Hotel Chocolat

Review It is with a heavy heart I am writing this review on the Hotel Chocolat shopping experience in Lakeside. I have been using this store for just over a year. It is quite a distance for me to travel but I enjoy making it a day out. I am a member and love my velvetiser! I also discovered the ice cream which was honestly the best ever from a machine. However that was in April 2022. On all my trips thereafter, approximately once a month the ice cream machine was not working. I mentioned to a staff member who promptly told me it had been working all summer and they close it off for the winter so I must be wrong. I was very annoyed by this defensive attitude and maybe I was wrong, it was just not working EVERY Sunday I chose to visit the store. I have been in on a couple of occasions 2023 and had an unpleasant experience with other staff members also, usually fuelled by me mentioning the ice cream machine. Total joy when I visited 30/04/2023 .ice cream fully operational. Again not a pleasant member of staff and the ice cream was a big fail. It was not the texture of my only other ice cream experience, it was watery and grainy. The cone was fresh and crunchy but I ended up throwing the ice cream in the bin. I will personally never visit this store again due to the general staff attitudes. It is not the shopping experience that I would expect from a quality company like Hotel Chocolat. I work with the general public in the NHS and deal with many Karens and awkward people on a daily basis. I just hoped to use this company to buy my little treats and make it part of my shopping trips. I know there is the option to shop online of course but I will be sourcing a new favourite chocolate shop. Very Sad.
May 4th, 2023

Mar 30th, 2023

Nice place for Christmas gifts
Dec 24th, 2022

A little expensive. Does not sell diabetic chocolate
Oct 18th, 2022

I was hunting down a villa ice cream when I saw the sign in the shop window. I was excited and went right in. A smiling server greeted me and asked what i needed and my reply simply a plain icecream, please. She looks at me sadly "We don't do plan villia icecream ours is made from coco nibs" she explains i was a little sad but agreed she seemed very trust worthy and seemed to know what she was talking about. One cup of ice cream later I headed out, sat down outside, and took my first taste. Total heaven i was ready to moan and cry that i should have hunted down a icecream van but the moment i tried it i was sold. The taste was unlike anything I've had before. It was refreshing and super tasty. Well worth the money and time getting it. I can say with 100 percent honesty it was the best ice cream I've ever had and i would be happy to part with my money again to get another.
Aug 25th, 2022