Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa — Hotel in Arun

I urge you to read our honest review prior to booking a stay at Bailiffescourt.||We had originally booked to stay for four nights, however we decided to treat ourselves to an additional night and booked a Sussex bedroom for our first night, arriving a day earlier. We would then be moving into a Climping Room for the remaining four nights.||When we checked in the Reception Manager asked if we would like a paper in the morning "billed at the normal rate". I verbally acknowledged that it would be Sunday and that a paper would be very nice, thank you. We were surprised to see that a paper was left on Monday morning and again on Tuesday, which we told reception must've been a misunderstanding as we had only wanted one on Sunday. Rather than graciously removing the papers we did not request from our bill, we found that they had been charged when we received our bill on Thursday. I shall address the bill later.||The Sussex Room we were booked into was in the thatched building with the pheasant on top. We were on the top floor.||Upon entering the room we were immediately disappointed.||The room was dirty:|The shower screen is mouldy;|The bathroom was dirty;|The floor was dirty and had hairs and used contact lenses sitting on it;|There were pubic hairs on the toilet seat;|The bins hadn't been emptied and there was sanitary items in them;|The bath was dirty;|The toilet makes a continuous trickling noise;|Cobwebs everywhere;|Smelt of dogs, and although I know the hotel is dog friendly, the rooms should not smell of dogs.||The room is exceptionally tired and dated, and not fit for purpose: |The bed surround has holes in it;|The windows are mouldy and dirty;|The bath plug chain is broken;|The grout on the bathroom floor is completely loose, leaving bits absolutely everywhere - highly irritating to stand on them constantly;|You cannot see yourself in the bathroom mirrors because they have been hung so low because of the sloping ceiling (clearly a better layout option should've been considered);|There was no hairdryer in the room;|The bathrobes were dirty and the belt-loops on most were broken;|The catch on the fold-away bed is dangerous and sharp, standing proud from the bed. My husband and our 5 year old hurt their feet on it;|The zip-and-link bed was very uncomfortable. You could clearly feel the link;|The pillows on the bed are limp and lumpy;|When we went down for dinner on our first night, we told the Reception Manager about some of the issues that I have mentioned above (the ones we had noticed in the first couple of hours of being there). He made a long list of the issues, and put replacement robes and a hairdryer in the room and emptied the rubbish bin whilst we were having dinner. Whilst we were providing him with details of the cleanliness of the room and the issues with the robes, he said that our bill would be adjusted. Again, I shall come to the bill shortly.||The Climping Room we stayed in was called Breade. It is obviously a more modern bedroom but it was still just as disappointing:|The shower was very mouldy;|The bathroom was mouldy and dirty;|There were long brown hairs on the floor of the bathroom - we all have short blonde hair;|The wood on either side of the aircon unit was unsightly and unfinished;|The additional beds in the room have one thin sheet between the person and the mattress. They are very uncomfortable;|The colour on the walls in the bathroom is unsightly, especially for a bathroom - I won't detail what it looks like, the colour speaks for itself;|Tiny soaps are useless, in fact the product line used in the hotel is not environmentally friendly. Tiny plastic bottles are an incredibly dated way of providing amenities.||The menu:|The dinner menu felt dated and overpriced for what you get. My husband ordered spaghetti bolognese and it was the same size as the children's. The sauces used in the salads were unappetising, almost like mayonnaise. There just wasn't anything on the menu that was appealing - we struggled to find anything we wanted, and for the price we were left feeling very dissatisfied. After two rubbish meals we ended up dining out at The Pig (a 10-15 minute drive away and totally worth it!) for the remaining three evenings. Same price, if not cheaper, 100% better.||Breakfast was ok, but that's all. I requested poached eggs on toast and was presented with one thin piece of toast, and two solid poached eggs. No butter, no personality. Just a sad, plain, cold piece of toast and two sorry hard eggs.||The French lady who served us at breakfast is lovely and a delight to see each morning. She was a highlight.||The scones were good.||Oddly the male server we saw every day did not recognise us after 5 days and asked if we were staying.||From day two there was constant drilling at the hotel starting at breakfast. Additionally, on Monday I went to reception to enquire about booking a tennis court for my son whom I had advised is a very keen tennis player at the time of making our reservation months earlier. One of the main reasons for booking Bailiffscourt was because of the tennis courts, which I had told the person who made my reservation. I was very clear that we would be making good use of the courts. However on Monday I was told we could not book a court because they were being resurfaced and that it would be three weeks before they are ready. My six year old son burst into tears. Surely a hotel like Bailiffscourt makes a note of guests personal preferences?||Additionally, on Sunday the indoor pool was not operational because of an "imbalance". This meant that on a weekend day the outdoor pool was over-crowded. The pool times are so narrow for children, it clearly would've been more hospitable if the timing could've been extended for children given that it was so full. Children were confined to small areas of the pool just so they could fit in.||Warning!! The temperature of the sauna is excruciatingly hot. The sauna and steam room are tired, dated and don't feel like a 'spa' experience.||Finally, when it came to our last day we received a bill at our door. This is a very bizarre way to receive a bill. The bill did not reflect any of the complaints we had made, so unfortunately we had to end our stay by going to reception and dragging ourselves back over the continuous disappointments. The Reservation Manager said he would deduct £100 from our bill for the first night. He behaved as if he was doing us a favour. I cannot quite articulate the strange arrogance of this man, but he is the least appealing person to have 'front of house' representing the hotel. We would have gladly paid our whole bill in its entirety for a decent stay, but there is no way one can be expected to pay for a stay littered with issues. I pointed out that £100 isn't really compensation for the volume of issues we encountered, and he was in no way sympathetic, apologetic, amiable or kind. He made me shake and belittled me. When we checked into the hotel he had asked for a card to be on file, which I provided. He did not say that any money would be taken, however it would seem that over a thousand pounds was taken from my account immediately. When I queried this at check-out he said it hadn't been taken and that it's pending. I requested the managers details as I did not want to discuss our stay any further in front of our children, but he made me feel small and almost sought to embarrass me in front of my family and other patrons of the hotel. I had to actually interrupt him as he was about to blurt out the figure of our bill in front of other hotel guests. Whilst attempting to be clear on our position and why we were so disappointed, I said that it was not an experience I expected from a 4* hotel. The Reservation Manager was quick to bite at me, stating that: "we are not 4* hotel, we are a Pride of Britain Hotel". I know that Bailiffscourt is a POB hotel, however on Google it states that it is a 4* hotel. I don't doubt the Reception Managers knowledge of the hotel, however I wonder what the POB group would make of the issues we found at the hotel. It would be foolish to think that the hotel can hold its position on the building's impressiveness alone. A hotel is nothing without hospitality, and hospitality is all encompassing, entirely visible and invisible at the same time. Hospitality should be felt by the guest at every moment, in the subtle details, as well as the obvious ones. It's the obvious details that are easy - cleanliness, manners, remembering guests of the hotel. And then there are the subtle details, like remembering that our son is a passionate tennis player and had his heart set on playing with his Dad on the one week he had off from work. Of course maintenance of the hotel is essential, however it is puzzling that the rooms are in such dire need and yet the tennis court is prioritised during peak summer season. If a note had been made of our specific intention to play tennis, we would've been advised with sincere apology that the courts are being resurfaced, if not in advance of our arrival, at the time of checking in. Obviously Bailiffscourt operates with no attention to detail about its guests.||The hotel, or perhaps just the spa, was awarded a design award in 2003. In the 22 years since it seems the owners and caretakers of this impressive building have sat back on their laurels.||We are awaiting feedback from the hotel on our stay. They still have our card details and have taken significant funds from our account without...

