Amberley Castle

For the 2nd time we did the Nytimber experience. It eas excellent. Great food wine and staff brilliant

Driving up to the castle and through into the courtyard, even though we had seen the pictures before, was a Wow! After that, our Sunday to Tuesday two nights of the “Great British Getaway” package stay didn’t live up to that first impression. Nobody was at Reception; no bell to ring; just a tray of dirty crockery and glasses on the desk. Shortly after, a member of staff squeezed past us without saying a word, on his way to see a guest in the lounge. A few minutes later he returned and said he would find someone to help us. Someone else came and she said she would find someone to help us. Then, with an apology about being in the office doing some copying, Ivan politely checked us in and took us up to our room, “Rye”, a superior one up the narrow staircase to the second floor. At first sight it looked good and there was a nice welcoming letter from the general manager. It told us that the staff aimed to exceed our expectations and ensure that every aspect of our stay would be nothing short of exceptional, and that we had a named host for our stay – so perhaps the reception performance was an exception? It turned out that the room had problems, and not just in the guest information folder that the letter was with (that had duplicated and triplicated sections and pages, and some missing pages). We decided we could live with the bathroom and loo that had no door. Later we found that that the water supply was poor – the basin tap flow was weak. Its nozzle had been removed, presumably to encourage the flow, but letting the water splash over the edge. On the second morning we found that the shower flow was poor as well, the hand-held head being particularly weak. The bedroom itself was smart and comfortable, except that the bed was too close to the angled roof beams making it necessary to crouch to get to one side of the bed, or get a bang on the head (we did!). Other beams in the window opening had upholstered protection, but not the most prominent bedside one. It looked like a bigger bed had been fitted but without thought about the safe clearance. Lighting was poor. The panelled lounge felt distinctly historic but here too the lighting was poorer than it need have been. Ivan brought us drinks and took our dinner order on the first night, a better experience that with the female staff member who served in the restaurant and took our order the second night. Her English was not clear or confident. The food was good. We had the standard 5-course tasting menu with three choices for each course, unchanged on the second evening, and the same for the season we understood. We had noticed a Michelin sign, but it was dated 2024 and a quick look at the Michelin Guide website revealed that the restaurant is no longer even listed. The wine flight, at £65 (plus the 10% service charge that is applied to all drinks and food, even applied in check-out to food in pre-paid packages), was simply glasses of the wines that were listed as available by the glass. They were brought pre-poured to the table. In this and other aspects, the finesse expected of a Relais & Chateaux establishment was disappointingly missing. Very few people were dining either evening. Breakfast was good although the two menu choices with berries weren’t available the second morning – careless to run out. And what of our host? By the time we checked out we hadn’t seen him. The staff member who dealt with us asked if everything had been okay and took our comments about the room, and she said our host had been around. If they nominate a host, the least he could do is to make himself known to the guests. Our expectations were certainly not exceeded!

Memorable for my 80th birthday gift for my parents stay who gets looked after to high standards, beautiful surroundings and excellent room but shame about the quantity of food for the price

Super experience backed by lovely and attentive staff and a comfortable room. It’s a rare treat to stay in place steeped in such history. Thanks to all the team at Amberley castle. The town of Amberley is gorgeous!

Thank you for an amazing experience. For us it was very expensive but worth it for this occasion. We chose our dinner from the lounge menu which was delicious, as we did not want 5 courses and wanted something less expensive .