Eastwell Manor, Champneys Hotel & Spa

The facility, the food and the views were on point

Mosquitoes in the bedroom and ants. My granddaughter was badly bitten. Maybe your cots weren't properly cleaned.

De tuinen waren minder onderhouden als dat we gewend waren.

Overall the staff felt tired and not very interested. Some gems trying their best but it felt like the system was stacked against them. Reception not welcoming, one person on breakfast for menus service only. Dinner very average. Beds need replacing. Room needed maintenance. It felt like once it was a great place and then someone lost interest.

Staff were not very welcoming - hardly anyone acknowledges or smiles at guests - long queues at the spa to check in

The rooms were tired and without air con, there is a clear staffing issue as requests were forgotten and rooms left uncleaned. In the rare instance the room was cleaned, the doors were left unlocked. The “suite” was a shoebox with two twins pushed together and, frankly, to not offer air con in the height of summer, but try and charge guests for use of the pool, is disgusting and verging on dangerous in temperatures nearing 40 degrees.

As an overseas visitor, access to the pool without additional expense would have been welcome. Air-conditioning in the “sage restaurant” had apparently not been working for five days. Great pity during a heat wave. Air-conditioning and bedrooms would be a bonus. We had to ask for a fan and a Refrigerator. Hot water system erratic.

Desorganizado, poucos funcionários. Estivemos no local para um casamento - por exemplo, no pequeno almoço o serviço (só uma pessoa) deixou a desejar. A comida pouca e fria - justificação não sabíamos que ia ser tanta gente... os serviços como a piscina exterior são pagos à parte...
Cuidado, os radiadores das toalhas nos quartos são muito quentes! Possivelmente desnecessários num quarto sem ar condicionado em plena onda de calor. No entanto, o funcionário da recepção foi muito prestável e ajudou a resolver a queimadura.

ALL OF THE ABOVE

I couldn't afford a room in the main historic builing, but to make up for this, I did request a room with a view in the new building near the spa. Unfortunately I could only see a wall and a bush through my window, so felt somewhat trapped once I was inside my very bland room, especially as the heatwave made it unpleasant to be outside for too long. I was astounded that the outdoor pool came under "spa facilities" rather than being available to all throughout the day and I was only allowed to use it between 7-10am and 5-10pm at an extra cost of £20 per session per day. I had emailed several times prior to my visit asking if the pool was open all day and was free to use, but didn't get a response. This really marred my visit as there was nothing else for me to do other than sit in my bland viewless room, or drive off site during the day - which I did and actually then really enjoyed myself. The food was ok but I didn't get any drinks until after finishing my first breakfast and then the order for breakfast on the second morning was somehow wrong and after querying it twice, I gave up and ate what I was given! Not the best experience.

Except location didn’t like anything

Room

Allmost everything. Room service was non existent staff never answer the phone you had to walk down to reception to order food. The menu was extremely limited only alternative was spa restaurant which had poor reviews. There is very little thought that goes into the processes for things like itineraries, towels, it seems like the services are designed to make your visit a complete disaster, nothing aligns, staff can’t be bothered, have no standards, this hotel and spa has seriously deteriorated since previous visits. Everything is an uphill struggle from getting a drink to accessing the pool. It feels like a shell of a hotel now just catering to events not spa guests. If you’re expecting a spa try The Grove. Ragdale Hall ot Hoarcross Hall - not here! My daughter also came away with many bites on her arms and legs the next morning after sleeping in the bed. The mattress underneath - I do not wish to describe.

No air conditioning, on a hot day the small cramped bedroom was unbearable.
We stayed in the mews cottage’s, they need a full refurbishment. Very tired.
Lack of staff also, we visited the spa to grab a drink and the restaurant area looked like a bomb had hit it, nobody bothered to clear any of the tables after diners had left.

Now for the rub - this hotel is NOT geared towards families with young children at all, and we got the feeling that they would prefer they simply didn't exist... Which would be ok if they weren't so quick to take your money to let you stay there with them!

No "kids menu" at any of the restaurants, no simple/plain options on the room service menu (not that you could get hold of room service without some sort of blood sacrifice to your demon of choice - it took us 15 phone calls and 45 minutes just to get our order placed!)

Continuing with the food theme, it also took the (otherwise fantastic) morning staff 20 minutes to "find" a high chair on the first day, as clearly nobody had any idea about where such an obscure relic might be kept - which speaks to how often they have toddlers at breakfast - as it appeared to be the only one on the whole estate (judging by the out-of-breath waitress who carted it in from god-knows-where).

The room itself was in-keeping with the rate, but the heating in the communal hallways were inexplicably set to 32C with no way to turn it down - which meant the rooms were also unbearably hot (due to the huge gaps around the doors to the rooms!). Adding to the frustration was the fact there were no baths in any of the en suites, and no non-slip-mats for the shower - a simple quality of life item for those trying to hose down young children before bedtime in a 3ft x 2ft glass box!!.

The biggest let-down for us, though, was that the hotel advertises an outdoor pool - that is shown in the imagery - as separate to the spa complex, with tables and seating around it. Yet, this is not part of the hotel and is considered part of the "spa" side of the hotel - despite being advertised as a feature of the hotel (and not included in the "Spa" line on the blurb).