Hightown Hotel, Hightownback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
How things have changed since my original review 10 years ago. It was a truly great pub and has been my local for almost 40 years until 6 months ago. Used to be a great pint with excellent bar staff, and personally I like the manager although in honesty I can see how others may not.
I stopped going primarily because there was NEVER any beer. Would walk down with my mates and get there to be told all 5 lagers were off FFS. About 50% of the time they didnt have Carling my preferred pint. Although I will drink bitter, mild, guiness I thought if they cant have my favorite well I will just go home. Rather dissapointing when you were looking forward to the craic with the mates. In the end I just stopped going altogether. On top of this a couple of the longer serving bar staff have survived and are still a joy to see, however the newer staff are rubbish. Can't tell you the price of your one drink without ringing it up on the till. In fact it suprises me that some of them manage to find there way to work. Maybe their carers bring them! can't see me going back as the Freshfield 2 train stops away is a great pub.
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I didn't get food poisoning and survived my visit to the Hightown. In fact, the food smelt very good. Sadly we only had time for a very swift half between trains. There were 6 ales on, all of them fairly mainstream - Unicorn, Bombardier, Spitfire, London Pride, Directors & Old Speckled Hen. The pub itself is large and has some nice, traditional corners to retreat to. Regardless of its food hygiene rating, this pub is still just about worthy of a visit.
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NEW ALL TIME LOW
Food Standard Agency rating for the Hightown Hotel is 0 out of 5.
Yes that's right 0 out of 5 !!!
According to the FSA URGENT IMPROVEMENT NECCESSARY
If you don't want to get food poisoning GO somewhere else.
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I Have never felt the need to make a bad comment/review until now but after reading some of the other reviews i can see its not just me. Poor food, long waits and arrogant, ignorant manager called Geoff who is so far up his own a**e, he wont accept acknowledge any complaints "if you dont like it dont come attitude" Apart from the overworked bar staff i couldnt say a good word about it, it just gets worse year after year *** AVOID ***
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Went there on the way back from Southport Saturday, not impressed but barmaid was friendly. My son played the Fruit Machine, won the jackpot and it did not pay. He was told to call the manager which he did many times and no answer so he went there 2 days later and the manager was rude and refused to pay him saying he had tampered with the machine which was rubbish. My son pbt in �25 to win $41 and is left with nothing. This man is a thief so beware do not be tempted to play on his machines. He should not even be working with the public as he is not a nice person. I will not go there again ever and would say to everyone else not to got here as the manager/owner Garth is a thief!
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I have had 3 drinks here which have been off and ordered a Christmas dinner which arrived with a hair. The waitress told me it wasn't one of hers or one of the chefs. I got a replacement meal and a round of free drinks which i thought was poor. There was also a dog under the table next to me which stank.
On another occassion I was served burnt garlic bread with lasgane.
If they served the food and beer in this pub in prison there would be a riot.
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Very disappointed in the Hightown on my most recent visit. Has really taken a huge turn for the worse in the last few years, sad to see. No regrets when I say that I won't be visiting again...
Jon
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This is the worst place we have EVER eaten in and we have travelled all over the world, A large roast dinner of 2 potatoes (one of which was almost raw) a couple of carrots, a few peas and one piece of meat!!! What a Joke. to top it off it was served by a girl with long greasey hair (no hairnet or tied back) . This place is a disgrace.
My wife and Myself both work in the Enviromental industry and one of us will be calling there very soon. AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE
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Hightown Hotel landlord gets his comeuppance.
Geoffrey Miller aged 59, The Hightown Hotel, Alt Road, Hightown was in court for sentencing following being found Guilty after Trial.
The Bench ordered that Mr Miller complete 150 hours unpaid work during a 12 month Community Order is in place.
Costs of �350 to be paid and �75 compensation.
AVOID THIS PUB.
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Hightown landlord found guilty of making threats to intimidate .
A PUB landlord who saw red after being told to keep his dogs under control launched a tirade of threatening abuse, a court heard.
Geoffrey Miller, owner of the Hightown Hotel, squared up to stunned 22-year-old Daniel Trinkett and snarled: �Do you want me to break your ******* jaw?�.
