Ellenborough Park

I'm from the US & had never been in this area of England & booked it based upon some reviews I read in Trip Advisor. The hotel & grounds are simply spectacular. We were traveling south from Leeds & the train station is about 15 minutes from the hotel which was convenient. Some of the original structure is 500 years old but the rooms & amenities are what you would find in a modern, high caliber hotel but this is actually an original farm house/mini-castle that was converted into a hotel. There is nothing particularly close within walking distance so you need to get a ride to Cheltenham which is ten minutes away if you want outside meals & shopping off of the grounds. The food, staff & concierge services that the hotel set up for us were all great. If you like peace & solitude in an impeccably kept environment this is the place. If you want loud nightlife you definitely need to try somewhere else.

My husband and I booked a 1 night weekend stay through Mr & Mrs Smith to celebrate his birthday at this stunning property. From the minute we arrived we were made to feel welcome and special. The check in was smooth and as our room wasn't ready we had a delicious lunch at the brasserie- the best Raspberry Creme Brûlée I've eaten! Our room, number 9, was in the loft but was cosy and well appointed. The welcome bottle of prosecco was also a nice touch along with a note from the General Manager. The staff at the Spa were knowledgeable and accommodating and the Spa facilities were compact but impeccably clean with abundant fluffy robes and fresh towels. The grounds of this property are stunning and we spent Sunday morning exploring. The reception Manager explained that we could walk through the fields and reach the perimeter of Cheltenham Race course which was a lovely ambling walk for a Sunday morning!! After easily negotiating a later check out we had a relaxed breakfast which matched the high standards we had encountered throughout our stay! Definitely a 5* recommendation!

I wanted somewhere special for my family to celebrate my wife’s 60th birthday and were looking forward to an exceptional stay at this hotel. The hotel itself is a lovely building as are the gardens and grounds which surround it. We had three rooms and the one that stood out was the one at the top of the hotel in what can only be described as a tower. The other two rooms were in a modern building but were spacious with large beds (mine a four poster), comfortable easy chairs and well equipped ensuite bathrooms. However, there was a catalogue of failures which I will outline. After a long journey I have come to expect the offer of a complementary pot of tea or cold drinks on arrival in a comfortable lounge but none was forthcoming; maybe smaller hotels are more welcoming? When my wife went for a shower she discovered there was no shower gel in the bathroom so she had to wait until it arrived. My eldest son also said there was none in his room either. There were no ‘normal’ teabags and we had to wait until they were provided - neither was there a teapot which is preferable to putting the teabags in the cup. However the fresh milk was appreciated. We had our first meal in the Brasserie that evening. There wasn't anywhere to sit and have a drink before our meal. The food was good but not in my opinion, anything special. I was promised a complementary newspaper but this was not delivered and neither was my son’s. I did get one on Sunday but not the one I would have chosen At breakfast there was a birthday greeting for my wife when we arrived, a nice touch, but when our cooked breakfasts arrived one was missing so one person had to eat theirs after the rest of us had finished. We went out for the day and I had arranged for a surprise birthday cake at 4pm in our room. I called at reception at quarter to four to let them know we were back. I had previously been told that two extra seats would be placed on our patio while we were out but when we arrived back in the room this had not been done. At 4:10 the cake hadn't arrived and I went to reception to complain. At 4:20 I made another call. The cake arrived at 4:30. When it arrived I was extremely disappointed. The cake was just some squares of ‘Swiss roll’ style sponges stacked on top of each other, roughly covered in cream with fruit scattered on top. I really wish I had brought a cake with me but I had been told their cakes were ‘something special’ and I had even been asked what I wanted iced on the cake but that was missing. Also the surprise was totally destroyed by the delay. The dinner in the restaurant was exceptional, but there’s nowhere to sit and have a drink while looking at the menu beforehand or to sit and enjoy a coffee and drinks after the meal. Apparently their lounge was out of action due to a building defect. Finally there were issues with our ensuite. The shower did not drain the water away quickly enough resulting in water all over the bathroom floor. Also one of the basin plugs did not open as it was disconnected from the ‘lever’. I did speak to two different managers during my stay but the complimentary drinks did not compensate for the disappointment and the cost of the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to pay for good quality and great service but this is not what we experienced. I had some difficulty with rating the service as it ranged from 'Excellent' to 'Terrible'. There were times when some of the staff went out of their way to help but in the end I could only score it 'Average'. A substantial part of my review above is copied from a letter I sent to the Manager on my return. He was good enough to point out that "there were times during the weekend that we seemed to be perfectly happy" which was true. That is because we didn't allow the problems to spoil our special weekend but this hotel is expensive and in my view didn't deliver the standard I expected for the money I spent. This place could be exceptional but unless the basics are sorted it will never fulfil its potential.

