The main building is beautiful with lovely lawns and seating areas. The welcome was a little cold. Although we are De Vere Applause members, it was £100 cheaper to book through Expedia so we did- the woman on reception made it very clear we wouldn’t get our usual advantages because we hadn’t booked directly with them. All other staff we met during our stay were courteous and friendly.
The hotel is very large- almost too large and, as such, feels a little impersonal. The walk to our room was very long and, when we asked to move rooms due to being placed in an interconnecting one, the was dealt with swiftly but the walk was even further. Usually this would t be a problem but my husband was walking on crutches due to a broken leg. Luckily, the fire escape door was open which provided a much quicker journey to the car later. Food was good, creative and tasty but extremely expensive. We paid over £90 for bread and dipping oil, two main courses and a bottle of wine. Breakfast was good with plenty of choice however we did notice an unpleasant metallic taste in the water which affected the taste of tea and coffee. All in all a good stay but, if we returned to the area, we would probably choose somewhere else.