De Vere Cotswold Water Park — Hotel in Cotswold District

Warning: The pictures do not represent reality.

Firstly there is no air con, although this is clear from the facilities listing the rooms get very hot and we were on the ground floor and unable to get good ventilation using the windows. We were also one of the unfortunate guests to not get a room overlooking the lake with a door that could let in some air but a room that was tucked in a corner overlooking the sun blazing car park so had to have the curtains shut for the duration of our stay. The provided fan helped move the hot air around the room at least.

We were given an adjoining family room even though we booked as a couple and the nice brash loud drunk couple next door were kind enough to shout and slam doors until the bar shut and they run out of booze. Could hear everything loud and clear, at first when I woke up I thought maybe the Jeremy Kyle show was back on air and I’d left the TV on. They also left empty bottles of wine outside in the corridor which stayed there for the duration of our stay as the door to our room and theirs was separated from the main corridor by another door.

The room was tired and in need of repair to the walls (lots of chipped away areas). It looked clean but in the first 3 hours I removed 4 spiders from the room despite the windows not being opened since we arrived so they must of been there already. In the main corridor there was also a drinking water facility which appeared to be leaking continuously so you had to dodge the puddles so as not to fall on your butt.

We ran out of toilet paper and on the way to the 5 minute walk to reception I came across a staff member so asked her for some. She took my room number and said she would bring some right away. After 15 minutes of waiting I gave up and did the hike to reception myself. That toilet paper never turned up.

We tried to use the spa facilities and were told by an extremely stressed out and flustered receptionist that she’d have to do a head count as they were only allowed to accept a maximum of 26 people in the spa area and she wasn’t sure if there was room. She then informed us if there was we’d be charged £10 each for entry (even though the spa was closing soon). We decided to leave it. Shouldn’t advertise spa access without making it clear that the chances of you using it without pre-booking are slim to none and there is an additional cost.

To top off the stay, in the morning of our departure I moved my bag from the floor by the window area to the bed and noticed loads of ants crawling over the white bedsheet. I thought maybe I’d bought them in on my bag the evening before until I picked up one of my shoes and it looked like the carpet was moving. Hundreds of ants had found their way into the room. Checked the wall outside and sure enough there they were marching one by one up the wall into a crevice under the window. I have video evidence but unfortunately only photos can be uploaded on review pages and a screenshot doesn’t do the horror of it justice.

Couldn’t wait to get out of the hotel. £230+ for a two-night stay in a...

Thought I’d quickly add a review whilst sat in a nice spot on the decking, outside our room. Here for a wedding and having a lovely time so far.

Despite the size, I’ve found it quite peaceful and relaxing sat outside our room. The odd person comes past, as they walk from their room to the dining area or back.. but there is the sound of trees rustling and birdsong, so the traffic on the nearby motorway can be tuned out.

Had dinner at The Boathouse last night: I had crayfish and prawn cocktail on a beetroot bed, beautifully presented, although perhaps the thousand island could have had a bit more of a kick, with a touch of lemon, Worcester sauce or mustard powder? Still very good. Then I had the pearl barley risotto with beetroot (ate lots of beetroot yesterday!) and vegan feta which I was curious to try - I think it must have been the cashew nut version as it was super creamy and delicious and dare I say nicer than normal feta, which I can find a bit too tangy.

Breakfast was great - they’re catering for large numbers but doing it very well. I really enjoyed granola, seeds, dried banana and yoghurt with a touch of oat milk, fruit juice (blueberry!) and a decent cappuccino (there’s a machine that grinds the beans, worth waiting for even if there’s a bit of queue). Hubby found his flat white a little bitter, but enjoyed the same ‘starter’ as me before his ‘main’ cooked brekkie. No lunch will be needed!

Rooms are spacious and clean, with everything we need (we are pretty easy to please!). Some of the fittings in the bathroom look a little tired and not sure the fan in the bathroom is working as it should, but that’s no big deal to us. We didn’t have a plug in the bath when we arrived, but the reception were super helpful with finding one for us (gotta take advantage of a bath, when you’re a boat dweller!)

Giving 4 stars for Rooms, because whilst I’m aware we have been lucky with our room location and appointment, some of our relatives have been less fortunate and have a car park view (although I appreciate its luck of the draw) and an issue with bath not draining so unable to shower, so their stay has been not quite perfect so far. I guess I’m such a large place with multiple rooms, you are likely to get issues like this, but they’ve been particularly unlucky.

Having said that, we are loving it, especially the pool and sauna, and ice/water bucket, which were glorious after a run in the sunshine around the lake and down the river, earlier this morning.

Looking forward to the...

Lovely area, beautiful place surrounded by loads of things to do if you can drive.

Rooms are lovely and decent size but we unfortunately had a few minor problems that just disappointed me. The first being we booked a room for myself and a child. The child's bed was a very uncomfortable armchair pull out bed. Hardly any padding to it at all so my daughter had to sleep in bed with me. Shes a wriggler so I hardly slept the entire time.

Second issue with the room was that the plug in the bathroom sink was stuck and wouldn't pop up so the sink was just filling up when we were washing our hands. Tried to call room service for help several times while my daughter was sleeping to sort it out but no answer. This was around 6/7 so I wasn't late. Luckily I had a nail file with me and it was just thin enough to get under the plug to get it out.

Thirdly, room service to the room appeared very understaffed. I think over the 4 days we were there we only got through to one person when calling for room service. I had to walk to the bar (it was a long way with a toddler each time) just to get a drink. They said just press 0 on the phone and we will come and get it. Tried several times again but no answer.

Another minor issue, but annoying, was when we ordered food at the bar. They brought some of our food out but forgot some, I had to go up to the bar and ask where it was. Then at dessert I again had to ask at the bar where it was as it had been around 45 minutes. When they brought it over they had our order wrong, it was just 3 scoops of ice cream but they had wrong flavour. Obviously my son (who was staying in my parents room) got upset as we had already waited a long time.

The second time we ordered food at the bar it was great service, I wish I got the gentlemans name. He was a very polite, happy smiling man. He double checked everything with us and even came over to make sure we were happy with everything.

If you have small children like me avoid the children's burgers off the kids menu, they are far too big and smothered in burger sauce. I honestly thought they'd brought us adult portions. Safe to say my kids didn't eat it. The second time we had the kids pasta and kids pizza. If you're kids are fussy, or in my case have ARFID, they were quite nice for kids.

It was a lovely looking hotel, if you're going to visit maybe try to go when they are not so busy or without children. We won't be going back again, the little things add up. Next year we are going to try...