Holbrook Manor & Spa

Placed in a brick single story bedroom come lounge . Very grubby carpet. Vertical blinds hanging from runners. Area generally in poor repair. Hot and and cold tap in bathroom constantly running. Garden view. (REALLY) £83 No breakfast. Reception no real interest and the garden cafe closed at 1600, despite being told it would offer some simple foodstuffs and drinks. Forget it. Spa users some were very rude and clearly guest staying over were well done the list..

We had our Christmas party here, and we're definitely catfished! We were told to arrive from 6.30 to be seated for dinner around 7.30 but did not get seated until nearer 8 pm. Instead of the usual 15 - 20 minutes between courses, it took several hours to get through 3 courses (main wasn't served until approx 9.20, with dessert coming out at 10.25). The main course was tepid at best and had a very poor selection of vegetables. There was barely a drizzle of gravy on the plates, but when we asked if there would be a jug of gravy for the table, we were abruptly told "that's all you're getting." The coffee and mints that were advertised never materialised either! There were 21 people from our organisation, sharing the night with 2 other firms - for most the night there was only one person behind the bar who, by her own admission "only helps out with Christmas parties because I find it funny seeing how drunk people get." There was meant to be someone, presumably more experienced, helping out that kept wondering off, leaving average queuing time for a drink in excess of 20 minutes. The bar staff charged my colleague and I different prices for the exact same bottle of wine too, probably hoping we were too drunk to notice. To their credit they did refund the difference when challenged. The DJ had pretty much a set that he wanted to stick to, and didn't appear keen to take requests. We asked him to take a photo of our group at the end of the evening, and he flat out said no! The only Christmas decorations were two small, very poorly decorated Christmas trees. The remainder of the room was lit with bright white LED style spot lights. We had to provide food orders and seating plans in advance. When we found our own way to the tables, some had name places, whilst many didnt, some had table numbers whilst others didn't. There was a complete lack of attention to detail, with a disappointing atmosphere with even worse service. At the time someone who worked there tried saying people had called in sick, but having seen similar reviews on here spanning the whole of December and New Year it would suggest they were deliberating misleading us to minimise how terrible things truly were.

Oh dear. This was a second visit to the Holbrook and we were put in a 'garden room' which looked more like a barracks from the outside - no view at all except of gravel and an abandoned huge outbuilding that looked a bit like a nuclear bunker, and the outside of the building was really dirty with mud and cobwebs. Inside was 'tired' - the bed was comfortable, the heating worked and there was some decent furniture but the bath and fittings were chipped, the bath tap dripped all day and night, and the carpet was a health hazard. We had to pick our way past some even worse-looking rooms to get to the club / reception area. Unfortunately the staff - for the most part - were really unprofessional and uncaring. I met one woman who tried to make our stay more pleasant and who apologised for some of the issues, but she was the exception. On arrival (dead on check-in time) I had to queue for 20 minutes and when I got to the front of the lengthy queue the receptionist had disappeared on me. When she returned (with no apology for keeping us all waiting) she said my room wasn't ready and I'd have to wait another 20 or 30 minutes. Again, no apology or explanation. A passing member of staff did apologise, showed me where the toilet was and offered me a cup of coffee while I waited, as well as showing me where to go for the coffee which the receptionist hadn't done. We'd phoned to check that we could have a cooked breakfast as part of our booking because the website wasn't clear, and the person on the phone had assured us that yes we could, but in the morning we were offered a sausage or bacon sandwich. We pressed for a cooked breakfast but it was pretty basic and there were no sauces, there was no butter for the toast, etc etc. The changing rooms (female) were excessively tired, and there was not one locker key available. Again, no hint of apology for this - just a kind of 'that's how it is' approach from reception. So I put my stuff in a shonky locker with no key. The pool and surrounding area are tired, and a lick of paint is needed. There were no cups by the water dispenser. We weren't offered a gown to wear. The sauna was rammed full, possibly because the steam room wasn't working at all. It looked pretty unhygienic in there anyway, tbh. With everything going via the 'club' building's reception desk and cafe, there was no call to take in the lovely Manor House - so we were left with the crappy room and the crappy pool and changing rooms. And nowhere to have dinner, for miles around. There was a list of places to get takeaway - but no crockery or cutlery or wineglasses in the room. When I checked out I was told to pay up, and I had to explain that the money had already left my bank account - again, no apology from the guy on reception, just a smile and a shrug. The absolute basics of good hospitality are missing here at the moment.