we were given a voucher for a couples massage from the manor by friends and decided to book accommodation to complete the experience. Everyone was very friendly when we arrived and the room was warm and comfortable when we were shown to it, it went a little down hill from there. The owner showed us the room and where we should go for the spa pool which was included in the price, she joked that the route was a COSH nightmare and we did have to pick our way around bikes and gas bottle to get to the spa. We donned robes in the room for the massage and I found a lighter in the pocket of mine, I don't know if the hotel put it in but it made me feel the robe hadn't been cleaned from previous use. We had to fill in a form before the massage and wait about 10 minutes before they were ready. This is relevant later. The massage was ok. Maybe the music was a little too loud to relax and the masseurs were a little noisy when they washed their hands and brought hot towels, this is minor but did affect the mood. It was after that it went a bit wrong. I booked the room because I wanted to relax after the massage, something I think is nice when you're all relaxed and cosy. As I passed the office the receptionist asked me to pay for the treatment. I said I'd prefer to pay in the morning but she was adamant. So I trooped back to my room to get my voucher. When I got back she said how are you paying for the room. I said in the morning when I leave but was told that the spa is closed on the weekends so I would have to pay now so back to the room I trooped to get my money. By this time my warm fuzzy feeling was depleting and I began to feel a bit cross. It would have been helpful for this to have been sorted when we arrived, there were 3 staff members in the reception when we got there and no one said anything.
The room was nice and the spa was brilliant, the only down side was that when we came out there was a man skulking by the door back to our accommodation, as we came round the corner he skulked off down the hallway asking if we had enjoyed our spa, it felt a bit creepy.
I commend the Manor for providing accommodation and I get the feeling form all the alterations that it has changed hands and they are trying to upgrade it but they need to go a bit further than what they have before they offer accommodation for this price. I would recommend the Manor but I would tell everyone to pay up front, something the staff should be doing. I would probably use the facilities again but not stay the night.