Knaresborough bar and restaurant closed
Disappointed to find that the bar and restaurant have closed on the Knaresborough club site. Wish we had been informed before arrival as this was the main reason for booking this site. Walking long distances is becoming increasingly difficult for us. Luckily the pub restaurant in Scotton was open.
Comments
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If you look at the "before you travel" page which gives advance notice / advice about sites or roads etc. you will have seen that the Wanderer Bar is closed until further notice. That notice has been there for at least 3 weeks. Just saying.
JK
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But surely that's what the before you travel pages are for? When you booked doesn't really come into it. I think the impact of staff shortages will be worse this year. People don't seem to want to work these days.
There's another thread about the IOW and people taking an earlier ferry. There's advice on the before you travel on there with what to do if you're early.
JK
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Thing is JK you say it’s been there for 3 weeks, yet it still says on the booking page.
Throughout the year, you can take advantage of the bar, restaurant and take away food on site,
Anyone booking tonight for next week, is likely to book before checking the before you travel page. As it would be within the 21 days they would then loose their deposit if they cancelled because of its lack. Particularly now there are deposits at stake the CAMC needs to get a lot better with communication. Three weeks is certainly long enough to get something on the site page.
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There have been a lot of previous closures at the Knaresborough bar/restaurant so personally I wouldn't rely on it being open. This time it says "staff illness." Visitors to Hillhead will often find the bar etc is closed, it pays to check opening days etc. I expect the same difficulties will arise at the re-developed Bingham Grange when their cafe bar opens. These places are often out of town and it's harder to get staff to travel etc. A pity as the set ups when working are good.
I feel some sympathy for someone who was looking forward to a bar meal and drink, I expect that was one of the reasons for choosing the site for a holiday.
Also I hope the staff get well soon!
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I've just seen that Steve, hey, way above my pay grade. I was just trying to highlight the before you travel pages that can be very useful.
JK
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I can’t suggest alternatives in the Knaresborough area, but in other parts of the country there are pubs offering meals and drinks which have a campsite of their own on the spot - so no walking or driving involved. They have restaurant staff on duty at meal times, and that sort of site might suit your circumstances
Examples are The Drum Inn near Folkestone, which is often recommended, and the Thames Head Inn near Cirencester which is quite smart. I am sure that with an internet search others can be found, and certainly there are CLs too which are actually at pubs serving meals if that is what you are looking for.
I hope that helps.
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Staffing is a real problem brue. Thing is you mention out of town etc but quite often accommodation is offered, with no takers
JK
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Being a member of staff couldn't you point out the error on the booking page to those at HO who are able to update the page? They are surely more likely to take notice of your good self than the ordinary members.
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The problem many of us find nowadays is that often places aren't open or have limited opening hours so however good a recommendation everything needs to be checked out in advance and other possibilities taken into account.
I checked out a site recently that had a nice cafe near it, unfortunately the cafe is now closed.
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I assume this must be down to staff issues? I don't know what level of support these on site restaurants get as opposed to the popularity of just the bar? When we were at Seacroft last year we used the restaurant for a takeaway which was fine. However we were put off using the actual restaurant because it now had large screen TV's in both sections. Surely one section could be reserved for those wanting a quiet dinner? Having used the restaurant previously a couple of times it seemed the Club had gone a bit down market. What I don't know, of course, is whether that encourages or discourages punters?
David
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Regarding staff illness if it's run by a very small team these things happen, larger establishments can probably take the strain more easily?
We've seen changes at Hillhead over the years, different "teams" some better than others. Extremely busy during the summer months so that more workers can be employed, much harder to retain people on less hours and pay during quieter times.
I don't know how adept CAMC is at running these social areas, catering, bar work, entertainment etc are challenging sidelines to take up. On the whole, having tried the three establishments that offer this I think they do reasonably well but it's not a given that everything runs according to plan.
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Back in the day the Wanderer was owned and operated privately and not directly linked to the club. I'm not sure if that is still the case but I'm sure if marketed correctly and staff given the appropriate incentives it could be a great success and an ideal staging post for ex catering collage graduates. I must say the Wanderer gets 10/10 for convenience but it has all the ambience of a works canteen with fairly average food on offer. The Guy Fawkes Arms in Scotton is much better BUT no where near as convenient.
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Regarding staff illness if it's run by a very small team these things happen, larger establishments can probably take the strain more easily?
I can see the problems of running it with a small team brue. However, having to totally close it until further notice does seem extreme. Especially when you are still advertising it as an added attraction. You would have thought they would have at least tried to keep it open for take aways, even if the menu was limited.
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I think Wedgy has the right idea. Don’t staff it, put it out to contract to run, make the contract attractive to potential clients, make sure folks other than just pitch users can use it (I am thinking passing cyclists, it’s in the middle of some decent cycling country) and if needs be, limit times and days it opens so that it operates economically. We use a few CLs, other stops that do this, and they are thriving. Rural locations as well, much like where Knaresborough Club Site located.
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There may be difficulties getting staff to run these restaurants? The company I worked for run several leisure hotels for staff and pensioners. One we like is the one overlooking Lake Windermere at Ambleside. When we have stayed there in the past it's always been full board. They now seem unable to recruit a chef so it's now run on a bed and breakfast basis which is a shame. I don't know the basis on which Club restaurants are run but I imagine they are run separately from the warden team?
David
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Yes, completely separate from sites DK.
JK
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Perhaps the 'staff illness' is they are sick to death of being paid a pittance that doesn't provide a wage to live on, treated like something you trod in by some upstart of a graduate 'manager' who has been told they are superior to the irks on the front line, abused by 'members' who think they are superior to the staff.
A common set of themes across industry in this backward country
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