Didcot couple slam 'grubby' Penruddocke Arms after poor stay

Janet Humphrey, 55, and her husband David, 62, travelled from Didcot to stay at the Penruddocke Arms in Dinton over the bank holiday weekend for her sister-in-law’s 60th birthday.

Describing their welcome as “chaotic”, Mrs Humphrey said director Dilip Agarwala took them round the back of the pub, where the ground was littered with duck faeces, and up to their room.

The room’s smoke alarm was allegedly hanging from the ceiling and a fire door was wedged open.

Read more: ​Food Standards Agency: Dinton pub Penruddocke Arms rated 'very good'

The family ate dinner at the pub on Saturday evening, August 24, without complaints but issues arose the following morning.

Breakfast is not included in the £100-per-night cost to stay at the Penruddocke Arms but the Humphreys arranged to have a guest-only meal on Sunday morning.

The Penruddocke Arms in Dinton. (Image: Salisbury Journal)

There was reportedly no sign of life when the couple tried to enter the “grubby and unpleasant” pub at 8.30am.

Mr Agarwala eventually arrived to let the couple inside but upon inspection of the serving area they found a piece of “mouldy” toast which had been left at the bottom of an industrial toaster.

No one had cleaned the tables which the family had eaten their food at the night before and a lid on the self-serve counter “looked like it not been cleaned properly”.

Things went from bad to worse when Mr Humphrey allegedly saw the manager take a handful of butter pots out of a box which he claimed was being stored unrefrigerated underneath the bar.

Janet Humphrey said the toaster was grubby. (Image: Janet Humphrey)

Mr Agarwala told the Journal he had taken a box of Lurpak pots out of the fridge and briefly placed it on the floor as he didn’t want to put it on the microwave or hot oven.

“We knew he was lying,” said Mrs Humphrey. “At that point we agreed it just felt wrong and we didn’t want to eat with them.

“How mad would I feel if someone got sick from their carelessness and inability to follow basic hygiene rules? Are they cooking food properly? Are they storing it properly? Or is it just a disaster waiting to happen?”

Describing the experience as “peculiar”, Mrs Humphrey added: “To our knowledge we were the only ones having breakfast that day so there was no big rush. We felt it needed to be challenged."

The couple spent an hour venturing 10 miles to McDonalds for breakfast the following morning and said the place was “absolutely spotless” and “how it should be done”.

“It’s such a shame because we didn’t really want to be doing that but we didn’t have a choice”, added Mrs Humphrey.

David and Janet Humphrey are in no rush to return to the pub. (Image: Janet Humphrey)

Mr Agarwala, who has more than 50 years of experience in the hospitality industry, said the Penruddocke Arms “always adheres to the standards required” and that it’s “routine not a hardship”.

When questioned on whether the table would have been left dirty from the previous evening, Mr Agarwala said: “That’s possible. We clean up everything before we go home. There’s no reason why it would have been left but it’s quite possible.”

Mr Agarwala said the toast pictured was not mouldy and not visible from the front of the toaster but that bread occasionally “can get stuck”.

The fire door is “always kept shut” according to Mr Agarwala, who disputed Mrs Humphrey’s claim that the smoke alarm was hanging from the ceiling.

Mrs Humphrey reported the pub to Wiltshire Council’s public health team which said it would be contacting the Penruddocke Arms for comment on the complaint.

Councillor Dominic Muns, Wiltshire's cabinet member for fnvironment, said: “We can confirm we have received one complaint about the Penruddocke Arms.

"The concerns raised have been brought to the attention of the business and their activity will be monitored at their next routine food hygiene inspection.”