Our stay wasn't helped by the fact that the hotel boiler had broken down - however we weren't told this until we arrived, at which point it was too late to cancel and find somewhere else to stay. Our bedroom had been warmed with three oil-filled radiators, but the bathroom was icy cold as - understandably - they couldn't put an electric heater in there.
The room itself had a lingering smell of stale smoke - whilst guests smoking in a room is not the hotel's fault, housekeeping not spotting it and airing the place is.
The lack of heating notwithstanding, the hotel looks tired inside, with the public area carpets needing a good vacuum at the time of our stay.
Dinner in the restaurant was good - the soup excellent - and the service friendly if somewhat slow. By the time dessert arrived we were so cold we left it and headed back to our room for a coffee.
Breakfast the next morning was uninspiring - good porridge, dreadful coffee, the choice of fruit/yoghurt/pastries at the buffet sparse.
Overall, having booked a 200 a night room at what looked to be a nice country house hotel, we were left disappointed by what actually seems to be primarily a low-budget wedding venue. Whilst retaining it's elegant frontage, the hotel needs investment in maintenance both inside and outdoors.
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