Stratford Manor — Hotel in Stratford-on-Avon

On arrival first thoughts from outside were positive, it looks quite nice and just like the photos on the website. The reception and foyer area is pretty well presented. Check in was perfunctory with the assumption that, as a single traveller, I'd want to eat in the bar, had to go back to reserve a table in what turned out to be a nearly empty restaurant. Bedroom on the ground floor seemed adequate at first pass but I'd been driving for a while and just wanted a shower. Usual, cheap toiletries laid out, standard, bulk towels etc in bathroom but someone else's hair in various places and a sticky, stained waste bin pointed to a somewhat lax approach to housekeeping. "Stuff it, it's clean enough for a one nighter" was the general thought. Returned to the bedroom, clean and a little more alert and second glance showed badly marked furniture, stained furnishings, stained walls behind the desk and next to the kettle. The carpet in the room was worn, though not badly so and would benefit from a good clean. Dinner time, totally ready for a good meal, arrived at the restaurant and watched with mild humour as the waiter searched for my name on the list... for a while... whilst noticing four or five other diners and nobody else visible. The restaurant would benefit from new furniture and a good clean but it's ok. I'm not sure how long they've served the same menu but, judging by the shabby piece of card I was given, I guess it's a while. The waiter seemed put out that I (single diner) didn't want the wine menu but would prefer a soft drink, although happily popped a carafe of water on the table. The cheapest main on the menu is a burger in a brioche bun (just why?), at £15.50 and all desserts are £6.00. I had the lamb tagine with couscous (£17.00), mainly because I heard some chap complaining about how bad his burger was. The tagine was adequate, if small. Still hungry, I opted to be fleeced for a dessert, pecan pie with creme Anglais... ok, I know most hotels buy in their desserts, I get it but I've picked up better from the local cafe in Morrisons.... and they didn't try to tell me that their artificial custard was creme Anglais. To be fair to the waiter though, he did agree the custard was "not up to our usual standard but it's not Ambrosia"... darned right it's not, that actually tastes quite nice! Back to the bedroom and thankfully the bedding is clean, the telly works and the WiFi is good enough to answer a few emails. Breakfast (obviously next morning, following what was actually a good night's sleep) was disappointing. Arrived to a sign telling me to wait to be seated... so I waited.... for a while longer than the six breakfasteers justified... then decided it best to just go to the buffet and get some food. The hot food looked unappealing so I figured I couldn't go far wrong with a bit of granola and maybe a pastry and some Nutella on toast since my good lady wasn't watching. The cold milk was warm and had started to get a big tangy, the bread was already quite hard before I toasted it (three times for light brown) and the cinnamon pastry was small enough to dismiss any pangs of guilt I'd built up for eating so much sugar for breakfast. As a wandered back to my table a waiter arrived and took my table number and made me a coffee, which was actually pretty good.

Ok... so, in summary, if I'd been staying at one of those budget Ibis hotels I wouldn't have thought twice about any of the above, although their breakfasts are usually really good if you're stuck for somewhere to stay in London. The beef I have with my stay here is that it's marketed as a four star, spa hotel, suitable for romantic breaks and therefore charges accordingly. I'm guessing there's a...

My wife and I decided to stay here for a treat on our wedding anniversary as part of a package to see Warwick castle.

The information on the hotel led is to believe that the Hotel would be a higher standard that what we would have normally got from a Premier Inn or Travelodge.

The hotel looked nice from the outside and the reception area was nice. We were given the key cards to our room and the reception was very basic.

Along with the room keys we were given a badly photocopied sheet about the facilities in the Hotel - This seemed very poor for a 4* Hotel.

The room was nice enough, although slightly dated and could have done with a coat of paint. There was also a large coffee stain on the floor. The bathroom didn't have enough shower gel for 2 people and there was only a small amount of Toilet roll.

The room sofa on the room was really uncomfortable and cold have done with some pillow as it was not comfortable.

The bed was surprisingly comfortable and we did have a good nights sleep. We were also given 2 pillows.

The Breakfast was just like the premier inn where its a buffet style self service. On arrival we were greeted by a lady who didn't even stand to great us or explain how it worked.

The food was and service here was the most disappointing bit for the following reasons:

Hot food often had items missing and when I asked I was told it will come but ended up waiting for quite a while When I asked for butter (which they also run out of) the waitress said she didn't know if there was anymore coming and when I asked her to find out she said "ok" but carried on laying the table. I then asked another lady who did exactly the same thing. The "fresh" Pastries were so solid they snapped like biscuits Quite a few bowls were chipped - this is a health and safety concern. The Ketchup was very Vinegary - this was a cheaper ketchup - I would have expected a good quality brand of ketchup like Heinz or Branston. There was no Decaf coffee- this seemed very poor The Fried eggs were covered in pepper, yet the scrambled eggs had no salt or pepper. The apple Juice was disgusting - my wife will drink most juices, even if I think they are poor quality but even she couldn't drink this.

While the above is a list of negatives it would be wrong to not mention the positives:

Napkins were good quality Hash Browns were nice Sausages were nice

This was meant to be a treat as it was our wedding anniversary - I really wish we had booked a premier inn as we know the quality would have far exceeded the quality here.

I was hoping to be posting something more positive but our experience was really nothing special.

Note: I have tried to contact the hotel but there is no one answering the generic phone number and e-mails are...

We where looking to end our 1500 mile road trip on a high, and it's a shame that we spent it here. We stayed here for two days, hotel staff where friendly and helpful although lacked decent management.

It is definitely not a 4 star hotel, very overpriced for what you receive.

We had a booking for 2 adults and 2 kids, checked in at 6pm and there was no beds for the kids. Once we told the reception staff, housekeeping brought us 2 foldable metal frame type beds which had a 2" foam padding for a mattress. Again not 4 star hotel quality

Upon entering the room, although spacious it lacks the modern touch. We where on the ground floor and the rooms do not have aircon which was an issue for my wife and kids. We used our travel fan for the kids to cool them down as it was baking hot.

Breakfast for the next two days was a shambles and a disgrace. Lack of staff to cope with the demand of people. Items of food kept running out, hence people had to wait until the food was re-stocked which made breakfast last a very long time. For a 4 star hotel, I found it strange that they did not have a choice of coffee options. I was expecting a coffee machine at the very least, what they had was hot water and filter coffee warmer / pump pots. Which of course made a mess everywhere. (The premier Inn which we stayed in Lemington Spa had a coffee machine )

On our first day, we wanted to take the kids to the swimming pool as it was the main reason why we booked this hotel. Only to discover that the swimming pool was closed due to a maintenance issue. Upon further questioning of the reception staff, they could not give us any clear information on how long it would take or what other options would be available. We then asked if it was possible to go to their sister hotel which was a 15 minute drive from Stratford Manor they stated that would be possible. This solution or option was raised and suggested on our part hence a lack of training perhaps?

As we where on a rush to checkout, we raised our concerns / issues with the reception team and asked to speak to the manager. Only to be told that they could not locate him / her.

Furthermore, Not a pleasant experience and not worth the money. Whilst on our trips in and out of the hotel, I noticed that other guests raising their concerns /issues and their voices and battling it out with reception team. Staff are not trained to deal with complaints or escalations of issues.

Please save your money and go elsewhere! To save any...