A tea room in gentile Cheltenham has garnered plenty of attention (and perhaps a few fans) by hitting back in no uncertain terms at its critics on the ratings website TripAdvisor.

Visitors who made their negative views of the family-run Well Walk Tea Room in the spa town known - among many of complimentary ones -have received scathing come-backs.

Staff at the cafe in Well Walk branded customers "ignorant" and "puerile" and told one "the damp smell went soon after you left".

Its scathing rebukes were even picked up by The Times newspaper, which ran an article covering the comments.

Now an established go-to website for reviewers of all-things in the hospitality sector, TripAdvisor is usually associated with customers comments, but businesses can also reply - and that is what Well Walk Tea Room appears to have done.

The negative reviews are in marked contrast to the otherwise praiseworthy comments. Seventy-eight per cent of customers marked the café "excellent" and 15 per cent "good".

A visitor to the café who posted on TripAdvisor, Heyitshev from Somerset, said: "We visited for afternoon tea. I was very disappointed to find that not only was there a very damp smell when we entered but it seemed to go downhill after this. Would never ever visit again!"

The reply from the café said: "It's a pity you didn't mention anything at the time? The afternoon tea comes with as much house tea and coffee as desired, if you wanted other varieties, just ask, a lighter pot can certainly be furnished.

"As one gets older the sense of taste diminishes and to be fair the damp smell went soon after you left."

Visitor, Juanma596, from Cheltenham, United Kingdom, said: "The experience here was shocking, a really old place, full of stuff as in my grandma´s house. The tablecloth was greasy and the cutlery not very clean.

"I asked for a vegetarian option, and I got less food than the others. Definitely not happy.

"The best part was the staff, very kind people."

The reply was: "We think Grandma's house sounds fab! The kind staff would certainly replace any cutlery etc for you. Rancid? Surely not, Grandma would find that defamatory!".

Visitor Sue N said: "No one to greet us when we arrived. I pre ordered one lot of plain sandwiches two lots of mixed selection. They brought one plate of cheese and ham. The bread was un buttered and so thick we couldn't eat the crust!!

"The cake selection was varied but too large portions. Not dainty as you expect for afternoon tea. We were not offered extra tea. I complained but the manager wasn't bothered.

"The table cloths are plastic and dirty. The whole place needs a good scrub!! I take my mum out often for afternoon tea and this was the worst place so far."

The reply, reportedly from the café owner, said: "Such a shame when people behave so badly when out in polite society! I agree after leaving we gave the table a jolly good scrub! Best wishes, Tom."

And that's just some of the reviews.