Friday, December 30, 2022

Well sly water

Matthew Steeples examines London venues charging the most for mineral water

 

A 500ml bottle of San Pellegrino will set you back just 63p in Tesco. At The Wellesley in Knightbridge, however, a customer, Edward Heaton, was left somewhat shocked when he got a bill of £75 for three bottles on 17th July.

 

A bill for three bottles of San Pellegrino came to an astonishing £75 at The Wellesley in London
A bill for three bottles of San Pellegrino came to an astonishing £75 at The Wellesley in London
The bill presented to Edward Heaton left him "totally bemused"
The bill presented to Edward Heaton left him “totally bemused”

Property buying agent Heaton, who was attending a business meeting, was “bemused” by this and asked if it was correct. He was told that after 4pm, the hotel has a minimum spend of £25 per person so alongside £5.50 per bottle of water, the bill included £50.17 for the minimum spend and a service charge of £8.33.

 

Having emailed and tweeted the hotel to share his astonishment at this “rip off” and the fact he “wasn’t told of [the] charge or shown a menu”, the management responded on Twitter. They failed to show any shock about what happened and simply said:

 

“Thank you for letting us know. We will make sure our policy at the Crystal Bar is dazzlingly clear to all in the future”.

 

After ITV London took up the story, a statement was issued by The Wellesley. It read:

 

“Guests are made aware of this policy on arrival and the rates are printed on the menus distributed on the terraces”.

 

“The minimum spend of £25 per person is comparable to similar venues across London. Mr Heaton did not raise concern at the time of his visit but did send an email of complaint the following week”.

 

“In response, The Wellesley’s management team replied on the same day to offer its sincere apologies to Mr Heaton for an experience he deemed less than satisfactory and we would like to take this opportunity to apologise again”.

 

Mr Heaton clearly won’t make the same mistake again and quipped: “For £75, we probably could have had a nice glass of wine each”. He has since tweeted: “Avoid The Wellesley” and remarked:

 

@wellesleylondon Still no apology though and no refund. I will let others decide what that says about your attitude to customers”.

 

Meanwhile, nearby at the V&A in South Kensington visitors were also complaining about the cost of bottled water in the museum’s courtyard garden. Of the comparatively reasonable £1.60 per bottle charged for a 500ml bottle, Jane Simpson from Yorkshire told The Steeple Times:

 

“It’s outrageous that a museum would charge so much for water when visitors are from all walks of life. Having said that, I just looked at the sandwiches: £8 for a ham and cheese baguette. I thought it was April Fools’ Day”.

 

Both Heaton and Simpson would be even more astonished if they visited Claridge’s in Mayfair. In 2007, the hotel introduced a “waters of the world” menu that included 420 Volcanic, a water sourced through 200m of volcanic rock. It is priced at £21 for 42cl – the equivalent of £50 a litre.

 

Del Boy – who famously bottled Peckham Springs (tap) water in an episode of Only Fools and Horses in 1992 – would have certainly been in awe. If ever a case were needed for “London tap”, we’ve certainly found it now.

 

 

Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:

     

    The Steeple Times
    The Steeple Times
    We research and background check our articles. If you believe we have made and error in some detail please get in touch, we seek always to write the truth and stand against a press owned by a self selected few. Please help us, we will accept all your likes, subscriptions and anonymous suport. The Editor and his team at the Steeple Times.

    1 COMMENT

    1. Having just returned from holiday in Portugal, the Conrad Hotel’s Gusto restaurant by Heinz Beck offers a menu of 12 different waters, stating their PH rating, and unbelievably, what they taste like! The most expensive is from Figi which is 22 euros with the cheapest being 7. Why is the Figi water so expensive I asked our waiter? He responded by saying it was so clear you could see through it!

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    £1 per week Supports The Steeple Times

    Help journalism to remain honest & independent. You can make a difference to the world today.

    3,091FansLike
    2,068FollowersFollow
    14,733FollowersFollow
    4,962SubscribersSubscribe

    Subscribe For DAILY NEWS

    Please subscribe, like and share this unique site, it helps us tremendously. The Steeple Times in return will send you an email at noon each and everyday, that we sincerely hope you will enjoy & look forward to seeing in your inbox.

