The Western Club

Visited and stayed in many reciprocal clubs and this has been the most disappointing experience. Reception area unwelcoming, you have to press a buzzer for access, we waited around 10 minutes to be let in (tried calling numerous times and goes straight to voicemail). Finally we are able to get access to the building. Club areas seem to be on upper floors, the lift doesn’t take you to these floors and we had to carry our luggage up 3 floors. Administration office is closed before 5pm? with a note on the door for guests to collect keys from a restaurant downstairs. Felt like we were an inconvenience to the waiting staff as they were busy and understaffed, we were handed an envelope and advised that the bedrooms are upstairs. Finally located our bedroom for the night, extremely disappointed with the room basic is an understatement! No storage or wardrobe facilities, mattress is cheap and lumpy, bedding is filthy, no facilities in room (tv and WiFi were not working), bathroom was tired and in need of serious upgrading, furniture in bedroom is cheap flat-pack which has not been built properly. The tap water is not for drinking, does this pose any serious health hazards? The room rate does not represent value for money, we were not happy with the standard of the room which had been allocated to us but there were no staff or Manager on duty to speak with to see if there were any alternative rooms available. Went down to the second floor area which seems to be for members and this was deserted and in darkness. Finally after 10pm a staff member appeared and seemed displeased when we were going out, he wanted to know what time we would be back. Trying to get a sleep is impossible, bins are emptied all night, unbearable noise from extractor fans, nightclubs across the street playing thumping music until 3am! Finally able to nod off to sleep and then awoken before 6am with someone slamming doors. No waiter or chef on duty at breakfast this was done by the domestic assistant! Breakfast options are limited and what we did eat was worse than plane food. Staff seem to be overwhelmed and underwhelmed and the general impression is they seem unhappy with working conditions and this negative vibe was picked up by me and my partner. There is no atmosphere here and no element of club life or any life at all. Anyone from a reciprocal club who is thinking of staying here overnight, I would give some serious thought to avoiding it given the facilities and service levels provided. I plan on speaking with my own club regarding my experience. This place makes Fawlty Towers look like The Hilton!

This private club is a shocker. I’m not quite sure 1 star is being generous - I’d give it 0 stars if I could. In essence it is massively overpriced and not fit for purpose. Where to start? The staff are pleasant but there is no customer service. We were asked to pay before we’d even set foot in the door (mm I wonder why that was?!). No staff in attendance after office hours. The rooms are like going back to the 1970s. Don’t be fooled by the “renovation” - that means a headboard, throw and a couple of cushions. No lift to second floor so expect to lug your bags up at least 2 flights of stairs. Rooms minuscule - can’t get a small overnight wheelie bag around the bed. Noisy and smelly - no black out curtains, no double glazing so there’s a smell of the restaurants below (grim) and a constant loud drum from the air conditioning from the other buildings and the aged heating which runs constantly (but not into the bedroom radiators of course). Beds are the hardest cheapest imagineable - nothing remotely pleasant about them. Like lying on a door. Holes in the walls which haven’t been repaired. Truly awful bright cold white luminous lighting. Hairdryer - travel size which doesn’t stretch to a mirror. No slippers or robes (Robes?!). Tea making is UHT milk jiggers with old teabags - coffee is a sachet of Nescafé so I take that as no coffee facilities, no hot chocolate no mini bar in fact nothing resembling modern comfort, relaxation or luxury. Next - the bathroom - an electric shower over a bath which has seen better days - straight from the 70s - with accompanying temperature varying from scalding to freezing via a dribble of pressure. Tiles cheap and dirty. Bath panels gross and coming away. Shampoo which resembles old car oil and too many sachets of lemon wipes 😳 (god only knows what they are for - armpit wipe downs??). Soap which would take a layer or two off your skin if you used it. Dirty cotton buds in the bin. Orange lino floor which is coming away. The final straw after a truly dreadful night was breakfast - “juices” which probably haven’t seen anything resembling a fruit (we saw the big containers of no brand concentrated UHT orange ….) classic cereals from catering packs, toast (let’s ponder a nice bit of toasted artisan sourdough… or - cheap nasty thin sliced perhaps?) off a menu which stated “no hot breakfast facilities”. No yoghurt, pastries or fresh fruit (god forbid!) - not even a banana in fact no fruit even out of a tin. We just left. A truly awful experience and all for the handsome price of £190. A xxxx take. A truly unacceptably poor and overpriced experience. Avoid.

Wonderful venue for an event. Great location and super helpful staff.

Food is available in the restaurant downstairs.

Nice Italian Restaurant with vegetarian options