Down Hall Hotel & Spa

Very pleasant

Was a lovely hotel in a beautiful location. Enjoyed the three course meal, although surprised at small size and all the extra costs on the menu for certain items. The bar was lovely and the grounds great. The only major concern was getting there and being given a tiny double room when we had clearly booked a twin on the booking form and listed clearly on booking confirmation. Luckily the staff were able to move us to a larger room that could be made into a twin, however due to some disrespectful guests having a party in their room blasting music, we had to move again at 10pm (twice because they put us in a double again and then had to find a twin again). But, I'm glad the staff were so amiable and willing to fix the problem, they even offered complementary champagne, but I dread to think what would have happened if it was a busier and all these rooms weren't available!

My sister and I had been looking forward to our special spa treat (a present from our nephew) all year. Unfortunately, we did not have an amazing experience - it was extremely disappointing to say the least – especially for my sister had travelled hours to get there from Reading and had to make special arrangements for her husband to take the take off work to look after their little one. There is no doubt that the hotel is an impressive building and approach; set back and reached by a long driveway it looks pretty amazing and very luxurious on arrival. Unfortunately for us we joined a check-in queue of 25 American visitors who must have just been dropped off prior to our arrival. With this many people to check in, it was a shame the hotel reception staff did not receive some extra support to ensure everyone (including us) did not have to wait as long as they did. We had a strict time limit in the spa and this waiting time held us up considerably. When we did reach reception, the staff member was very pleasant and dealt with us in a good manner. We dropped out bags into our room (129) which was a very luxurious room, great space and all very plush. The bathroom was excellent and very spacious with a shower and bath facilities. The bed linen was lovely and the beds are good. Although we only overlooked the car park, the rooms facilities and décor were excellent. Dinner at the hotel: the staff on duty were very poorly trained; we were not asked to taste the wine; there was extremely small choice of dinners on the hotel menu; we were not advised that our voucher could not be put towards beverages. The staff did not ask if our food was OK or afterwards or even If we had enjoyed our meals – they simply didn’t seem to care and were there just doing a job (but not very well). Having decided that we both fancied the Norfolk Skate wing we gave our order to the waitress to be told she had just served the last one to the American table. We really were stumped at what to then order from the menu, as the choice was so limited and I ended up asking for the bar menu which had some alternatives. I asked if the chips were made on site and was told that yes the fat chips are made on site although the skinny fries that come with the burger were not. I ordered the haddock and chips (expecting fat chips – having had this discussion) and my sister ordered the steak and ale pie and vegetables. Our meals arrived, mine with skinny fries! It was just mediocre – definitely had better and so disappointing that the fish and chips did not even come with peas! My sisters meal however was good. We were asked to ‘sign out’ of the restaurant, however due to (another) queue of Americans all individually paying for their meals we decided that as we were staying overnight and coming back there in the morning, we would see the hotel staff about our dinner then. Back to the rooms for a relax in our P.J’s . Telephone rang in our room asking us to immediately come down t

Complimentary upgrade upon arrival, beautiful large bedroom and modern bathroom.

I had an amazing stay at at this Hotel. I upgraded to an Executive suite, very comfortable bed , nice clean room with lovely views. The tv was bit dated, and some of the furnishings were dated too. I popped down to the new outside bar area for a glass of wine , I waited for a while but there wasn't anybody serving so I had to go o the inside bar. I paid £5.50 for a small glass of red and popped back to my room. Room service is great and I had a lovely meal. Breakfast was pretty good to. All staff were welcoming and polite. The wifi is great all around the Hotel apart from the Spa area. I had an amazing facial with the ESPA products. I will be back soon with the dogs as I find this Hotel one of the most relaxing that I've been too.