Ye Olde Red Lion, Hemel Hempstead

Badly run pub! Unfriendly service, poor choice of drinks.

We have had bad experiences with this pub. We went on Sunday 25th Aug with 2 great nieces (9 and 11) as they have bouncy castles. We asked the price for the kids to go on the bouncy castles and were told that they were for the exclusive use of a private party! Our kids couldn't use the facilities!

There were no signs up saying that this was private and we felt that we shouldn't be there despite them apparently allowing the public in to buy drinks.

I can't see why our kids couldn't have been allowed to go on the bouncy castles, but this pub seems to have a thing about private parties.

If the management want to use this venue for private parties, why can't they put up signs. It is supposed to be a PUBLIC house!!

This brings me to an earlier visit one evening perhaps a year or so earlier. We went into the pub one evening which was very busy, got to the bar and ordered 2 drinks. As soon as the drinks were placed on the bar, somebody touched me on the shoulder to say that the pub was for the exclusive use of a private party, and that we had to leave. We told them that there were no signs up or restrictions on the door, we just walked in, but they just said we weren't welcome so we walked out, leaving our drinks unpaid for at the bar.

This pub seems to be constantly dreaming up all sorts of crazy ideas (a skating rink at Christmas ffs) and some weird Christmas themed garden attractions to name but a few, all of which appear to have flopped never to return again!

This pub needs to decide if it's a pub, a private club, or a theme park.

The choice of drinks is pathetically limited, they couldn't even supply fizzy orange for the kids?? As previous reviewers have stated, the range of alcoholic drinks is pisspoor and service is slow and unfriendly.

Avoid this place at all costs. Our visit on the 25th August is our last!

1 Sep 2013 19:54