This is a place that has definitely seen better days. We booked this hotel having seen the pictures on the website. Unfortunately, they bear little resemblance to the actual hotel and my heart sank when we pulled into the car park. The rather dilapidated gatehouse seems to have been turned into a chicken run which is one of the first things you see on arrival. Our room was very tiny, functional and completely without character. We sat outside for a few drinks before dinner - the garden area was rather overgrown. When we checked out the following morning, our glasses were still on the table outside!! Dinner was excellent but very expensive. Breakfast unexceptional and the breakfast room had the charisma of a transport cafe. The only thing that we rated were the staff who were extremely pleasant. I would not want to stay here again. EVER!!

The hotel and rooms are visually impressive. It has clearly seen better days in many ways but, to be fair, the owners of a very lively & upmarket hotel & restaurant just down the road had only taken this property over 2 days before we arrived. They have a real lot of work to do (& money to spend!) to get it back to what was undoubtedly a former glory. Grounds are huge and views superb, yet it is only a few hundred yards from a motorway intersection, so is extremely convenient. There is a small outdoor pool which was clean enough - the changing areas and pool facilities do need attention. Plenty of free parking. Advertised free internet connection was unavailable - broke 2 days before we arrived & awaiting engineer. Receptionist was very welcoming & friendly.

We chose to eat out so could not pass judgement on the food, however the menu looked good, wasn't TOO expensive and the dining room was very pleasant. The breakfast room/brasserie on the other hand we thought very poor - very incongruous considering the character of the rest of the hotel. The menu there was very sparse and the room decidedly unwelcoming in our opinion - more like a "caff" we thought! We left before breakfast so again could not comment on the food. Our room was quiet and spacious but the shower was slow, it leaked and the precariously fitted shower head fell on my head within 10s of getting in! Again the room needs some TLC to get it up to standard. Note - there is no air conditioning in the hotel! We can just about recommend trying this hotel in the knowledge that things can only get better and the price was quite reasonable compared to many others we have stayed at - although it did not include breakfast.