I booked this hotel for my boyfriends birthday and we stayed here for two nights. The hotel itself is lovely, the grounds are really spectacular. We had a lovely dinner in the hotel and fancied a drink afterwards. Unfortunately we encounter a very rude member of staff behind the bar. He interrupted our conversation with rude and demeaning comments. If I am paying £20 a night or £200 a night, I do not expect staff to be unnecessarily rude. We felt looked down on and his manner really surprised us. I did mention this as we left however I felt it was not really listened too. Overall a lovely hotel however but would not be returning unfortunately.

We travelled to this part of the world in mid July, the hotel is very picturesque and, unlike many other hotels, the modern extensions have been built with a clear mandate to reflect the main building. To my untrained eye they are clearly modern but blend in very well. We were given a room in the main building, roughly above the dining room/kitchen area. We were a little concerned as there was bit of noise on the afternoon with what was clearly a fire door closing with a bang on a few occasions, however we gave it the benefit of the doubt and it was a very infrequent event and didn't disturb us over the period of our stay. (Room 11 if you're interested). The room was of significant proportions and well appointed with a good sized bathroom, we overlooked the outdoor pool area which is in a courtyard area surrounded on three sides by part of the modern extension,we felt very comfortable in it. The bed was very soft, personally too soft for me but not something to complain about really, my partner found it perfect for her. The hotel itself was very relaxing with lovely staff who smiled and greeted us whenever we crossed paths and were always ready to help. As with other reviews it seems that Jonathan is somewhat all pervasive and can seemingly arrange anything, a very well organised, personable and helpful chap. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up running the place. One observation I made was that many hotels seem to be seeking to increase/maintain profits by cutting costs, not the Ellenbrorough, in my opinion it was well staffed with a veritable army of staff in perpetual motion seemingly at all times of the day. We had a bumpy start to our stay, I was unimpressed with the brasserie both in terms of the food, in my opinion it was very average and somewhat expensive. The furnishings in the brasserie are obviously ageing, not very well and they were a bit "worn" in places. Additionally we found the sides of the seating full of crumbs and the obvious detritus from meals long gone, (Why is it you can't resist putting your hands down the seams?) This obvious lack of attention to detail and the poor food made us a little nervous about the coming days and we went so far as to question whether this was the same kitchen that served the main dining room, thankfully it was not. We did sit down and list our critically constructive comments to the front desk, they were well received and they agreed with us that it wasn't good enough. (I wasn't expecting any reduction in the bill, but I must say I was surprised we didn't even get a complimentary drink offered to us) However from this point forward our stay was wonderful, breakfasts were delightful and very efficiently served in good order, there is plenty of space to sit and read in the hotel, yes the main lounge is reduced in size by about 40% due to scaffolding holding up a ceiling that is having issues due to the weather but it is still a quiet spot to relax in. The outdoor pool is of a decent size you can swim in and there is a small, fairly well kitted out fitness room with machines you can work out in. Overall we had a lovely time and will return in due course, we did look at other reviews and we deliberately went Sunday-Thursday to avoid a weekend when there is more likely to be a wedding. The hotel is clearly a popular wedding venue and they advertise this so I would expect noise levels to rise on Friday and Saturdays which is why we avoided those days. (Personally I am not sure it is fair to complain about the noise from wedding parties if you go to a hotel at a weekend that is clearly advertised as a wedding venue) We also ate at the main dining room, I'll review that separately, suffice to say it was very good.