Former Felixstowe couple Tom and Carolyn Worlledge furious after Brook Hotel cancellation due to rebranding into Marco Pierre White’s Hotel Coco

A former Suffolk couple are furious after a hotel cancellation they feared could have jeopardised a nearly 300-mile trip.

Tom and Carolyn Worlledge, 60 and 65, will travel from their home in Spennymoor, County Durham, to Felixstowe, to meet family and attend a carnival on July 26 to 28.

The pair, who lived in Felixstowe for 30 years before moving away three years ago, planned to stay at the Best Western Brook Hotel, in Orwell Road, but said their booking was cancelled at short notice.

The Brook Hotel is in the process of undergoing a major refurbishment and rebranding after coming under the wing of Marco Pierre White’s hospitality firm, which will see it turned into Hotel Coco, alongside a Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill and a pub named The Queen’s Head.

A spokesman for Hotel Coco said the building was no longer part of West Western Group as of May 31.

Customers were advised three to four weeks in advance that their bookings would no longer be valid, he said.

Mr Worlledge said the couple planned to make the 278-mile trip from their home with a party of four, ordering two rooms.

“We feel disappointed, angry, let down, inconvenienced and embarrassed as we had to tell our friends about the situation,” he said.

“This is terrible customer service and we feel we’ve been lied to by the company. It’s not what you’d expect from a well-known company.”

Mr and Mrs Worlledge first stayed at the Brook Hotel nine years ago when they got married and have stayed there several times since.

The couple said the cancellation caused significant stress and felt the alternative accommodation they were offered through booking.com was unsuitable.

Thankfully, Mr Wolledge said, they were not charged a fee for their booking at The Brook Hotel and they did eventually find alternative accommodation to suit them.

According to text exchanges, the pair contacted the hotel in March, when their bookings were confirmed to still be in place.

However, on May 20 they were alerted that the reservations were no longer valid.

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill is set to open on June 27, while The Queen’s Head pub will launch on July 4.

An opening date for Hotel Coco has yet to be confirmed.

The spokesperson for Hotel Coco said any Best Western bookings were free to be rescheduled through the new hotel.

They added: “We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

Best Western was approached for comment.