The outdoor space and experience is stunning, the moment you go inside the experience transports you to a hotel outside its prime but either resting on laurels or desperately trying to cling to relevancy. Hard to say. ||Cocktails are lacklustre, the wine selection is poor and tracking at a 4-5x mark up other than industry standard 2x.||—||Service - hit and miss and talking to others this pre dates Covid. Recommend Know who you like and get served by them.||Generally management or leadership roles seem good. From food, reception, spa reception. Everyone else is hit or miss. ||-||Inside pool slight disrepair, rusty towel hooks. Sauna and steam work but are so dark it doesn’t feel safe, no cold shower after.||Even for someone with perfect eyesight it’s hard to see temps, didn’t even see timer until someone else walked in. So finding the emergency button would be a struggle. Safety concern ||—||Outdoor pool area the highlight, which is clear from hotel website is used as the main feature. So hotel clearly know it’s one of the only major things pulling people in. ||Other areas need update the rooms - what’s old sometimes feels new and what’s new feels old. ||General smell in rooms, fortunate to stay in two as we got upgraded on our second night. Bathrooms feel more attention have been paid to than rooms for several years||Beds are small and mattresses feel like they haven’t been updated for years. Actually woke up more tired and with a stiff neck which I have never had in any hotel previously. So a new experience.||—||Grounds are well kept, even if touch overgrown on footpaths between hotel and spa. Beautiful and the outside really shows the majesty of the property.||Lounge areas feel more like cosy pub than hotel. No bar or central social area.||Dining hall desperate need of update, Tudor Disney land feel. Alfesco was only way, thankfully weather was good. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t have stayed the two nights planned. ||—||Food is well executed but clearly on tight a budget, you can tell kitchen is working to tight budget based on options but doing their best. ||Breakfast is minimal but what they’ve chosen to put out is higher quality over quantity. Which is the best way to do it. But other than cooked options was like going to a friends house and pouring a bowl of cereal with whatever fruit they had left in the fridge. ||—||There is a lot of potential, the space and buildings feel amazing to see history in a - "this is what medieval could have looked like at the time."||Just the hotel is overpriced for the quality of the nights it provides and rooms. Resting on laurels of a bygone era. Maybe the glints of a newer generation taking on responsibilities can provide needed updates to bring the hotel back into its potential. ||But right now it feels like a retirement day home, things are clean if not rundown. And clearly appeals to an aging generation of clientele, but to attract the next generations of guests they will need to update rooms and pay attention to details in the rooms that better blend their old world heritage but update for new world comfort and tastes. ||—|Summary:||Super high potential. Some service is exceptional.but in need of much attention. ||Would keep an eye for future but won’t be looking to stay at the hotel or any of the other two in the family. Better value and modern, clean comfort could be found at The Pig in the South Downs nearby. But they don’t have a pool.||Amazing property with great heritage, just feels on a downward descent and hopefully they can pull themselves back before their current clients pass and they themselves fade as they fail to attract new guests. Which is a harsh way to put it I recognise but only way to say...

