Ellenborough Park

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.

I organised a family dinner in one of the private rooms for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in September. The planning of the event went very smoothly and Amber in the Events team, could not have been more helpful. On the day however it was a different story. I had pre-ordered a specific champagne for pre-dinner drinks to be told it was not available despite having paid in advance. My 2nd and 3rd choice were also not available. As a result the drinks reception started 30minutes late whilst the waiter scrabbled to find a suitable alternative. They also ran out of the red wine I had pre-ordered. The room had been decorated with a lovely table centrepiece and card for my parents, wishing them a happy 60th anniversary, some 10 years too early. In addition lightbulbs were not working and the room came with an unplugged TV on a trolley, perfect for your next business meeting. I asked if we could have some music on in the room. During the starter the waiter fell through the door with a 3ft speaker…. Enough said. At the end of the evening we spoke with the Duty Manager and he was rude and seemingly could not have cared less. The only redeeming fact is that the food was good. I chose this venue as Ellenborough Park has a reputation for being one of the best in the area. It was a huge disappointment made worse by the attitude of those in charge. I wrote an email of complaint the week after, I’m still waiting on a reply.

Upon arrival it looked absolutely amazing and we were so excited! Sadly it didn’t last, the therapist didn’t know the art of pleasantries and said nothing, the therapy room was freezing cold, it hadn’t been prepared at all, no soft lighting, no music, dark and cold, I wore a robe and my legs could instantly feel the cold in the room. I was a little nervous as to how it would go. I asked for the bed to have the electric blanket turned on and along with the heating. I shouldn’t have had to! The massage I experienced was appallingly to say the least. Her hands were freezing and I yelped and asked for her to heat them up under the hot water tap. The heating unit above the bed I was on, it didn’t get warm for the duration of my treatment, it was blowing out cold air onto my bare back. I was waiting for the treatment to be over, as I have never endured such a massage, I had knots which I told her about in my shoulder blade and she fluffed over them, it was more of a rub not a massage. I complained about being cold and was told, It’s not my fault by my therapist ! The spa manager was not sympathetic to me, she just told me it’s usually hot in this room and started to play with the heating and turns out the girl had turned the air con on, not the heating. I felt so cold. The drinks order took ages but I expected that ! The outdoor spa garden was beautiful and the hot tub was nice in there. The indoor hot tub by the sauna was atrocious- two huge tiles were loose on the floor and my feet were stood on actual rubble from the dislodged tiles. I took one out and gave it to the receptionist and she claims she didn’t know! The amount of rubble in this tub was ridiculous- photos attached, Ellenborough clearly don’t wish to shut it down to maintain it and seal the tiles. Also the ladies shower room has no drainage so the whole floor in the changing room is 3/4millimetres in water, not pleasant to be stood in someone’s shower water. Very very dissatisfied with mine and my sisters special day out together which was a treat for her as her husband had been in a hospital following an accident and it really wasn’t the relaxing day we hoped for. A refund would be most appreciated and very welcome after this experience on Friday 29th November.

Let’s start with the first impression. A Wow! The building is beautiful and the entrance as well as restaurant room and bar are in their original historical atmosphere, which is what you are looking for when booking such a hotel in the beautiful Cotswolds. The porter is absolutely lovely and interesting although the reception seems initially to have lost our reservation. All sorted, so the beginning sounds like a dream stay doesn’t it? But it’s not… ... I don’t know what the rooms in the main building are like, but what we saw is certainly not what we were expecting, or for that matter what we paid for. The hallways are low, dark and bear. The wallpaper quite ugly to be honest. gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum … but the devil is in the details, so I won’t go any further. The rooms have no imagination nor elegance. The staff banging doors near The bedrooms and the reception staff seem to be quite clueless too… although, I do have to mention that the F&B staff were very nice and the food quite good. Let’s get to the pampering. In which spa hotel (that opens at 10am) do you have to walk too outside below 0 from and back to your room only wearing big slippers where your feet get wet and cold and where you freeze under an old bathrobe? You want more. Well, is the massage room, smelling of sewage good enough for you? Not very relaxing, would you think! The facial did not even include a scrub. The downlight above the washbasin was hidden behind a deteriorating brown scotch tape. Seriously! After the massage, although ok but not great. my neck was stiff again from the cold. One of the spa showers was broken. The sauna was tiny and the rest, uninteresting. The staff not very welcoming either. Finally, on our second night we find out by chance, literally, at 6pm that the main restaurant is closed and that we have to move to the “horsebox”, where the TV is on! Everything is there to make it a magical place but unfortunately they have missed the sense of quality and elegance. So, honestly not worth your time nor money! P.S. oh, and none of the pens properly work!