Miller, of Lower Alt Road, Hightown, followed his victim, who had been �nipped� by one of his three boisterous flatcoat retrievers, before grabbing his crotch and shouting: �If I ever see you around here again I will punch your lights out.�
The 59-year-old was found guilty of common assault and using threatening words to intimidate at North Sefton Magistrates� Court.
The court heard how �aggressive� Miller, described as a proud and knowledgeable dog owner, �lit the blue torch paper� when Mr Trinkett asked him to put a lead on his dogs after they jumped at him on Ainsdale Beach.
Mr Trinkett, a former fire service worker, was taking photographs on the sand dunes on December 6.
Giving evidence, he told magistrates: �I said �Keep your dogs on a lead please in the future,� and was about to explain what had happened.
�He said �I don�t care what you think mate�. I started saying �Well, I think you should care,� and was about to tell him that his dog had given me a nip to my hand.
�He said �I don�t care. I don�t give a **** what you think. He turned back and pushed me with both hands, backwards.
�I was speechless. I was a bit in shock that this had happened. I was simply trying to explain what had happened with the dogs.
�Then he came forwards towards me, into my face, and said �Do you want me to break your ******* jaw�.
�He pointed towards a little blue Micra and said �If this car is still here in two minutes then I will smash all the ******* windows.�
Mr Trinkett began to walk away along Harewood Avenue but was followed by Miller and pretended to tie up his shoelaces fearing he was about to be attacked.
The young victim added: �He put his face in my face and said: �Are we doing this or what?�
�I simply said �Look, I don�t want to fight you, all that I was saying was about the dogs.� After I said that he turned away and started walking towards his house and stood in the middle of the road and turned around and grabbed his crotch.�
The trauma did not end there, according the Mr Trinkett. After returning to his Hatfield Road home, Miller drove past in his BMW, smiling, waving and pointing towards to front door.
�I felt terrified that this person knew where I lived,� Mr Trinkett added.
Miller, who had pleaded not guilty, offered a completely different version of events, claiming he had acted in self-defence after Mr Trinkett had kicked one of his dogs �into the air�.
But magistrates dismissed the claims after hearing evidence from a passer-by.
Dog walker Margaret Kilner was walking her King Charles Spaniel when she saw the confrontation at the entrance to the beach.
She described Miller, of previous good character, as �aggressive�. �It was lighting the blue torch-paper,� she added.
Finding Miller guilty, chairman of the bench Bruce McGrath told him: �You yourself admitted that you did push Mr Trinkett and that you did use the words �I�ll break your ******* jaw�.
�We find that these actions were not in self defence and accordingly we find you guilty.�
Sentencing was adjourned to April 12 for the preparation of probation reports.
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Well the manager has been excelling himself recently.
Here's a snippet from the local paper "The Formby Times" dated Feb 9 2011
Geoffrey Miller of the Hightown Hotel, Hightown, has pleaded not guilty to using threatening words or behaviour towards Daniel Trinkett in Southport on December 6, with intent to cause him to believe that immediate violence would be used against him, and to assaulting him on the same date.
The 58 year old was remanded on conditional bail, until his next appearance at North Sefton Magistrates' Court, on March 22nd.
AVOID this pub.
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I thought I'd pay a visit to this pub again as I hadn't been for a while.
Oh dear....
It's a shabby litle pub run by a shabby little manager.
Don't expect to stay warm after 9 o'clock in the evening as the heating goes off, despite the fact it was about -5C outside.
Do yourself a favour and stay away.
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I visited The Hightown Hotel Pub several weeks ago and not only did my family and I enjoy our meals but we also commented on how friendly the staff were towards us. During that visit a particular incident arose regarding the ATM not working. Geoff (the manager) offered to drive my husband to an alternative ATM and whilst we didn't accept this kind offer we were extremely grateful and impressed by his hospitality.
Based on this previous visit I recommended The Hightown Hotel Pub to friends and on Wednesday 7th July 2010, we walked with our children almost two hours along the costal path to enjoy a meal. We arrived to find the pub full to capacity and had to wait a short while before a table became available. As my two friends and I settled our four children, the gentleman leaving the table humourously suggested that we needed to keep our children quiet, intimating that they may not be welcome in the pub. I initially dismissed such a comment however with hindsight I feel that certain members of the public may only be too aware of some of the staff's intolerance towards children.
