The Rudloe Marco Pierre White

My partner and I have had two very different experiences of our two stays at Rudloe Arms. On our first visit we had such a wonderful time that we brought two close friends with us for a repeat visit on Sunday 9 March 2025. The contrast between them both could not be more different. On arrival we were informed that the advertised cocktail was no longer included in our Wowcher deal. The drinks we found to be quite pricy including a bottle of average wine coming in at just under £50. The evening meal we realised was so poorly designed in order to encourage diners to increase their spend by paying supplements in order to be able to enjoy a decent meal. I feel that the attitude of the waiter assigned to our table was confrontational from the word go. He was only interested in upselling each course in an aggressive manner. He was dismissive, abrupt and quite rude to any questions that we had. When a bottle of wine was delivered to our table it was plonked down without being poured. At the end of the meal our waiter, which turned out to be Marco Pierre White's son, Luciano, presented us with our bill which he told us could not be split, as this 'is not what we are able to do' despite having earlier already arranged for this to happen with our barman, Julian who did not think this was a problem. We took the bill away with us to look at under some light, as the lighting at the table was poor. Luciano harangued us with his disparaging personal opinion of 'Wowcher' guests. He then threatened us with calling the police, (an empty threat). If Wowcher guests do not fit the business model for Rudloe Arms, my question would be why have you signed up to provide this offer to the general public. My own take on this appears to be that it certainly attracts a fair amount of interest, if the number of occupied tables in the dining room was anything to go by. The opportunity therefore seems too good to miss in ensuring that copious amounts of drinks and upsells are purchased by as many people as possible. We won't be back, as, now reading many other unflattering reviews of Marco Pierre White's establishment it now seems that management simply does not care about the dining/customer service standard offered at Rudloe Arms and will continue to be undermined by one extremely rude, unhelpful, disrespectful member of staff. Good luck with this venture. An unhappy customer

After reading some terrible reviews we were a little concerned, we did however have a very enjoyable stay. The room was quite big, with an extremely comfy bed, a large tv and was clean. The bathroom was good, with a lovely shower and there was a heater in our room,should we have needed it. The hotel is decorated in a really cool and quirky style throughout. The food was good, although it was a very limited menu. Service was friendly and efficient at breakfast and dinner. Marco Pierre White was sitting at one of the tables when we went to dinner. We had a Wowcher deal and thought for the price it was a lovely experience.

Having read some reviews I thought if anything it would be an experience! For £125 for the night (3 course evening meal and breakfast included) I am genuinely stunned at what the hell other people expect. The reception staff were friendly, the food was delicious (yes there are some surcharges but you’re not forced to pick those! And quite frankly the dauphinoise potatoes were unreal and we were happy to pay the extra). We didn’t opt for any extras at breakfast and found what was included in the price was filling and tasty. Overall I think we spent an additional £42 on top of the room booking cost - in my opinion excellent value for money for - 3 course dinner and a room for the night. The decor is quirky and perhaps not to everyone’s taste but we found it fun. Our room was bigger than anticipated and had everything we needed. The only negative was that the mental bed frame could have done with tightening but we had a good laugh at that too. We really enjoyed our stay!

Me and my partner booked a night for our anniversary. On arrival we were met by the sight of Luciano pierre white-could see it was him as there is so much stuff about him on the Rudloe reviews- in a very rather intimate position with a female member of staff. After that embarrassing check in we were told that the main house rooms were no longer available, even though we had paid for one, and we would be put in the annex building. We were not given a refund for the pricier room which we had paid for. Later we found out that Luciano white had booked these rooms for himself and his friends. Dinner was nice and we weren't worried about extra charge for the side dishes, although the wines started at a high price. We saw the young lady waitress who we had seen getting frisky with Luciano serving at dinner, and she to be fair to her she did apologise about earlier. Room was nice although we had paid for the main house room as they have baths but we managed to make the best of it. Lounges are quirky and filled with art and vintage decor. Everything would have been great if it hadn't been for Luciano pierre white not only doing intimate stuff during work at reception but his rudeness and total lack of professionalism and respect.

Luciano Pierre White ruined our visit My partner and I took good friends to the Rudloe Arms Marco Pierre White’s hotel and restaurant having had a wonderful experience there six months ago. We made separate bookings with different names and credit card details but asked to be sat together for dinner and breakfast. I was delighted to see the lovely waiter Julian (I thought he was the Maître d') from our recent visit in reception to check us in with a warm welcome. Luciano (he said he was called Guy) however, was aloof and not welcoming at all. At a later stage I asked him if it was possible to look at one of the bedrooms in the main house (we were staying in the lovely ‘annexe’) either to pay for an upgrade or to book for a future visit. Luciano said that was not possible as all rooms were occupied. Lie number one. Another member of staff said the hotel was not full and with further investigation, we could book a room there and then online. One of our party went into the restaurant before the rest of us. When the three of us tried to join her at the table, Luciano said she was not there and we had to wait. When we pointed out she was sat down he appeared reluctant to let us in. He did not welcome us with ‘Good evening’ or similar salutation, he didn’t tell us what was unavailable or ask about any allergies. He tried to rush us to choose our menu and due to it’s limited choice, we were struggling what to choose. We ordered our starter and asked for time to choose our main course. Luciano told us we needed to hurry up as the table was needed at 8.30………another lie as there was always a spare table and by 8.30pm most people had been served. No one came to our table until 40 minutes later when we asked if we could order our main course. At this point Luciano aggressively told us he had cancelled our earlier starter orders. He spent his time trying to up sell the main/steak with £10 supplement and as the 3 mains were not accompanied with a side dish, he was too bent on trying to get us to pay an extra £5 for each of the small side dishes. With wine starting at £46 and cocktails at £15 we felt we’d spent enough for poor service. I commented on Luciano’s poor manner, after which he reinforced his aggression and arrogance. I asked for our table to be served by Julian which Luciano took objection to and refused to engage in that request. In fact he went a stage further in his rudeness by saying Julian was his junior and not in a position to make decisions. I found this to be utterly unprofessional especially as Julian proved more than capable of running the restaurant at our previous visit. We had to suffer the downright rude attitude of Luciano who just about slammed the bottle of wine down on the table. He did not pour any wine or ask us to try it. The four of us had bought a Wowcher voucher for our stay which stated it included a welcome cocktail. When asked for, we were told it was not included. Another lie. I had arranged with Julian for our bar bills

The rudeness and arrogance of Luciano was beyond belief, I am still upset and shaken by the whole experience. Completely inconsiderate and what a let down to the members of staff who are working in the hotel. I don't understand how many guests continue to be upset and insulted. The Rudloe... recommended by several friends, one who eats regularly in the restaurant close to his work and another friend who has stayed previously, yet not anymore after hearing our experience. I have NEVER been treated by a member of staff in that way, NEVER! Being told there are no options for allergies/intolerance 'just have to put up with it' is very dangerous. Told 'if you don't pay your bill before you leave the restaurant I will call the police'. Each hotel we have stayed at in England or abroad...we check in and have a swipe taken from our card, have a few drinks, have a meal, have breakfast, then check out and settle the bill. Rudloe is the only hotel I have stayed in, that demands (literally) the bill to be paid after dinner and told not to leave the restaurant or buy any further beverages without paying there and then, and then threatened to be arrested when challenged. Upon checking out, Luciano had already put the bill on our card, without any notice and as we left to be told 'within 5 months of working here, we were the first people not to give him a tip'