Easthampstead Park Wokingham — Restaurant in England

Upon arriving at the hotel we were extremely impressed with the grandness of the building. As members of Ascot Race Course, and the reason for our visit, we immediately remarked that we would book to stay for 6 nights for next year for the duration of Royal Ascot.

Sadly this opinion changed very quickly.

We arrived after 11.30. We appreciated that our room might not be ready but the only suggestion of where we could change our clothes after a 2 hour journey were the Foyer toilets. I was told that the end cubicle was the largest and to use this. There was not enough room to change my clothes nor was there a plug socket to straighten my hair. Instead I had to change by the wash basins in view of a number of guests which was highly embarrassing and given that we were spending £185 to stay with yourselves we would have thought it possible to have a room where we could spend 5 minutes to change our clothes and freshen up. Rather than an extremely dirty men’s toilet with faceas in the bowl. My partner said that there was not a toilet brush which was no doubt why this was the case.

Not a great start to my birthday celebrations weekend!

When we checked in last night we were charged £50 which we were told would then be refunded upon check out. We checked out this morning and have still not received the refund. We have never experienced this at any other hotel around the world. As I’m sure you are aware there is usually an amount held from your account then released, not a deduction! We telephoned half an hour ago and attempted to reach reception and also reservations but after 20 minutes of annoying music and a huge number of times being told to leave a message we hung up.

The room, although beautiful was extremely hot. There was no air conditioning nor a mini bar. There was also no toilet brush. At 7.30 am we called room service but no answer. We called reception to order water and Coke Cola. We were told the bar was not open for another hour so could only have water!! Again we have never experienced this anywhere else!

We forgot to pack toothpaste. My partner called reception to request some and was told he would be called back. We waited for 20 minutes and heard nothing so at 9am we went for breakfast. There was a queue of people and a waitress kept telling everyone to give her 2 minutes. There were lots of empty tables in the room. We waited for over 15 minutes. We were then seated in a room to the side of the breakfast room. We opted for the cooked breakfast. Every item was stone cold and inedible. When we finished we walked past the other breakfast room where you could see the food was not only presented in a better fashion but was piping hot with steam visible when a guest opened the silver trays.

We asked again at the reception for toothpaste, the receptionist tried to radio someone but there was no answer. We went back to the room and back to reception some time later, this time the same receptionist went off and came back saying the last one had been taken.

We went back to the room planning a lazy hour before our long journey home. No sooner were we in bed then the fire alarms went off, we got up out of bed and dressed for it then to go off as we left the room. We weren’t advised of an alarm test and when we have looked at reviews this has been a recurrent problem. Nor were we then called to advise of a false alarm.

Before leaving we went to reception once again to ask if it was possible that they could print something for us. They said no problem and to email reception. We were booking tickets for Windsor Castle within an hour of checkout. Upon checkout we enquired about the printed tickets and were told that the printer was broken. Only 5 minutes previously had we been told that we could print and given the email address. Again another wait whilst calls were made to the IT department and finally after requesting that another printer be used were we able to leave with our tickets. Leaving us...

Not the quiet, relaxing weekend we'd hoped for, topped with some average food at Michelin prices. An externally beautiful building with food prices to match, unfortunately the inside ambience, décor and food quality matched an All Bar One.

