We went at the weekend for one of our 40’s events at The Midland Hotel in Morecambe which is a fabulous Art Deco hotel and is not the cheapest hotel in the world but the service and ambience etc were well worth paying for, however the hotel in now under new management and some of the changes which have been implemented by the new owners didn’t go down too well with our group.

The following are two revues, one being mine and the other being from a complete stranger who stayed at the hotel with a completely different view as to the merits of the place. I shall leave my thoughts at the end of this post and will upload some of our photos later, when I get a chance.

The following is my revue.

We stayed at The Midland on the weekend of 01/04 March 2024 where we enjoyed our 30’s/40’s weekend with Mark and Hoc Ewing and I have to say all aspects of the weekend which they had control over were up to their usual standard.

Unfortunately, other aspects of our stay were definitely not up to par and the feel of the place had been spoilt, which is a great shame for one of the best Art Deco Hotels in this country.

Having to collect a table number and go to the bar to order food is not what one expects from a four star hotel, especially when paying four star prices for the food, this is after all the sort of service one might receive when eating at a down market pub/restaurant establishment.

Having previously stayed at The Midland on numerous occasions we were very aware of the lack of staff which tended to put a bit of a dampener on our Saturday evening entertainment especially. On previous events when the band had finished, we would all retire to the bar and continue our drinking and socialising for some time and one would have thought the takings in the bar would have been more than enough to justify the staff cost to cover this service. Regardless of the fact that we were taking part in a special event, it is not de rigueur to close the bar at 11.00pm to residents of a four star hotel.

Personally, there are two more 40’s events taking place in Morecambe later this year where we would have normally stayed at The Midland but if this is the standard of service, we are going to receive we may have to look for alternative accommodation which would be a shame as in previous years, to stay at The Midland has been a delight.

Please do not spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar.

And now for a rather different revue of the same hotel.

I visited for a 2 night stay, during my stay I found all staff very attentive, professional and welcoming.
The room and establishment was spotless throughout.
At busy times staff remained calm and efficient.
Table service is present at breakfast, however you do order at the bar on an evening.
I feel the times of table cloths and service have moved on, ordering at the bar creates a more friendly, relaxed atmosphere, hospitality staff have a very difficult job, they are not servants and should not be treated as such.
The warm, welcome, friendly, family service is what Morecambe needs to bring families back to the holiday destination it once was
Thank you to all the staff at the Midland.
You are all superb.

Now, call me a sceptical old so and so, but this second revue seems to me to have the feel of something a management team might have put up in an effort to encourage others to embrace the “Bernie Inn” style of dining.

I was also slightly amused by the comment that hospitality staff have a very difficult job and they are not servants and should not be treated as such. Whilst not wishing to be too picky about their comment, I would have thought the job description of someone who waits at table must contain reference to serving food, now whether one who serves is a servant is obviously open to debate and no doubt will be fiercely debated when I have posted this and the more woke readers have read this post.