Oh dear - another let down.....

boatone

boatone

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29 Jul 2001
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Just a few cables from Boulters Lock
www.tmba.org.uk
Trying to decide what to do this weekend and noticed that there is a Dinner and Jazz evening at the Compleat Angler at Marlow. That would be nice I thought, especially if I can moor at the hotel.

Rang the restaurant and confirmed that they could take the booking and also that it would be alright to moor. Asked if they charged extra and was told not if being a patron of the hotel.

Just rang back to confirm and - oh dear - alright to moor for dinner but not overnight.

Yeah - like I'm going to want to move off after a good dinner and a glass or two /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Doesn't suprise me. Have always found that place very snobby and unfriendly.
Also for somewhere that has a great river location and is supossed to be very classy - they have an awful boat, something that looks like an ex hire boat, compared with the traditional launches that alot of the other riverside hotels have.
 
Excuse me, I used to skipper that boat! - but yes it is pretty awful. the same company also own most of the day hire boats on the Thames including those lovely craft at Cliveden.

The Angler doesn't do much to encourage boaters, nor even encourage people to use their own available craft.
 
I never expected to find myself correcting such a wise member of the forum but...
The boats at Cliveden are operated by the same company that owns and runs the modern looking fleet at The Compleat Angler, but the boats at Cliveden are owned by the Von Essen Hotel Group. It is beleived that there may now be a conflict of interests there, as the company running the fleet is likely to favour and promote their own vessels over the boats owned by the hotel, whenever the opportunity might arise /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
I have heard tales of people moving off the hotel mooring after spending a great deal of money in the restaurant, when confronted with a mooring charge of £45 for the night. They have been told that mooring would be free if they used the restaurant AND stayed the night in the hotel (not likely when they have perfectly good beds onboard)...
One boat was found moored up on the off-shore head lay-by at Marlow Lock the next morning. The lockkeeper was not happy about the boat being there, but was sympathetic when he heard the story and found that these people had been left with no mooring very late at night... Those lockkeepers are a really nice bunch you know! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
One of the boats at the Compleat Angler was owned by Hostgrange Ltd and the other by IPG Marine, but both companies are owned by the same person - his name escapes me for the moment.

Are you saying IPG/Hostgrange own and operate some of the boats at Cliveden together with the boats at the Compleat Angler, but there are some Von Essen owned boats at Cliveden too?
Strange state of affairs if so. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I was booked in to eat there one night and was told politely but firmly that I was not to moor for the night. I arrived and took up a mooring spot. A while later a certain 'personage' arrived on my boat for a swift jar, all of a sudden attitudes changed and an effusive manager couldn't wait to fawn on me and tell me I was most welcome to stay. His jaw dropped even further that evening when he saw who else was at the table. It was one of the Forte family.
This was about 25 years ago when Trust House Forte owned the place.
 
The man in question, Malcolm Brewer, owns the boats at "The Angler" and lots of scruffy day boats operated by his legion of "Dad's Army" old boys along the river.
IPG Marine, the operating company, does run one boat from the Cliveden boathouse, alongside the fleet of vintage boats that are all owned by Von Essen (Suzy Ann, Belmont etc)hence the conflict of interests. The previous operator of these beautiful old boats left under a cloud and no members of the Passenger Boat Association would take on the job. IPG jumped at the chance!
IPG also have the passenger boat Brunel which was "lovingly" hand painted (with large cheap brushes) by the afore-mentioned group of pensioners who work for the outfit.
Last I heard, one of Malcolm's senior skippers (who had been the main skipper out of the Angler for the last few years and never bothered to keep the boats clean) had parted company with Malcolm and was going to try and set himself up out of Harleyford, chartering executive boats! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Malcolm Brewer, that was him.
I used to work with John Amos but I gave up when a Double Barrelled bloke took over from John.
Quite a few years ago now.
 
That will have been Keith Dale-Crossley, the one who is now trying to set up a corporate business at Harleyford. John is a reaaly nice bloke, I still see him occasionally. He used to be ssen cleaning the boats every day when he worked there /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
The Compleat Angler has OK food but the service is very poor. I wouldn't bother. Locals don't rush to go there. Lots of other choices in the area although few with mooring.

I would favour OTT at Bourne End over the Compleatly Atrocious.
 
I always thought that if you booked ahead to use the OTT restaurant,they would let you moor up in the marina free of charge. Never put it into practise myself but believe they mentioned it on the website at one stage.
 
Anybody got any recent experience of the Compleat Angler? my mother wants to go there for her birthday, shes always lived around the area and never been so its a sort of one off experience she wants to do. However the menu doesn't look very inspiring, OTT looks much better or even the new place at Boulters, i'm just worried that her ultimate experience might be a compleat let down.
Can anybody reccomend it? we're not going by boat.
 
based on my own & close families experiences of just going there (complete angler) for a drink, I wouldn't bother.
On both occasions we were rudely told that we couldn't sit at the place we were seated, half way through drinking our drinks, unless we were eating! even though there was loads of empty tables around us and it wasn't even at lunch time.

I have heard good reports of the boulters restaurant, but haven't tried it for myself yet
 
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