This rigid rule came to light when hotel customer Jane Stephenson was refused an extra cup to share her friend's pot of jasmine tea. Stephenson, who had ordered and finished a cup of coffee in the hotel, was astounded when her request for a fresh teacup was repeatedly refused by waiting staff.

"At first I couldn't believe it, but then I got very annoyed, " she told the Sunday Tribune. "I had put up two colleagues of mine in the hotel for four nights and I had finished my coffee so thought I would like to have a cup of my friend's tea. It was a huge pot, with more than enough for two people. So when my request was turned down by a couple of waiters, I was flabbergasted."

Stephenson, from Greystones, Co Wicklow, was told by several waiters that it was 'hotel policy' not to give out more than one teacup with a pot of tea. When she spoke with the manager on duty, she was told the same thing.

"I could only grasp from them that to get my hands on a teacup, I would have to order another pot of tea, " she said. "I just think it is incredibly unreasonable that a five-star hotel should treat its customers like that."

Stephenson eventually got her hands on a teacup by sneaking one out of the service area. "We felt like naughty children, it was just ridiculous, " she said. "I wouldn't have made such a big deal if they hadn't acted like that over such a trivial matter. That kind of bad service needs to be stopped. It's hardly surprising that we're known as rip-off Ireland."

Despite writing a letter of complaint to hotel management, Stephenson has not received a reply. "If they had even explained why the policy exists and been apologetic I might be able to understand where they're coming from, " she said. "As it is, I would be incredibly reluctant to use the Herbert Park Hotel again."

Dermot Jewell of the Consumers' Association of Ireland said the policy of refusing customers teacups was "horrendous". "It just throws the whole idea of customer service completely out the door, " he said. "It is the final nail in the coffin for 'Ireland of a thousand welcomes'. It doesn't make sense from a business point of view because a pot of tea shared between two people can often lead to a second pot being ordered. And it certainly doesn't make sense from a customer service point of view. . . I would say that this has seriously damaged the Herbert Park Hotel's reputation." A spokeswoman for the Herbert Park Hotel said they would not be making a comment.