Sixteen of us booked a stay at the five-star Manor House hotel, in Castle Combe, recently. We gathered in one bedroom for pre-dinner drinks, with our own champagne. We did not inform the hotel, no staff were asked to open the bottles, we had our own glasses, and were happy to remove the bottles ourselves - yet we were charged £56 corkage. Are hotels allowed to snoop on a private room and charge corkage as an extra? Lynda Jones, South Wales
The Manor House replies: "A miscommunication between departments led to this charge. We would never charge unless a guest asked us to chill wine, provide glasses, serve and clean up, and we will refund the corkage. Naturally, we do not encourage guests to bring their own food or wines. However, we accept some will, either because they do not understand or agree with the principle of hotel profit margins (even though we have sensible prices), or because ghastly programmes such as Hotel Babylon suggest guests can do what they want to abuse the hotel."