I was staying in the Ilfracombe area for the weekend at the end of September 2023. I had heard good reports from friends about the Rock Inn at Georgeham and therefore decided to make a 20 mile round trip to visit it. I planned to...arrive early, shortly after 11.00 a.m., to read the Sunday papers over a pint, and then to have Sunday lunch there. I checked Google, in order to check their opening times, and discovered that they opened their doors at 11.00 a.m. I duly arrived at 11.05 a.m. and was relieved to see that the pub lighting was on, both inside and outside the pub, and that a board outside the front door stated "bar open all day everyday".
On entering the bar, the very unwelcoming barmaid informed me "We don't open till 12". I said that I only wanted to sit down with a pint and that I had made a special journey to visit the pub. She disappeared into the back of the pub and reappeared and said "We can't serve you". This is not hospitality in my opinion and the proprietors of this otherwise pleasant pub should give their bar staff better training in the definition and concept of hospitality. I relocated to a friendlier and more welcoming establishment and will not return to "The Rock Inn".More