BITE user comments - captain_applesauce
Comments by captain_applesauce
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Blimey. For some reason they decided not to do anything with the lovely big garden this summer except leave it fenced off (probably so they can park caravans for their eastern european staff out there - or leave it to go to seed so that it can be sold as a building site?) but have spent a fortune (and very late in the year to do it too) on a massive wooden construction seating area out the front of the pub where the sun get to it, basically in the car park, with a whole load of plants in containers that are too shallow so they'll get root-bound and die off. Morons. I really can't see how it is a sustainable business model.
29 Aug 2015 16:50
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Oh and if you were thinking of going in for a pint and watch the football - forget it, they've done away with the TVs!
9 Apr 2015 14:32
The Ludwick Arms, Welwyn Garden City
I'm pleased to say that the refit earlier this year was done sympathetically, and the issues with the building structure were sorted out. The wall that used to divide the pub into two 'sides' was removed, creating a single large open space. The conservatory area where the 2 pool tables used to be was changed into an eating area and one pool table was retained but moved around to the front of the bar. 2 large televisions and quite often sport is showing, so it can get a bit packed/loud but then that's what a pub should be like! The staff are very aware of the background noise volume and adjust the music/TV volume accordingly. Service is always quick and polite, food is always good, and the pub is still busy and well run.
It was already a lively pub before the refit but Green King have done an excellent job and this is a real example of how to run a modern pub properly.
I am increasing my rating for this pub.
14 Dec 2014 12:14
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Has reopened under new management and totally redecorated etc throughout. Seems to be much nicer inside but remember to take some cash for booze with you as they have London prices! Unfortunately they appear to have gone in completely the wrong direction with things - no fruitmachine or quiz machine, no jukebox, no pool table, and it has been done out inside in lets say 'an individual style' which is not going to be to everyones taste. I was disappointed on my visit by still having to wait ages to get served even though it wasnt busy, and (as already mentioned) the prices which are about 10%-15% more than it used to be. I can't really comment on the food as I haven't eaten there but I've heard that it's nothing special. I would say, all in all, not the right treatment for this pub. Oh and be careful where you put your coat as there are lots of candles alight all over the place.
5 Dec 2014 12:02
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Well things are changing. They got rid of that awful woman who was running it a few months back and Orchid struggled to carry on before going into administration anyway and selling its pubs. The Beehive reverted to Charles Wells though and has recently been leased (i believe) to some guy who (as far as I'm told) "Doesn't want regulars hanging around at the bar drinking"! Some way to run a pub - it's your regular locals that keep these little out-of-the-way places alive! Anyways, it is shut for a couple of weeks now for a redecoration etc, and apparently the new chap wants to 'run it as a good place to get good food which also has a bar' (same old story, how many times in the past have we heard similar from new owners who have struggled on for a few months before going under?).
Well. we shall see when it reopens on November 28th. I will be checking it out but if they put up the prices of their already expensive beers I will refuse to pay it, walk out and go elsewhere (voting with my feet) and hopefully others will do the same.
18 Nov 2014 10:02
I'm surprised by some of the reviews on here. The rebuilt Chieftan is surgically devoid of atmosphere, despite the comfy furniture and reasonably priced, adequate food.
Drinks are more expensive than a lot of other pubs locally but this is offset by the 2 for 1 offer on food if you're eating there.
Apart from that there's not much to recommend it for.
It's basically a one-box chain pub, with (unusually) upstairs toilets which can be a bit of a challenge when you've had a couple of pints.
No pool table. No dartboard. No jukebox. 1 fruit machine. And a load of fixtures & fittings from a 'pub warehouse' (old books on shelves, many cliche'd pictures, cosmetic fireplaces, unmatched 'retro' light fittings)
3 Nov 2013 16:32
The Ludwick Arms, Welwyn Garden City
The Ludwick. Nice pub for locals. Unusual for pubs these days in that it is almost always busy in the evenings, but can get a bit loud/rowdy on a Friday/Saturday evening.
Has 2 pool tables, a dart board, a good jukebox, 3 fruit machines, 2 'quiz' machines, and service is usually quick with polite, friendly staff.
It is a shame that the structure of the building is starting to crack up through (i believe) subsidence, which is apparently about to be addressed by having some money spent on it in a refit due soon, however (unfortunately) it is rumoured that after the refit it will be reopening as a 'Gastropub' which is entirely inappropriate for this setting, a typical 'estate pub'. The owners should really concentrate on making it a nicer place for the regular locals and do more to extract some cash from them instead of trying to attract a whole bunch of new customers......a formula doomed to failure as has been shown by the same thing having been done to a number of other pubs in the local area and then 'dieing on their arse'....