Positives Staff - friendly, helpful and attentive, they really made us feel welcome Rooms - Clean, spacious, great views, comfortable beds and nice bathroom and shower Grounds and Outside - Lovely setting and looks amazing from the outside Beautify Staircase and Christmas Tree Negatives We started with a Festive Afternoon Tea (£35 a head) - while we left full, I also left wondering where the £70 for the 2 of us was spent and not feeling particularly festive. The first thing you notice when you sit down is the music - a low volume chilled dance music (it's more All Bar One in June than a Manor house for the Festive season) Tea selection was good and tasted great The food itself though - while the presentation was nice, the bread was stale (not sure if the sandwiches had been made some time before we got there and left uncovered), the scones we're nice as were the selection of cakes, but none looked or tasted particularly purpose made for the tea. When comparing to a tea you could get at Fortnum and Masons for £28 a head - you leave feeling that you could have done the same with a quick run around Asda for half the price. That mixed with the ambiance, nothing felt particularly festive. *The Bar - All was not lost though - we had the afternoon in our quiet surroundings to enjoy a book and a few drinks in the bar. But no, unfortunately not. A murder mystery weekend was happening, with clues plastered all around the hotel. The lobby and the bar were packed, it was feeling Festive now as in the Christmas shopping rush a Bluewater but not as in a relaxing weekend. We find a seat in the bar - I got a beer, but as my partner is pregnant she had little to no options in the non-alcoholic department. The Low-Level dance music was still pumping and with the Murder Mystery guests constantly getting into our personal space, unmasked, looking for clues it was like a packed Friday night in All Bar One in Leicester Square so we went to our room to escape Dinner - Food presentation was again very good. Quality and price were somewhat mis-aligned. There was nothing overly wrong with food, but the price is again way out of whack with what you're getting. Pork belly with a layer of inedible fat, rather than the layer of cracking you'd expect. There was a Steak on the menu that was the same price as the Hawksmore. The tables had big numbers on like we were at Butlins and before we'd even finished our evening the staff were setting up the tables for breakfast. All while listening to the classic chilled dance tunes we'd been listening to all day. The prices should dictate a quality of both food and standards, both were lacking. Décor - This old house is beautiful with a rich history but you get none of that feeling in side. It's been modernised to feel like a town pub and instead of the feeling of a luxurious manor house it just feels a bit cheap. Summary I'm of the belief you get what you pay for and don't mind spending extra for quality. But unfortunately it seems the management are living off the external beauty of the property to justify what can only be described as top quality prices for...

A hotel set in beautiful grounds that I have visited previously. A truly stunning building and feels very special as you drive down the long and impressive driveway into the grounds - it has a real 'Downton Abbey' feel. The room I was allocated on my previous visit was quite dated and not particularly well sound-proofed, so I asked for a quieter room this time, and both times, I have opted for upgraded rooms. The room this visit was smaller but more modern and very comfortable. However, the overhead shower has been affected by the hard water, I assume, so it was not functioning well and not fit for use, so i used the secondary shower head instead. The seals around the shower were not clean, had blackened mouldy sections, and were clearly lifting. I do not think that is acceptable for a luxury room. Unfortunately the first night I stayed there was an event in the function room on the floor below my room, and the staff decided they would move the furniture and hoover and clean after the event, which I think is a huge own goal and unacceptable for paying customers to endure. There was noise up until around 12.30am (I did not make a note of the exact time but was well after midnight), which was not what I travelled for and affected my sleep and frame of mind for my business the next day (this was a business trip). Breakfast was also a negative experience. Having paid for breakfast as part of my stay, I made my way down to where I was told it would be. However, despite the staff seeing me waiting, nobody came to attend to me or seat me. It turned out there was a corporate group staying, and they had taken the normal eating area, which is no issue. However, on standing around for a while and not being helped, I walked over to the kitchen staff, who knew i was there, and asked whether I could be seated. I was then simply asked (without any greeting or niceties) whether I was corporate or not, and when I said I wasn't I was told I would have breakfast in another room, which I was shown to the door of and told to take a seat. It was empty with nobody else in it, I was given no instruction on how things would work or whether I would order or self-serve from the other room and left to sit there. I waited for a while, and when nobody returned, I got up and left and went to my business meeting after a bad night's sleep and no breakfast. When travelling for business, most people need a fairly prompt breakfast, and this was quite the opposite. In fairness, the second night was much better and a good sleep without noise, and I was refunded my breakfast fee for one day (upon my request). I ordered breakfast to the room the second morning, which was nice and much better all around. However, one of the two nights was a real disappointment, and though I selected this venue for a quality stay, it definitely disappointed. Perhaps more disappointing was the general poor service during my stay and the complete lack of follow-up on my experience. I left polite feedback and requested a refund for breakfast, but nothing was done to reach out and follow-up, which is really the bread and butter of customer service. Customer service is the key element for any hotel, not the facilities or building, and great service will make or break the stay. Unfortunately, this time, it...