What's Ancient feels new, whats new feels old.

The outdoor space and experience is stunning, the moment you go inside the experience transports you to a hotel outside its prime but either resting on laurels or desperately trying to cling to relevancy. Hard to say.

—

Service - hit and miss and talking to others this pre dates Covid. Recommend Know who you like and get served by them.

Generally management or leadership roles seem good. From food, reception, spa reception. Everyone else is hit or miss.

Inside pool slight disrepair, rusty towel hooks. Sauna and steam work but are so dark it doesn’t feel safe, no cold shower after.

Even for someone with perfect eyesight it’s hard to see temps, didn’t even see timer until someone else walked in. So finding the emergency button would be a struggle. Safety concern

—

Outdoor pool area the highlight, which is clear from hotel website is used as the main feature. So hotel clearly know it’s one of the only major things pulling people in.

Other areas need update the rooms - what’s old sometimes feels new and what’s new feels old.

General smell in rooms, fortunate to stay in two as we got upgraded on our second night. Bathrooms feel more attention have been paid to than rooms for several years

Beds are small and mattresses feel like they haven’t been updated for years. Actually woke up more tired and with a stiff neck which I have never had in any hotel previously. So a new experience.

—

Grounds are well kept, even if touch overgrown on footpaths between hotel and spa. Beautiful and the outside really shows the majesty of the property.

Lounge areas feel more like cosy pub than hotel. No bar or central social area.

Dining hall desperate need of update, Tudor Disney land feel. Alfesco was only way, thankfully weather was good. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t have stayed the two nights planned.

—

Food is well executed but clearly on tight a budget, you can tell kitchen is working to tight budget based on options but doing their best.

Breakfast is minimal but what they’ve chosen to put out is higher quality over quantity. Which is the best way to do it. But other than cooked options was like going to a friends house and pouring a bowl of cereal with whatever fruit they had left in the fridge.

—

There is a lot of potential, the space and buildings feel amazing to see history in a - "this is what medieval could have looked like at the time."

Just the hotel is overpriced for the quality of the nights it provides and rooms. Resting on laurels of a bygone era. Maybe the glints of a newer generation taking on responsibilities can provide needed updates to bring the hotel back into its potential.

But right now it feels like a retirement day home, things are clean if not rundown. And clearly appeals to an aging generation of clientele, but to attract the next generations of guests they will need to update rooms and pay attention to details in the rooms that better blend their old world heritage but update for new world comfort and tastes.

— Summary:

Super high potential. Some service is exceptional.but in need of much attention.

Would keep an eye for future but won’t be looking to stay at the hotel or any of the other two in the family. Better value and modern, clean comfort could be found at The Pig in the South Downs nearby. But they don’t have a pool.

Amazing property with great heritage, just feels on a downward descent and hopefully they can pull themselves back before their current clients pass and they themselves fade as they fail to attract new guests. Which is a harsh way to put it I recognise but only way to say...