Despite having read some disparaging reviews we decided to stay here prior to flying out from Gatwick for a fortnights holiday, largely I have to say because the hotel charged £79 for the room but included FREE car parking and this represented remarkable value. In effect if you compare this to the cost of 14 day on airport long term at parking at Gatwick, you are getting your accommodation for nothing. So we went without great expectation but just considered it as a one night stand, a character hotel in preference to a travel lodge. In fact whilst some of the other posting criticisms ring true, they tend to be rather 'picky' we found the hotel to be perfectly acceptable, the rooms were OK, everything worked fine, staff were amiable and helpful, although the dining room is a bit stuffy and yes the menu is limited, the food was excellent, well prepared, well presented, cooked exactly as asked, plenty of it, and piping hot. I compliment them for this, at £24.00 for 3 courses it was great value; the breakfast was equally as good. The overall cost of our stay for two, inc. dinner, drinks, wine, and breakfast worked at about £150.00, but we were in holiday mood, and did push the boat out. You could do this for considerably less, and remember to offset the car park ( the taxi fare to and from Gatwick was about £12 each way). In fairness not a place I would rush back to, but would certainly use next time we need Gatwick comfortable overnight accommodation. Unlike some of the others, we found that it did add, not detract, to the overall holiday experience.

We stayed for one night prior to an overseas trip. We chose hotel as we heard good reviews about the restaurant. This was accurate. The food was very good.

Unfortunately the rest of the public areas felt like visiting my elderly aunt who's eyesight has deteriorated so she can't see (or smell) the dust. This hotel is styled in an old manor house style so some chintz is to be expected... But the overuse of silk flowers which have gathered / soaked a lot of dust is a little too much.
There is no need to display ALL the serving silver trays and serving dishes in the restaurant. Not often where you go to a hotel these days where all the options you have on the TV is BBC1 & 2, ITV1, Channel 4 and 5.

Reading the in-room manual about check-out times, parking etc, the wording was somewhat hostile. I.e. "Late check out WILL occur additional charges". A bit extreme, especially when check-out is 10am. I do not remember being in a hotel with such early check out.
It is easy to point out that late check out will occur additional charges but in a more friendly manner.
Also there was no mention of wi-fi in hotel but we found it by simply checking if there was any.
We sat in the bar for almost 15 minutes before I asked at reception if there was any service in the bar.
The room was freezing cold. I understand it wasteful to heat empty rooms (the hotel was virtually empty of other guests) but if you have reserved a room, surely housekeeping can turn the heating on in the room you will be allocated, prior to arrival. There are few things as unwelcoming as a cold bedroom.

Good points: Free wi-fi in rooms, excellent food in restaurant
Bad points: Dusty and overly chintzy public areas, cold room on arrival, hostile tone in in-room manual

I visited this hotel earlier this year for a friend's wedding. My friend felt the need to put a bad review on here, as she experienced poor service during the course of her wedding, but also had to constantly prompt the hotel in the lead up - doing a better job than the so called wedding planner employed by the hotel.

So many of their guests, including myself, told the bride and groom afterwards that they had also experienced poor service, but felt strange bringing it up (its not something you want to tell a bride for fear of hurting their feelings!!).

However, after complaining to the hotel and receiving a rather sarcastic response, my friend decided to warn others about the hotel by posting a review on here! What made things even worse was the hotel's response to her review. Not only do they not apologise for any problems that spoiled her big day, they also accused her of fabricating these problems!

In fact, if you read the responses to each of the reviews, you will see that they are sickeningly polite to anybody giving the hotel a good review and are rude, sarcastic and totally deny any fault of problems on the bad reviews! This just goes to show that they believe they are in a much higher league than they really are.

Stay at this hotel if you wish, but don't say that Trip Advisor hasn't warned you!!!

We found this charming hotel by accident whilst searching for gluten free restaurants for a special dinner the night before we flew off on holiday.
We stayed at the beginning and the end of our holiday and had a great time.
Thier restaurant 1881 was able to cater to my gluten free needs and my husband thoroughly enjoyed his meal too.
The hotel is delightful and has a great atmosphere but what makes the place is the staff they are excellent and provide a fantastic service!

Thank you to Jacqueline, Matt and all the other staff who made our stay very enjoyable.

We would definatly stay there again and would recommend to our friends and family.