasted over half an hour.

May I point out a couple of things. First I am not the least surprised bookings are down - to the extent I was

told they were - because if folk are to be treated so badly, left standing in the cold and if it is that difficult to be able to book at all were I a tourist I would just not bother and go somewhere else.

Secondly if this were just an ordinary tea room one would be pretty annoyed by this experience but as I mentioned at the beginning being a star attraction of the city, famous worldwide partly for its connection with the time of Jane Austen, it is an absolute disgrace that it should be mishandled in this manner.

June Ward

Bath