Mill End Mitcheldean — Hotel in Forest of Dean

Please read till the end so the rating makes sense. We’d booked this for 35 odd of us for a few milestone birthdays. We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days (Fri-Sun)

Pros Good space for everyone to fit in Good character to the place Spa and sauna work well (extra cost as not included in the actual hire) Kid friendly and the place is well kitted out for all ages The fire place in the main entrance is brilliant if staying over the colder months like we did (extra cost as not included in the actual hire) Convenience store and pizza shop within a short walking distance Plenty of parking so managed to fit our 9 cars comfortably

Cons In need of TLC as some parts quite run down (predominantly the showers) Some washrooms have Saniflo in the flushes (for valid reasons) and these can be very sensitive Due to what I assume is the age of the property, we had 3 fairly big separate leaks in the space of a day on the ground floor of the house. One due to the Saniflo (we didn’t put anything down it that we shouldn’t have so I’m not sure if this was down to the previous occupants). The other 2 when people went for showers. The only way I’d accept responsibility for this is if someone literally had the door fully open and kept the water running consistently for a long period. That didn’t happen For some reason the heating in part of the house stopped working on Sat night, but in fairness we didn’t raise this as we realised later in the night.

Due to the above issues none of us dared taking showers upstairs on Sunday and decided to do that when we got home.

When we raised the leak issues over text messages during our stay, the landlord was responsive.

Although hesitant, she agreed to a £50 compensation for the leaks. I thought that was fair as a matter of principle considering we’d paid circa £6K for our stay, however that was never paid. No response whatsoever when I’ve chased this now for a couple of weeks.

I will add that we did receive our full £1,500 bond in a timely manner.

Overall we had a good time and the place is decent, but be warned about some of the internal plumbing issues. I’ve rated this lower purely as a matter of principle on the £50 credit as I am quite annoyed by this and the lack of communication.

*Edit in response to the landlord below:

My review is extremely fair and honest. There are other reviews mentioning leaks and we can’t all not know how to shower, surely?

You still haven’t told me how the Saniflo got blocked after one use so how can my party accept responsibility? Your partner didn’t go out of their way to come during our stay so I’m not sure how this is relevant. The broken key was flimsy and it’s not like we went out of our way to break a key. It was the only key to the room where the bath is actually in the room so most likely the most used key in the whole house.

We did have a good time, despite the issues. The place is lovely and I appreciate the challenges with grade-listed buildings hence if you read carefully, I have said it is a lovely place but other have the right to know the issues around the plumbing. The pictures reflect these.

I genuinely sympathise that you have been unwell and I hope you feel better, however also can’t help wonder how you managed to write such a long detailed response to my review and not so much as a one-line response to my texts sent over the past few weeks? The texts were specifically to remind you about the £50 so not sure what difference an email would have made.

I can’t speak for anyone else that has stayed at Mill End. Look, you’ve said you won’t honour the agreed compensation (which I should point out is less than 1% of the hire charge) so that’s that. The review is extremely fair and I don’t feel I’ve been vindictive. The rating is based on my overall experience. Get well soon.

Rather than a public written bout, if you’d like to sort this then you have my phone number as well as my email. I’m a reasonable guy and happy to sort this...

We visited as a group of 20 adults, 3 children and a dog. Not many properties are available to accommodate such a large group but Liz was extremely accommodating from the very first enquiry. Liz was friendly, professional and went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed.

Mill end is a great social property, and is very well equipped in all areas. The kitchen has plenty of glasses, cooking & bar necessities, cleaning supplies and cooking amenities. The living room and glassed area, function very well for a large group as there’s plenty of seating but also a large tv and pool/ping pong table available. The upstairs dining area easily fit us all, and has plenty of space to manoeuvre around even when set up to eat. The communal spaces were well heated also. The bathrooms all contained the necessary soap, towels, body wash, etc. The beds and bedding were all very comfortable and well presented. There are a lot of stairs around the property to be aware of.

The garden area is a great space having a top area (steps to get up), with a little play area for kids (trampoline, tire swings, climbing frame), and a lower area with a large outdoor table, and the hot tub. Again, a great social space. The upper area was quite muddy when we stayed but that’s to be expected in January. The lower area is not a concern for mud as it is all paved.

Parking is accessible and we managed to fit 9 cars in...

We had a wonderful family gathering at Mill End for 4 nights over the May Spring Bank holiday weekend. There was 33 of us,ages 4-89, and 2 dogs! It was a great place for us, with large communal areas but also spaces to hide away for some quiet time! We made great use of the hot tub, sauna, drinks chiller, cocktail bar, outdoor space and BBQ. The house is lovely and quirky, and whilst the stairs and different levels were a bit of a challenge for the Over 80's in the group there was enough space to accomodate them too. Liz was great to communicate with as arranging such an event with my family can be quite a challenge! We made good use of the village amenities and nearby park/walks, with Co-op and butchers just across the road and take-aways very close too. Kev's Butchers is highly recommended - I pre-ordered BBQ meats and breakfast bacon and collected my order when we arrived. Everything was delicious! Bordello Banquets provided slow cooker arrival suppers and an afternoon tapas/deli buffet. Both were delicious and the staff were lovely. We had a yoga session with Karen from Soul Connection who was also lovely, friendly and relaxed about our range of abilities! Again Liz helped with recommendations etc. for booking...