Myself and my husband have been regular customers of these tea rooms for several years. We go out of our way to visit these tea rooms as we like the pleasant atmosphere and the quality of coffee and food. Having said that this is not the cheapest cafe in the world, a pot of coffee for two and two lots of sandwiches comes to about £13.00. One of the main reasons we go is that this one of the few park cafes that has toilet facilities and onsite parking. Over the years the family who run the tea rooms have come to know us and we were more than happy to sign their petition to keep the tea rooms run by the family and we genuinely felt for them when they were temporarily closed down by the council. Today (14th May) I decided to treat my husband and my parents to afternoon cream teas as it was my husbands 50th Birthday. Upon arrival we noticed lots of people heading for the the rooms and that some of these people were giving us unpleasant looks. I have no idea why. We entered the tea rooms, which was very busy with lots of elderly customers drinking wine or champagne. Such was the amound of people myself and my parents could not get through the crowd, but my husband managed to get to the counter where he spoke with the owner. My husband asked if he could make an order and was told rather abruplty NO. When my husband asked why he was told, again rather abruplty, that there was a private function in process. My husband was turned away and was acutely embarressed, as were we all. Everyone turned to look at us in a rather derogatory manner, and I felt very much for my husband who felt humiliated. No apology was made to us and no offer was made for us to return another day. We all scuttled out like some unwanted group of tramps, made to feel by everyone in the tea rooms, as unwelcome in the extreme. We feel very much let dowin by the owner who knows very well we are regular loyal customers. The reaction to our refusal to be served by the other customers, was totally unwarranted. We all returned home feeling rather upset. This is the thanks we get for supporting this business. There are several other venues we could go to that are much nearer home, which from now on we will visit. The cafe does not accept credit or debit cards, which at times has caused us some real inconvenience, but we have, once again, gone out of our way to get some cash, in order that we may visit this establishment. We will never be going back there and neither will any of our family and friends after the way we were treated. read more