The Middlewick — Hotel in Great Britain

Our stay was a truly mixed bag. On the one hand, there's a well-stocked farm shop with the freshest local produce - surrounded by pretty cottages lovingly dotted around a well-maintained little farm "resort". So far, so idyllic. Then you enter your cottage to find that it's dirty. Carpets unvacuumed with visible dirt and even bits if tissue. Window sills thick with dust and cobwebs. The kitchen smells of stale food and the hob has streaks of grease. The fridge hasn't been cleaned and there are crumbs of old food.

While we were very grateful for a free upgrade when a larger cottage was free, the poor attention to detail and shoddy cleaning were disappointing. The pool area/spa needs work too. You enter only to see a sign that tells you to contact reception to turn on the sauna (no-one answers the phone) so you'll have to trudge around outside in the cold in your swimsuit with dressing gown until you fund someone who can help. The steam room smells strongly of mildew and there are no loungers to relax on. In fact, there's not even a shower. I spent many years living in Germany (where saunas are taken seriously!) and not providing showers would see a sauna closed down for both health (vital to cool down after a sauna) and hygiene reasons (sweating guests leaping into pools? No thank you). The pool top step is cracked and an unfortunate design flaw means the last step seems to be missing - so you suddenly plunge downwards. The whole pool set-up seems cheap, poorly thought-through and badly maintained.

The surrounding countryside is beautiful though and you're conveniently close to Glastonbury and...

We have been coming to magical Middlewick since 2017 with our daughters. This is our first time staying in Russet cottage (we have been in 4 of the others) and we have been moved to respond to the last review made about the cottage by Ana Otero because it could not be further than the truth. Our conclusion is it must be deliberately malicious and we can refute the criticism from the position of being in the cottage immediately after the last reviewer. We found it spotless and fresh. It is comfortable, spacious, tastefully decorated and quiet. The other cottages we have stayed in are the same. The whole place is a sanctuary. Yes - Russet has old wooden beams and a slightly sloping ceiling in the living room. That's because it dates from the 17th century, which adds to its wonderful character! The shower is strong and as hot as needed. Wifi is good for multiple devices throughout and it has a back door with access to the beautiful garden area with its apple and plum trees and a view of the Tor. The staff and owners could not be more helpful. Middlewick is one of the best places to stay in the UK and that's why we keep coming back and why we will enjoy the remaining 9 days we have here. The previous reviewer of Russet should also return the key for...

After seeing lots of posts from Middlewick on social media we thought we'd make a visit yesterday morning and see if it lived up to expectations, but sadly it fell short.

Upon heading into the shop a male staff member barged past us on the veranda, literally walking into us. We then entered the shop to be met with a quite unfriendly female staff member who made us feel like an inconvenience being in there and nothing felt organised despite it being approximately 9.30 when the opening time is 9am!

We bought some stuff from the shop and ordered some Lattes (which were tepid at best), and were grunted at for paying in cash, but only because they had no change, which again points to a lack of organisation or any real interest in customers.

If you're open you should be ready and able to serve, and if you have a cash register, it should have cash in it, not everyone wants to or is equipped to pay by card, and if you simply don't want to accept cash, then it is your responsibility to ensure that your customers are aware, preferably before visiting due to your location.

It's such a shame that this first visit was tainted for us as the location and potential for a peaceful coffee and a snack is all there, but the staff really need to up their...