Sandford Springs Hotel & Golf Club — Local services in Basingstoke and Deane

16 of us stayed this weekend to play golf, on finding the course it looked fine, driving range, practice area and the club house was separate from the hotel. On meeting my friends and ordering coffee and a bacon roll already we was off to a poor start, machine coffee tasting of powder and stale bread with fatty bacon, oh well. Driving range was fine, putting area all good and 1st tee from the Parks course, most holes had a range of tee boxes but only 1 was in use and had been in use for a while, hardly any grass on the tee box just dirt, the other tee's not being used where is great condition! The greens had just been hollow tined (badly) with tracks along them making putting a bit of luck, (appreciate they have to be done but we should have been told) the fairways were fine for the time of the year, the second 9 we played (they have 3 9's) the Woods, the greens hadn't been hollow tined but were very patchy and again the tee boxes had seen better days, however the fun was about to start! After finishing the round of golf and having a beer, something to eat and working out the scores we was told we had to leave the bar as they had a private party, we was asked to go down stairs to another bar (unfortunately this one didn't have a TV so we wasn't able to watch the football but never mind) however after a few minutes we was asked to leave this bar as they had a wedding and sit in a glass conservatory!!! which was freezing to start with until the heating kicked in! problem was we still had to use the same bar and toilets as the wedding party! which wasn't ideal especially for the wedding party!!!!! We was then asked to leave the bar and go to the hotel, but the bar was shut in the hotel!!! we refused to move unless they opened the hotel bar which they did and gave us some free drinks. The food arrived which was cold as they cooked it in the club house and walked it over to the hotel. Speaking to the member of staff who served us he told us that he had resigned without new employment as the place is nicknamed Fawlty Towers! and has to work the late shift and early shifts as they have no staff. Breakfast in the morning was greasy and fatty bacon, cheap sausage, baked beans and a fried egg. Our tee time for the Sunday wasn't until 12pm even thought we couldn't see anyone playing the Lakes course our first 9 for the day, this 9 was very similar to the woods. The pro shop is empty with very little in it. Finished the round on Sunday and went in to the clubhouse to have a beer and do the scores, upstairs bar had a retirement party and a table laid out for the juniors and nowhere for us to sit, downstairs was laid out for a conference the next day!!

We would have preferred to be told about the course maintenance, the wedding party, the retirement party and we would have arranged to come another day.

Hotel cleanliness was poor, I'm not expecting 5 starts but I'm not expecting cobwebs either!

Top tips, if you are visiting the hotel to play golf or have a wedding ask what other events are on at the same time!

The chef and barman was very helpful unlike the Manager

Much better courses with staff to look after you are...

Some of our golf society (14 golfers) have just come back, from a two day stay (5th, 6th April) ||I booked the weekend away with Hannah, in reservations. She was very polite, quick to respond and helpful. ||Unfortunately there was a slight mis communication, with single room supplements, where I contacted the hotel, and spoke with a female manager. This manager, I felt was rude, un flexible, and didn't have the hotels best interest.||I contacted Dale Hill (sister golf/ hotel) and spoke with Shona. I can say Shona was very understanding, professional, sympathetic and apologetic. Which ultimately lead to the situation getting resolved before our visit.||After playing all the courses, staying and eating at Sanford Springs, here are the positives and negatives, our Society thought of the weekend away.||POSITIVES:||The staff are brilliant, from the hotel check-in to the pro shop. everyone was friendly, helpful, attentive, looked presentable and professional. We felt well looked after.||The food was great, good, quality produce. The 3 course evening meal, had a good choice, that covered everyone's palette. The breakfast also had a good choice, with some items cooked to order, that went down well, with a few of the golfers. ||The rooms were clean, with good hot drink making facilities. The beds were comfy, and the black out curtains did an amazing job, can't ask for more than that.||The hotel and the grounds as a whole, were tidy and well kept. Ample car parking and a few charging stations for electric cars. The club house again was well kept, and inviting. ||The pro shop, was pleasantly stocked, with what was needed, and again the staff were great in there.||The half way house, had a great selection of drinks and snacks, which was welcomed after the front 9.||Shout out to the marshals, great guys, very chatty, and understanding with our frustration. (see below)||The driving range, has everything you need, with plenty of bays, some under cover, with a few outside.||NEGATIVES:||On the first day, our tee time was delayed by 35mins, due to us having to wait for a club match to be played through. This didn't go down well in within the group.||Unfortunately the course has a few issues. The greens are one, there was no consistency over the 27 holes. They had ruts, grooves, cracking, and seem to be cut at various lengths. The tee boxes are the other, they were heavily divot'ed, and some were like a sand pit (see photos). We found it strange they had 2 perfectly nice tee boxes next to the sand pit, but were not using them.||The signage around the course, is minimal and in need of updating, leading to a few driving around trying to find the next tee.||The lack of anything to do in the club house or hotel. It had no pool table or dart board, or anything to do really. We feel they are missing a trick to keep people there, or maybe that's what they want, eat and go back to your rooms.||OVERALL:||We thought the weekend was ok, made better by the beautiful weather and the brilliant staff, but it would not be a place we would visit a second time, mainly due to the condition...

My husband and I booked this as we needed to stay somewhere in Reading before travelling elsewhere.

Before we arrived I dropped an email asking to book a table for 2, unfortunately I didn't hear anything back (no confirmation) so then I called and left a voicemail asking for confirmation, unfortunately I didn't hear anything back once again so I had to contact them a 3rd time. This time round someone picked up the phone and they confirmed the reservation had been made. It would have been great if they could have done this when I first contacted them.

Upon arriving my husband and I were warmly welcomed by a member of staff and thankfully didn't have far to get to our room, as we were tired from our drive. When we got into the room it was incredibly cold so we turned on the thermostat. We also couldn't find a remote control...so had to contact reception. They were able to get us one as there just didn't seem to be one in the room.

Dinner was a short walk away to the club house. I was incredibly impressed by the vegan menu, one of the best I've seen. There were 3 different options for each course, which is very rare but appreciated. The food was delicious! I had gnocchi and my husband had a vegan wellington. His one remark was that the gravy was more like refried beans than gravy and was a bit dry, but the meals overall were enjoyed by us both.

The room was great, apart from being cold initially, spacious, well kept and with a lovely view. The bed was a great size and just the right level of firmness. I slept incredibly well.

In the morning we went for the inclusive breakfast and again I was greatly impressed by the staff. I asked if they had any vegan butter and not only did they have this, but they also offered to make us vegan sausages!

Overall, I had a great experience at this hotel, there were a few things they could improve on but nothing major. I'd say the best part of the hotel's offerings is the staff. They went out of their way to make our stay a happy one, very helpful and...