It's rare for me to write one of these. I run a training company and travel 80% of the year. I've been fortunate to stay in literally hundreds of hotels around UK and the rest of the World. Don't get me wrong, Cowley is a very nice hotel, with a great SPA in really nice settings.
I arrived late (9.30pm) and the check-in was fine. I was shown to my room (number 23) which, again, was lovely - big, comfortable with some really nice touches.

What caused me the most concern was that at 1.30am there was a lot of noise underneath my room. Imagine someone moving furniture or dragging a heavy suitcase down wooden stairs - and you'll get the picture. I used the in-room phone to try and ring reception (no answer), I tried to ring housekeeping and this was picked up by someone in another guest room (yep - some of the phone buttons are mapped to other guest rooms...). As you can imagine the guest was none-too-pleased to be woken up. I tried to get back to sleep and the noises continued to 4.30am - waking me up periodically. I tried to call other numbers on the phone and this went to the same guest room I called earlier - the guest was rightly annoyed.

In the morning on my check-out I politely mentioned the issues with the noise and the phone and frankly they couldn't real care less. They did not ask me any questions, nor did they offer any type of explanation or recompense they just said - 'I'll let the manager know'.

For a luxury hotel built on a reputation of customer service I was extremely diappointed with how they handled my concerns. Having paid for a room to sleep in the least you can expect to get is some sleep. You'd also expect some empathy or an explanation or even a gesture of some sort - but nothing. I've had more care and more support in lower-grade hotels...I'd even say that the 'sleep guarantee' at places like Premier Inn (yep...the low, low cost hotel chain) beats what I experienced at Cowley. So - nice place but big questions for me. If I was running another conference at Cowley I'd stay somewhere else given my experience the night before last.

Great hotel for a weekend in the countryside. We stayed for two nights in a 'great' room, which was really nice and spacious, with a huge bathroom. Had a fantastic view out onto the grounds. It was the perfect setting for a relaxing weekend away. We had a stroll around the grounds, which were huge and very impressive, and enjoyed the spa. It was too cold for the outdoor pool when we were there, but the indoor pool area is very good. I would also recommend the treatments, although when we enquired upon arrival there were only limited slots left available so I would advise booking ahead. For dinner, we went to the bar on our first evening and to the restaurant on our second. The food and service was very good in both, but we preferred the more relaxed atmosphere in the bar. Depends on what you are looking for! All in all, it is not a cheap weekend a way, but worth it if you are looking to truly relax and get away from it all!

I stayed here with my husband for two nights. Overall a good stay; delicious food, very beautiful grounds, helpful staff, great spa / pool area. Also very convenient to get to from London. We don't have children but several people had brought theirs, (think they limit the numbers but there were definitely a few). This on the whole didn't bother us (apart from a screamer at one breakfast!) but may put some people off.

The only thing I really didn't like is the interior decoration. Although I am not adverse to modern furniture, and I love the mixing of old and new pieces, it simply doesn't work here as the modern pieces (bought presumably in 2002 when it opened) now look really dated. It's such a beautiful, old building and the rooms would be so much nicer (and ironically would look more modern) if they kept to the more traditional style. Sadly what was probably cool 10 years ago now does look a bit IKEA-ish.

As per a few reviews we had a lovely dinner at the local pub on the second night which we would recommend if you want to get out one night.

Rooms lovely, grounds incredible, outdoor pool warm in the winner, spa facilities spot on.. The only downside "and i mean the only" was the spa treatments, you pay premium and don't quite get that level.. Menu not too diverse enough. (Breakfast good!)
Overall its a place I would highly recommend.! beautiful hotel..