As my two year old daughter had spent almost two hours in her pram I took her away from the table in order to change her wet nappy. The pub does not have any baby changing facilities and I did not wish to change her on the floor of a pub toilet. As such, I made my way to a quiet part of the pub on a lower level (where the snooker table and fuit machine are) where there are no tables, no members of the public and I was out of view of any other diners so that I could quickly and discreetly change her wet nappy. At this point a member of staff walked down the stairs and made their way past me presumably towards the kitchen. I would describe this person as male, white, medium build, tall with mousey brown unkempt hair and in his mid-twenties.
As he stormed past he bellowed at me how "Disgusting" I was for changing my daughter's wet nappy whilst people were eating. I was completely stunned by his confrontational approach and before I could respond he had disappeared into the kitchen. I made my way back to the table where my friends, who were also stunned by his behaviour, informed me that his outburst could be heard throughout the pub and drew the attention of numerous customers (who up until this point were completely unaware that I had been changing my daughters wet nappy!)
I was deeply embarrassed by this incident and as he emerged from the kitchen and made his way past our table I challenged him regarding his outburst informing him that his behaviour was unnecessary and rude. However, without hesitation he shouted over his shoulder that I was the rude one whilst continuing on his march past us. As the pub was extremely busy, other diners could not help but be aware of this unnecessary incident created by your member of staff and appeared as surprised as we were by his behaviour. My friends and I were completely astounded by his inappropriate unprofessional and above all arrogant and aggressive attitude and not wishing to be further insulted in front of a room full of strangers we left the pub immediately.
This staff member clearly has no comprehension about the logisitcal difficulties involved in looking after young children when they are far from the family home. I felt so strongly about the way in which my family and friends were humiliated by this member of staff that I wrote a letter to the Crosby Herald as soon as I returned home. However, on reflection I am sincerely hoping that this indiviual's despicable and offensive behaviour is not indicative of the attitude of the remainder of staff.
I would like to reiterate the following points. Firstly, the pub does not have baby changing facilities and there is insufficient space in the ladies restroom in which to do this. Secondly, I intended to discreetly change my daughter's wet nappy in a secluded area of the pub where I was not in view of other customers. Thirdly, and most importanly, if a member of staff does have an issue with either myself or my children I expect them to apporach me and raise this issue in a professional and above all respectful manner. I do not find it acceptable for them to loudly berate me whilst storming away in order to cause me embarrassment and humiliation. I did not visit the establishment to be treated in such a way.
I refuse to accept that this staff member took issue with what I was doing on the grounds of hygiene when dogs are allowed into the pub to lie on the floor whilst covered in sand and other such dirt. In fact the next table to us that day had two dogs by the side of the table. You have a sign clearly displayed outside which states "children welcome". However, I find the actions and attitudes of one particular member of staff does nothing to promote such hospitality. At best this staff member has concening deficits in his customer service skills, at worst I feel they have one member of staff that could unfortunately undo all of the hard work that other staff do to create a pub with a warm and family friendly reputation.
I will not be visiting this pub ever again!!
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Price Check April 2010
The Hightown Pint of Carling & Pint of Bitter �5.30
The Railway (Formby) Pint of Carling & Pint of Bitter �4.39
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The absentee manager has now increased prices, no doubt to further feather his nest.
On average it now costs 20p per pint more to drink in this pub than the other pubs in the area.
By the way the toilets are still dirty and smelly.
AVOID at all costs.
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This pub has gone from bad to worse recently.
The manager is never there and the only barman employed is rude to customers .
The beer frequently runs out.
Avoid if at all possible.
My score is 1/10
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Shabby pub dominated by it's tv's. Smellly ladies toilets on our visit. Bar staff look at you as if you have two heads when you question their tv policy.
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Fantastic pub, great athmosphere, caters to all ages. Great selection of beers at low prices and the food is excellent, at cheap as chips prices (8oz sirloin and all the trimmings �4.99). Bar staff are on the ball and no long waits to get served.
Tues, quiz night and free draw (up to �300 to be won)
Wed, Cheap beer night
Thurs, Bingo night (in seperate room)
Theres lots more and its right on the Liverpool to Southport Railway line. Give it a try you will not be dissapointed.
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