Ellenborough Park

I will preface this by saying I have now emailed Ellenborough Park twice with this information and had no response for weeks. So I'm putting this down here instead. I booked a single night away with my wife for her birthday on the 2nd of January. It's a terrible date for a birthday to land so I always try to do something great to make her feel special and a night away for us in a beautiful hotel while the kids are being looked after, by the grandparents, seemed like a great idea. I rang up ahead of time and asked if I could book a specific suite from their website as they looked to have very different vibes. I was told that would be no problem as none of the rooms had yet been allocated for that date so he would make sure that specific suite was booked for our stay. Wonderful news! Arrived at the grounds and the hotel looked amazing. Super excited for the stay. The lady on the front desk took our details and our payment which was just shy of £1000 for the night with a booking for the restaurant. I was given my key and instructed we had "room 2". There was nobody showing people to their rooms so we made our way and had no joy locating "room 2". After asking at the front desk we finally got shown where we needed to go. The hallway on the way there had a load of old bedding stuffed behind a make sift screen which looked pretty awful. We ended up being shown to a room that had a name and no number hence why we couldn't find it. On entering the room it was not the suite I'd requested. I mentioned this, but before I could get a response the lady from the front desk had already bolted. So I went back down again to ask why. I received the response "Oh yes you requested room 4. Unfortunately it's already taken". No explanation beyond that was provided. Particularly insulting as I'd just given them my payment! Once I was back in the room my wife looked at me and said reluctantly "Is it me or does the room kind of smell...?" I'd been thinking the same thing but didn't want to admit it as I already felt like I'd dropped the ball with this one. But the room did smell, we both tried to pin it down, it wasn't pleasant, both of us felt like it smelled like old cigarettes. Not super strong but enough to be noticeable. The room itself was really dark and the only lights were bright white ceiling LEDs (the type that make everything look buzzy and stark) The bathroom was much better but even here the bath robes smelt like they had been washed with chef whites (stale cooking oil etc.). Even the phone in the room was grubby. It just generally felt very tired and not even close to what I was expecting from the cost. I was gutted mainly because I thought I'd let my wife down but she was great about it and we still tried to have a good time despite the sour taste in our mouths from the state of the room. The meal was fantastic (thank the lord!) The atmosphere in the snug down stairs was also great. Roaring fire, kind of smokey but in a good way. And the architecture of the place is amazing, feels like you've stepped back in time. Breakfast was also lovely, big buffet and the menu offerings were great. On check out the next morning I was asked how the stay was. I politely mentioned the issues. Not something I enjoyed as I hate complaining about stuff like this. The response was just "but that's one of our nicest rooms and a confused expression". To summarise I was quite gutted with the experience (unless you couldn't tell). We don't get many chances to get away just the two of us. I've stayed in many 5* hotels and this was definitely the worst experience I've had to date and forgetting the cost for a moment, it is the complete lack of any meaningful response or apology that really hurts. I just wish I had read some reviews before making the booking. I guess you live and learn.

Overall had an enjoyable stay although I do not agree that this hotel is 5*. The spa facilities are very average compared to other spa hotels in my opinion. The size of the spa is small and feels very cramped with only a few guests inside and the number of beds significantly outweighs the number of guests using the spa at any one time. No booking slot is required for use of the spa facilities which does not help with this. The jacuzzi temperature was too low and the humidity level/temperature of the steam room was too low in my opinion. We ordered 2 glasses of 175ml wine to the spa and one of the wines was 125ml (paid for 2x175ml). There was also no toilet roll left in the toilet in the female changing rooms. The complementary biscuits in the room expired in Feb 2025 and had the look of biscuits that were about the expire. I felt as though the bottles of the complementary toiletries in the rooms (Noble Isle) were re-filled with cheaper product although can’t say for sure. Certain aspects of the decor inside the hotel were also not up to a 5* rating. The actual grounds of the hotel are stunning. The food in the restaurant was OK but certainly not an ‘unforgettable dining experience’ as mentioned on the website. The staff were all very friendly and the room was clean. Overall has a nice stay but I don’t feel this hotel is 5* compared to others we have stayed in

My husband and I booked overnight for a pre-Christmas getaway. The setting is spectacular - the building, the grounds, the location. Once you enter you are in a real bubble which is so nice. The service doesn't match the setting - the staff are all nice, but it's all so disjointed. We were checked in for lunch and an afternoon in the spa, but the receptionist at the hotel couldn't tell us what time our spa sessions were, we had to walk next door complete with baggage to check ourselves. The spa treatment was excellent - communication fantastic throughout from a very nice lady with good strong hands. The relaxation room was warm and quiet. We went downstairs to the 'spa' but needn't have bothered - it's very small with just 6 spaces for all spa and hotel guests. The food was very nice, but again service in the main restaurant in the evening a little lacking. But the setting is so nice that we weren't put off. Breakfast was very tasty. This was a treat but at the price paid we would have appreciated a better level of service.

Over priced, lack of customer service. Poorly treated at venue for a celebration of life. Not much flexibility with regard numbers, wasn’t sure how many would turn up there was no assistance other than being told we wouldn’t be able to have more food at last minute. Not sure what would happen in a 5 star hotel if staying and guest wanted a sandwich !! Felt pushed to one side as not a high end/ profit event. Very disappointed.

All i have to say is 5 Star!!!!!! Everyone was so attentive and caring. we spent the majority of our stay within the hotel walls and we definitely made the right decision in doing so. Food is delicious, drinks are different in a funky way and reception was what we expected when we choose to book with Ellenborough Park.