Very disappointing visit

I booked Ellenborough Park for a night away for our anniversary.
When we arrived we were told that our room wasn t ready (at 3 o clock) and the lady at reception couldn t even give us a time that it would be ready.
We were booked into the horse box restaurant for dinner. Our 7pm table wasn t ready when we arrived and were greeted by a very stressed restaurant manager. We ordered two glasses of champagne which didn t arrive until 7:40 and were warm. The service went from bad to worse. The food took ages. We ordered the chateau briand and it eventually arrived cold. We were given no plates or steak knives. We ended up laughing with all the tables around us at how shocking the service was.
The room itself was ok. It was a very hot evening and the air on didn t work properly, the windows would only open a crack and the hand shower was broken.
We have previously used off peak luxury to book trips to the manor at castle combe.... not sure we ll be using you again.

Disappointing Stay

No heating in bathroom and staff could not resolve. Breakfast was not very good.

Poor Value for Money and Service (Particularly the Spa and Team)

The exclusivity and service advertised for this hotel and the price lead me to believe this would be an unforgettable experience and weekend in the Cotswolds. Your Hotel reception team were good and on point so no issues there but the 2 days spent at your hotel fell short of expectations in many ways.

The hotel and decor is pretty tired and our room itself seemed a bit on the knackered side and unclean. The bathroom itself looked like there had been some sort of trauma / incident it it with what only can be described as blood stained floor tiles across the whole space.

The main issues we had as guests were the Spa. Upon arrival to what would be considered a relaxing experience we were not really welcomed and seemed a bit of an inconvenience to the receptionist / host. She actually didn't even look up from the desk or computer to greet us and was in no way interested in showing us around the facilities to the point that we were left to ourselves to open doors and see what was there. Customer Service and Guest Experience training are in serious need!

The heated pool outside sounded great but was actually pretty cold and so after a cold water experience we decided to come back inside. On arriving back in the spa room i have to say that again for the money we were left standing in a corner as all 7x beds (odd number for a couples retreat) were taken by other guests. Standing waiting to get into the spa pool or sitting in the Sauna as there was no where else to sit was not the best experience. Its quite alarming in terms of the size of the hotel that the facilities are not fit for purpose.

Rest assured that after 20 mins we left and went back to our rooms.

slow slow slow

Waited 2 hours for food in the restaurant in the evening of our one night stay. Then waited for an hour for breakfast. No apology for the wait for breakfast. And no offer of compensation.

Weekend break

Sadly the customer service really let this beautiful place down, from waiting at checkin to breakfast and a sense of being an inconvenience to the staff. Definitely not 5 star and not a weekend we would look to repeat.

Spoiled by poor service

I stayed here with my wife Thursday to Sunday morning on DB&B basis. First impression was of a luxurious hotel in a stunning location. Gorgeous lawns with view to Cheltenham Race Course. A welcoming glass of champagne was the icing on the cake. Unfortunately our stay was spoiled by consistently poor & chaotic Service.
This was probably the result of hasty preparations post Covid-19 lockdown.
To her credit the manager acknowledged the validity of our comments & reimbursed us a significant amount of what we paid.
I would visit again after the Covid-19 problems have passed.

We enjoyed it but not five star luxury

We felt the deal was overpriced and that was with a very good package including dinner allowance and glass of bubbly. Had we paid the full hotel price of over 400 just for B&B, we'd have been gutted. The good stuff: Amazing historic building, fantastically comfortable bed, friendly stuff trying to do their best in difficult (covid) times, unstuffy atmosphere, pretty grounds, very ice breakfast and good service at breakfast, served on the terrace with lovely views. The bad stuff: Very average dinner in very average bar surroudings (formal restuarant was closed), most definitely not 5-star cooking. Weak wifi signal in bedrooms and no smart TV, just terrestial channels which is surprising for a hotel claiming to hod 5 stars, waited 45 minutes for ham sandwich at lunchtime, vey small outdoor pool with all sun loungers hogged by the same people all day long and no attempt to allow others in for a swim at a safe distance. That said, after initial disappointment, the place grew on us and we found it relaxing for one night.

Not as Expected

On arrival we unload the car and booked in at reception to learn that our allocated room required us to drive back to the front gate in a separate block. Ended up walking back to the main building to get assistance in locating the room as all we had was a room number which were not well signed though out the property
On the plus side the rooms are super - spacious and well appointed with super size bathrooms with all amenities and quiet.
I had hoped that the overnight experience would have included some fine dining to match the location and the hotel itself.
However we were pre booked by the hotel into the Horse Box Restaurant situated off the bar area of the hotel and the menu was less than exciting. Pub style feel to the restaurant with menu and food to match - but at restaurant prices - and topped up with 12.5% service charge which includes the wine - at restaurant prices
Reception took 2, in hotel, spending deposits due to a transaction malfunction that did indeed go through- one of which was on a debit card and I am still awaiting the refund as the actual charges where put on the second Credit card.
The staff where friendly enough under difficult service circumstances at this Covid time.
I can't say that the stay was value for money or offered the experience that we expected