3 Nov 2013 16:23
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Still terrible. (Popped in as I was meeting a friend, didn't spend any money!)
This was on a Saturday night. 1 bar person who was only occasionally visible, but then it hardly mattered as there were only 4 customers apart from myself, and this was at 8pm.
So I am still avoiding and hoping for new management that will inject a bit of life back into the place. Fingers crossed, eh?!
27 Oct 2013 17:07
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
It is now a month since I both complained to Orchid and posted this review (below). Still no change. I would've thought that it would be in their interests to sort things out but clearly they couldn't care less. I am boycotting The Beehive until new management is in place.
2 Sep 2013 18:13
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
I am a local regular of this pub since 2003 and The Beehive is a lovely building but unfortunately has been let down over the years by a succession of poor managers.
It is a shame as this pub could be an absolute goldmine with the right people running it, which it hasn't got currently! It seems that the practice of installing salaried managers who get their wage regardless is having a detrimental effect as obviously they are happier when they have less customers.
This is often blatantly demonstrated when (on a weekday evening) if there are less than 3 or 4 people in the bar area, and the restaurant is quiet, they lock the doors early (I've been locked in at 8.30 before!).
At time of writing (August 2013) the current 'landlord' Liz has been managing since around October last year and I think i've only seen her working in the bar probably 1 evening a month on average. On top of that she's had 1 or 2 week holidays several times this year already.
The bar is generally understaffed, with what bar staff that are there spending time dispensing drinks for customers seated in the restaurant whilst people are waiting to be served at the bar. Surely they should get the several teenage girls that work the restaurant to get their own drinks!?
I have sent a lengthy complaint to Orchid (the pub management company that runs it) about the many things that are wrong with the place but have only received a 'form letter' email reply acknowledging my complaint.
In summary;
No dartboard since the refit despite the promise of one being re-installed many months ago.
No jukebox just repetitive piped music that is so quiet you can barely hear it.
2 'fruit machines' both of which have faults/broken indicator lights and despite being informed about this still not repaired several weeks later. (One of these fruit machines replaced a popular 'quiz game machine' and despite requests to have it back it hasnt happened.)
Lack of decent customer service - i.e. dont complain to Liz the 'landlord' about anything as she wont apologise, she is more likely to say something like 'what do you want me to do about it?'
And on the food service? Well, I ate there regularly up until Orchid took over but repeatedly was disappointed by lengthy waits for food, and orders not being served correctly, on one occasion burnt burger buns which the previous manager didn't apologise about and just mumbled something about being busy, and since then I haven't bothered. It seems that the change of management didn't help as I frequently hear people complaining about similar issues. One woman with her family recently, who had ordered food for eating in the garden, came to the bar and asked where their food was as they had been waiting 45 minutes!!!
And then there's the 'entertainment' on a Friday evening.
Well, to say 'entertainment' is stretching it a bit. It alternates weekly between either;
a - A disco/karaoke in which the bloke who runs it bungs on a 'megamix' cd for the first hour which has a load of 80s/90s tracks segued together to the same fast beat, which doesn't fit any of the tracks, then once the assembled audience are warmed up you get the same old clowns shouting drunkenly into the microphone with no attempt at actual singing.
b - A singer. Usually one of 3 regular x-factor rejects that are little more than a 'one-person-karaoke' singing badly to backing tracks. Often forgetting the words.
And then most of the time there is a collection of regulars hanging around one end of the bar engaging in the same conversations and arguments usually with some loud drunken football-chant style singing thrown in for good measure, which I can see puts off the casual visitor as whne 'randoms' come in they often have one drink and leave.
The garden is nice however, probably one of the nicest pub gardens in the area, but unfortunately no vision has been used as to what could be done with it. No flowers or planted areas, just a collection of cheap typical pub bench-and-table style furniture, a few bent and broken bins and some signs telling customers to keep dogs on leads etc. Oh and a run-down play area for the kiddiewinks.
As I said to start with, it's a shame as it is a lovely pub but let down by poor management, and until Orchid sort it out I expect it will continue to be awful.
Still, if it improves I'll let you know.
5 Aug 2013 20:49
Back to captain_applesauce's profile
The Beehive, Welwyn Garden City
Unfortunately it looks like 'Inn Britain' have pulled the plug on the Beehive. It has been fenced off since Fathers Day, and despite information from Charles Wells that the current tenant will reopen on September 12th, there is no indication of any work being done there. The place has been cleared out and the weeds are 6 foot high.
27 Aug 2016 09:13