We had booked a Murder/Mystery evening back in April for my wife,s 60th birthday which is on New YearsDay.
When we arrived at the hotel we could not believe our eyes or luck.
Parking at the rear of the hotel was ideal,check in was a dream and the rooms are quite fantastic,
This hotel in near all amenities within the town.
The food at the event was superb as was the event itself.
breakfast was buffet style and loads of it ranging from full English to continental.
Cannot praise this hotel at its staff enough.

I last stayed here for 2 nights last Christmas. I wrote a favourable review, based mainly on the comfort of the bed!

This time was rather different. I asked if I could have the same room again (called them twice about this prior to arriving and also included the request on my booking). I did not get the same room but rather a room in the old part of the building, but luckily not facing the road (which can be rather noisy). The room was ok. The bathroom was ok. Can't say a lot more than that. The bed though was not as comfortable as on my last visit and the pillows seemed to contain a million tiny needles.. I could hardly bear to put my face on it. It was probably the way the pillowcase is washed, but still... really annoying. Also the room was very dark and the lamps were very dim - to say the least.

My room was non smoking and indeed all the rooms on the floor had non smoking signs on the doors. So why did the whole corridor stink of smoke? Very unpleasant and the kind of smell that lingers on your clothes and in your hair.

There was a carol service in the hotel reception on Christmas Eve. I practically had to push a choirboy out of my way to get out of the building. Nice if you like that kind of thing but I think this was a charity event as there was no notice about it prior to the event (not that I saw).

I did not eat here this year as breakfast last year was disappointing.

Whatley Hall is steeped in history, a lovely old hotel with lots of quirky charm. It has fabulous wood paneling in the lounge, dining room, bar and conference rooms. There are hidden priest-holes and it’s reputedly haunted by Father Bernard - although alas we didn’t get to bump into him! The Christmas decorations were truly stunning especially in the dining room where there was a 10’ tree. Breakfast was very enjoyable with a god selection of hot and cold food. Nothing was too much trouble for the chefs or staff. They were very friendly and hard working. We stayed in the oldest part of the hotel which was very nice. The bedroom was large, clean and the bed was comfortable. The only thing that let it down was the bathroom. It too was large but only heated by a small towel rail. The shower worked ok but the spray went everywhere and the old window looked a bit mouldy.

Over the last 3 years I have stayed at this hotel at least 4 times a month, however, the last few times I've been I've been disappointed by the service I've received; the room and bed sheets have been dirty, there's no offer to carry your laugage up the stairs as there's no lift in the old part of the hotel, the details to the hotel don't state large cars and vehicles can't get into the car park, some rooms facing the church and road are very noisy.