    AD
    Advertisement

    Trending Now

    Shock Horror (Not)! MPs Engaged in “Sex & Heavy Drinking” On Trips Abroad

    That that ‘The Guardian’ is shocked by news that MPs – mostly Tories, it seems – “engaged in ‘sex and heavy drinking’ on trips abroad” is actually beyond bloody laughable.

    Crypto Crook’s Big Short – Will Sam Bankman-Fried Story Be Turned Into Blockbuster?

    Crypto crook Sam Bankman-Fried astonishingly gets to hang out with the author of ‘The Big Short’ in spite of being on £207 million bail and now has not only Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer onside but also Prince Andrew’s judge to face also.

    Five Unlikely Things Famous Footballers Did Next…

    David Lennox shares the little-known stories of what five famous footballers did next after retiring their pitch time prowess – amongst them everything from novel writing to forensic detective work.

    Most Popular Articles

    Justice for James Scurlock

    Power of social media proven after senseless killing of James Scurlock in Omaha, Nebraska allegedly by a controversial bar owner named Jake Gardner who has been photographed with Donald Trump.

    Moron of the Moment – Prince Harry

    With his marriage to the woman formerly known as Meghan Markle, Prince Harry has morphed into an utter bore   Prince Harry used to be a...

    Scobie Orf!

    ‘MeGain’s’ bestie Omid Scobie deservedly gets slammed by ‘Yankee Wally’ Sadie Quinlan for getting her shut down on Twitter; this childish chap should now just ‘belt up, wrap up and shut up.’

    A Massive Media Maelstrom – McCann, Mandelson and Maxwell

    Matthew Steeples highlights how the ‘Mandelson Media Method’ is very much in play in both the case of the Prince Andrew-Jeffrey Epstein connection and the renewed interest in the Madeleine McCann disappearance.

    The Phil & Matt Show

    Phillip Schofield filmed smoking shisha with his alleged ex-lover Matt McGreevy (and pictured in bed thereafter); another image shows the pair together in photograph...

    Plane Perverted

    EXCLUSIVE – Previously unnamed 9-year-old child pictured on the lap of Jeffrey Epstein on his plane in ‘Daily Mail’ suggested to be daughter of billionaire Glenn Dubin.

    Moron of the Moment 2021 – Richard Madeley

    As the new Diana, Princess of Wales statue is mocked as looking like him, ‘Dorian Gray of Daytime Telly’ Richard Madeley pathetically claims he got PTSD due to worrying about his son’s wedding.

    Most Liked...

    Ampika Pickston

    Ampika Pickston
    Oldham born divorcee and former glamour model Ampika Pickston describes herself as “feisty, fun loving and warm hearted”. Now based in Hale Barns, Cheshire...

    Picture of the Week: The Wallies of Whalley

    Picture of the Week: A field at Whalley Arches, Lancashire before and after flooding
    Image of flooded Lancashire field complete with sign advertising it as a development site for 39 homes illustrates the perils of building on flood...

    Was Mucky Minx Meghan Markle A ‘Yacht Girl’ For ‘Randy Andy’?

    Was Meghan Markle A ‘Yacht Girl’ For ‘Randy Andy’?
    As author Kirby Sommers suggests that the then Meghan Markle likely spent time with Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein before she met Prince Harry, we again highlight the mucky, murkiness and mendacious manner of this alleged “yacht girl.”

    Unprecedentedly THAT – Scrag-End Omid Scobie’s Christmas Twitter Missive Stinkers

    Unprecedentedly THAT – Scrag-End Omid Scobie’s Christmas Twitter Missive Stinkers
    In using Twitter to share rabid rants about everything from Ribena to the royals, Omid Scobie simply shows himself as unprecedently awful.

    MeGain’s Mouthpiece’s Moronic Meltdown – Soppy Omid Scobie v Joyous Jeremy...

    MeGain’s Mouthpiece Has Meltdown Jeremy Clarkson Meghan Markle Omid Scobie
    Matthew Steeples salutes Jeremy Clarkson for expressing honest thoughts about the deviant Duchess of Sussex (and especially for causing the soppy snowflake that is ‘MeGain’s mouthpiece Omid Scobie to have a meltdown as a result).