Vantaggi
The brand heritage is exceptional and creates a sense of pride for many employees. Frontline teams are passionate, knowledgeable, and genuinely committed to delivering great customer experiences. Opportunities to work on unique products, suppliers, and events that you won’t find elsewhere. Some pockets of strong leadership exist, where people try hard to do the right thing but these managers are increasingly becoming disillusioned. The CEO wants a positive culture. I really liked and respected the business and the brand but had to leave as the business is not run by the CEO he leaves it to his team and they look after their own interests to the detriment of the company.
Svantaggi
HR lacks the experience, confidence, and independence needed to manage complex people issues. Many managers feel exposed because HR tends to react to what the hosp leader wants rather than applying consistent standards. Bullying upwards is becoming a known tactic. Some employees have learned that escalating complaints or applying pressure can override fair performance management. This creates a culture where managers feel unsafe to lead. HR is perceived as overly influenced by certain executive leaders, which undermines trust in impartiality. Leaders widely believe that decisions depend more on internal politics than on facts or fairness. The executive team is not aligned. Different leaders pull in different directions, creating confusion, mixed priorities, and inconsistent messaging. Internally new starters openly describe the executive team as weak or disconnected, with limited visibility. New starters are often less skilled than expected but given preferential treatment to current staff (reducing staff moral) they often make changes that cause more work and issues and when this is not recognised by the CEO and his team, it leads to intense dissatisfaction impacting his reputation throughout the business. There is a strong preference for positive narratives, which means uncomfortable truths are avoided. Bullying upwards is escalating at an alarming pace, partly because there are no clear consequences for lying and poor capability. Accountability is inconsistent. Some teams face intense scrutiny while other teams are allowed to operate with little oversight this is most visible in the hospitality team but does occur in other high profile areas. Favouritism is frequently mentioned in reviews on this site, with certain individuals or departments receiving preferential treatment regardless of performance. Deeper cultural cross department problems within the OLT are not being addressed. Decision‑making is slow and overly political Management group/OLT carry the weight of the organisation, often without the support, clarity, or authority they need. Communication is inconsistent from the executive team, with important information not always cascaded clearly or honestly. The OLT felt increasingly toxic and not supportive often working in silo, driven by avoidance, fear, and a lack of psychological safety. It is unsafe to manage team members who are not performing leading to the need for more staff. Decisions are made by committee.
