Yeah I used the new cafe for the first time a few days ago.

1) Really really really slow, even though it wasn’t busy at all. I almost gave up and walked off. Actually add another really into that.

2) Staff miserable

3) Atmosphere of a school dinner hall, but I guess that’s the new family atmosphere someone wanted

4) Most importantly – No Chilli sauce, no Tabasco sauce

I gave it a 2nd chance the next day and it was no better.

stupid duplicate post

All I really want is enough car parking tbh.

maybe you just need parking tuition? Surely our very own Glupton could come out of retirement to help out down there with skillz courses, might need a ‘helper’ to deal with cleaning all the dusty cars tho.
😆
But in the meantime if you really can’t find a space, simply park on the verge and refuse to pay! oh.. and while you’re at it if there happens to be a queue for the only toilet take a dump outside on the decking. that’ll learn them!! 😉

Alot of the posts here sound like they’re from the “over weight, weekend warrior, trail centre mincing” crew.

How do you cope when you go mountain biking?

Infact, I bet you’ve never been.

Snakebite, bizarrely I took an almost-identical photo to that when I was there just before Christmas 😆

2011-12-18 GT snow (25) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr

I think the fact that the building isn’t 10x over budget and also that it isn’t sinking into the ground.
Nope, but nearly twice the budget – £5m > £9m. You sweaty socks don’t seem to be too good at spending our money up there on building projects…

Northwind – Member
Is it not the visitor’s centre building that’s up for an award, rather than the whole complex? It’s a very nice building.

From a design(modern and environmental)there is nothing wrong with the buildings.
The problem is where they are sited in relation to what we as a “user group” would prefer
I would imagine most of us would not have attended a “consultation” meeting because we think/accept that by the time any scheme like this gets to that stage the “deal” has been done and anything we say would be ignored 🙄

An example of this is a windfarm that has been in the planning stage for yrs locally and has (afik) still not got planning permission. Why then has the road system been put in place to get the turbines onto the hillside ❓

Still sounds better than the facilities at all the other trail centres!

Ay the facilities are “better” but what was wrong wi the old ones that some paint and sticking plasters couldnt fix… come on scotlands premier mountain bike trail centre cost 9 million for the buildings
why oh why didnt they spend 1 million on toilets /changing facility and the other 8 on new trails/ skills /loops and generaly on the thing trail centres are good for ” mountain biking to all levels and for the masses……. why do we want walkers in and around mtb trail all they will do is get in the road and cause an accident then bitch to the F?C that some mad biker was goin too fast on a trail he was walkin up 👿

ME I VOTE TO CUT THE LEGS OFF ALL WALKERS lol ❓

“Yawn………….”

An example of this is a windfarm that has been in the planning stage for yrs locally and has (afik) still not got planning permission. Why then has the road system been put in place to get the turbines onto the hillside

could be a few reasons, separate application, maybe a simple track alone doesn’t need planning consent, I’m not sure, but in a wind farm EIA the access tracks and hardstandings etc are considered as part of the scheme so not sure on that one. I do know of one proposed wind farm site near Inverness where the track was built and nothing further happened, which has made it feasible for a hydro developer to propose a nearby hydro scheme using the existing track as access.

Keith

have you ever been to Glentress?

there are more walkers routes than biking routes, always have been.

keith2005motorcross – Member

Ay the facilities are “better” but what was wrong wi the old ones that some paint and sticking plasters couldnt fix…

They were too small, and they were ****. Next question?

THE NEW PLACE SMELLS OF SHITE,IT LOOK SHITE THAT USUALLY MEANS IT IS SHITE.Has all the charm of run down garden centre BLAND.

Ahh, the voice of reason.

FWIW it didn’t smell of shite last time I was there. It did smell a bit sweaty, but that might just have been my friend. In fact I think it probably was just my friend.

SEPTIC TANK SMELLS OF RAW SEWAGE (SHITE).Someone’s made a mega blunder

bigjim…could be a few reasons, separate application, maybe a simple track alone doesn’t need planning consent, I’m not sure, but in a wind farm EIA the access tracks and hardstandings etc are considered as part of the scheme so not sure on that one

[url=http://www.scottishpowerrenewables.com/pages/harestanes.asp]ooops. Looks like my info is well out of date[/url]
Might mean we get some money injected into the Ae trails ❓

Can’t argue with all those capitals.

My grumble is with the showers. It seems hit or miss if you get hot water. I’m starting to conclude that the hot water doesn’t work till mid afternoon. The freezing cold shower was not what I needed after a cold damp ride yesterday!

GW – Member

Keith

have you ever been to Glentress?

– I guess he made the OP up? Have you ever been?

Northwind – Member

keith2005motorcross – Member

Ay the facilities are “better” but what was wrong wi the old ones that some paint and sticking plasters couldnt fix…

They were too small, and they were ****. Next question?
I think you are missing the point, it would have only took a fraction of the cost to sort out the Hub, oh and it was certainly was never ****.

The new facilities are a master class in getting the subtleties and some of the basics wrong.

GW – Member
just as well us guys have just one arse and cock each, eh?

😆 GW!

Jammy piece & juice at minchmoor summit anyone? 🙂

If you don`t like it why go? 🙄
Its folk like you lot that join Golf Clubs in later years and make everyones lives misery 😆

aldomac – Member

I think you are missing the point, it would have only took a fraction of the cost to sort out the Hub

I agree that they could have got a good result with much less money, but how am I missing your point, when you said “what was wrong wi the old ones that some paint and sticking plasters couldnt fix”?

Toilets – moan; the Hub – snivel; car park – grumble; location – gripe; the Hub – lament; FC – grouse; the expense – whine; new cafe – sneevle; staff – more sneevling

FFS people – get a grip!

The money wasn’t all spent on the new building though…a large chunk was also spent on acquiring all the other properties and land around the place to ensure no-one else could set up ‘shop’ – Glentress Hotel being the exception…the £9million quid will no doubt also have been sold at some stage as protecting the interest as well as providing better facilities for the droves of existing and new users who are now pouring into the place.

The Peel Centre was planned and contracts signed in the days when public money was being spent on facilties that WE were going to use. In the current climate there’d be no 7 Stanes let alone no Peel Centre.
So a little less whinging I think; we get all these trails and facilities for FREE!
I loved the old Hub: I run a business and understand that investing your own money in improvements is not always smart: I also understand the need to be grumpy with the public occasionly.
Was at GT today and the trails were riding superbly (black); the cafe was great too; great value for money. There were 5 staff working there socks off to cope with demand. You can understand the owners having problems recruiting staff at Christmas (bare in mind they must have been losing a couple of grand a month whilst the Hub was still operating).
Re the cludgy and bike security: Eat industrial Muesli for breakfast; have your bowel movement at home. Bring a lock for your bike!

TIS GOOOD TO HAVE A DEBATE OR IN SOME CASES A RANT THIS BRINGS OUT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM THAT HOPEFULLY IS CONSIDRED IN OTHER PUBLIC FUNDED PROJECT
HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF WELL SET UP AND EXECUTED PUBICLY FUNDED PROJECTS

THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
THE EDINBURGH TRAM PROJECT
THE GLENTRESS PEEL PROJECT
AND NOW OUR WORDLY LEADERS ARE EMBARKING ON BUILDING A BRIDGE JUST WAIT AND SEE

Coastkid – shame on you – it’s a living 😉 😀

Just to say I was up there today and the staff seem to be getting better. Agreed it was late when I was in but the queue was small and moved quickly. The staff seemed to be more jolly as well which was nice.

Car park was busy mind you with he old Hub CP closed off.

Have to agree with some criticisms. Would be interesting to see how opinions differed if the hub had never existed – chances are they’d be a lot more positive. I think its just a shame that an expensive project could have been done a lot better with less money.

But whaddoIknow?

Would be interesting to see how opinions differed if the hub had never existed – chances are they’d be a lot more positive

The Hub actually got quite a bit of slating on this here forum a few years back when the food prices went up and the quality dropped.
The bike shop was also renowned for being staffed by surly mechs who were probably fed-up of stw types trying to blag stuff for as cheap as pos or nowt at all 🙄

Has anyone mentioned this thread to the new owners yet? Maybe they would respond to the issues if those doing the complaining e-mailed their concerns 💡

Time to move on people…

I liked the Hub cafe but found the bike shop guys grumpy. Dealing with trail centre heroes on a daily basis can’t have helped though 😉 Not tried the new place yet but heading down sometime in Jan. Hi John!

Always love reading these threads – makes me chuckle! Happy new year, everybody!

On behalf of myself and all my fellow grumpy ex-Hub mechanics, sorry for the occasional moodswing… that place could bring out the worst in anybody, ha-ha!
I promise we’re much nicer now in our nice new shiny warm workshop at Alpine Bikes… come and see for yourself! 😉

😆

come and see for yourself!

It’ll save them having to switch on the motion activated lights themselves. 😉 Happy New Year everybody.

I was down there on Friday. Nice to sit in the warm and dry, coffee Ok, burger overpriced. the number of people in there would have overwhelmed the hub completely and there would have been no seats left inside.

I suspect it will take them a few weeks to work out when they need staff – 6 in the cafe on Friday. they had the competition from the hub for months that they were not expecting and now over a holiday period get the full trade. I am sure that being a local business that they will get it right.

The other thing people forgot is its not just for the bikers – there is walkig and birdwatching as well. Its a tourist centre not just and MTB cjentre.

shortbread_fanylion – Member
I liked the Hub cafe but found the bike shop guys grumpy. Dealing with trail centre heroes on a daily basis can’t have helped though Not tried the new place yet but heading down sometime in Jan. Hi John!

➡ Dan. Was out with Justin B yesterday 😆

On behalf of myself and all my fellow grumpy ex-Hub mechanics, sorry for the occasional moodswing… that place could bring out the worst in anybody, ha-ha!

Understandable. Recent experience good, past experience questionable. Lack of customer training(if any)
Enjoy the new job 😆

Working at the Hub was an interesting experience 😕

It’s interesting in that the facilities could be good but aren’t. Wrong place facing the wrong direction and too far from the carpark. Not nearly enough parking I had to put my frame in my mates car but if i’d been there on me own i’d have just headed home or to teh Traquair Arms for scran and a pint. Think this will be gotten used to.

BUT

Service way toooooo slow (more folk queueing than eating) took 30 mins to get served. The smoke from the kitchen was venting into the cafe (should be an easy sort). and that pond will be midge heaven after May, so short life for the outside tables.

I just miss the muddy sofas full of mice!

onehundredthidiot – Member

too far from the carpark.

The furthest-away parking is still closer to the cafe and the trailhead than the old bottom car park, btw