August 2023 by P915RUtims
My wife and myself stayed at Lythe Hill last Christmas. It was our fourth visit over about the same number of years. We didn't have a great stay ...for reasons detailed below...but Lythe Hill offered us a free stay, once renovations were complete. In April/May I started following up on what seemed a fair and generous offer. At the time of writing I've emailed the Hotel four times and had no reply. I'll leave you to make your own judgement. Hi! This is the only email i can find for you...so please forward to whoever it may concern..thanks! My wife and i have just got home from a stay with you yesterday afternoon/last night. I'm not one of those 4-in-a-bed, always looking to complain, nothings good enough types, in fact in general i think we go out of our way to enjoy ourselves despite of any problems....but this time i feel compelled to write. We've stayed with you three or four times before, recommended you to friends and even bought stays as presents (as we have tomorrow for our daughter and boyfriend). It's someting we've always considered a little treat and thoroughly enjoyed. But things seem to have changed quite dramatically. Maybe it's a knock on from covid closure? Or perhaps we just hit a whole load of bad luck. but nothing seemed to go well yesterday. Let me elaborate. We arrived 2pm ish, a bit before check in, but we knew we could either have a nice walk or use the spa. So we made it into the spa around 3 pm. The spa area was very cold. The door into it, by the bar, was open when we arrived and stayed so for a good 20 minutes. We could see a few things were being brought in but that could have been done in a couple of minutes from what we saw....and why do it while the spa is in use? it took until we left , a couple of hours later for the room to get comfortable again. The sauna was also out of order, and the steam room wasn't "on" when we arrived. Someone complained, it was turned on, then it broke again apparently. I know it's really hard and expensive to maintain these things but.....I think most people stay with you for the full day experience. You're not a hotel in a town or city where one would head out to explore other things...we come for the whole spa/food/lovely room experience and don't leave your premises, so it's important all these things are functioning. So....5pm ish....check into our room. 208. Lovely! Really great bed, facilities, kettle always a generous plus I feel, not trying to milk us for room service. Big too! Could easily be two rooms. And tastefully done out. 7pm we head down for dinner. We've reserved when we arrived as we were advised it was busy and getting booked up.We booked in in the bar area, planning to eat from the bar menu just because we know from past experience the difference between that and the full dining room experience and we're generally more casual. The bar was fairly busy with diners, but plenty of tables still empty so we took one and ordered drinks and took a look at the menu { both menus...but as I said, the bar food suited us better last night _ but it was interesting to see the full dinner menu). We ordered the hummus sandwich to start.....the steak burger....and the greek salad. I'd have liked just a regular bowl of hummus and some dips....maybe some olives ....small starters , but that's fine, your menu is your menu, so that's what we chose. The hummus sandwich. I mean...we're still laughing about this! What hummus? Seriously, can you tell me where the hummus was?? This was two doorsteps of average bread, with a smattering of cut veg sprinled inside .....some leaves on the plate and a handful of crisps. Crisps??? Is this the 80s? Or a kids birthday party? Just leave them off !! Better without , it's just really not classy. Pop an olive on there! £6.....that must take zero effort to make and...well...it was the hummus we were looking forward to....at least toast the bread... My burger. This was ok. But just ok. Nothing special, and definitely not an £
August 2023 by Sjam1974
This is our 4th time staying and we were disappointed. Small details are being forgotten which is making a big difference. Our breakfast was dreadful (£18 each!) Spa changing rooms covered in water. No bags for wet swim wear. Massive pile of dirty towels. Steam room was out of order ( both steam room and sauna were out of order at our last visit) Room had no mirror, bathroom tap was wobbly and just generally shabby. We will be looking at other properties for our next night away as a treat.
August 2023 by 800nadjaf
My husband and I got married at Lythe Hill on 3rd June 2023. The day was magical and I can?t imagine having gotten married anywhere else. Our guests loved the venue just as much as we did and the staff made sure it will be a day to be remembered for everyone one that was there. There?s nothing I didn?t love. Food, staff, venue ? honestly ? everything. Thank you Lythe Hill. <3
August 2023 by JerseyJoh
This hotel is improving all the time, the room we stayed in was lovely and all the staff were friendly & helpful. The spa is a work in progress but has definitely come on since our last stay in May. Pool was quiet & a nice size for length swimming. Bar and restaurant pleasant and quality of food & service were good, especially impressed with cooked breakfast.
July 2023 by s0ny2007
Lovely surroundings however not as described. Spa was dirty and dated looked very tired, pool water was filthy my hubby has been iLL ever since he went swimming in it. I chose not to! The drinks at the private party we attended seemed to be very watered down. Or cheap alcohol in premium bottles. Restaurant staff clearly need training as we ordered a Gluten free beer and repeated and pointed it out it had to be gluten free, however still got a non gluten one. Food in restaurant was lovely. But breakfast wasn't almost warm to cold. Not worth the money.
July 2023 by MrHirst
I booked a two night stay and spa treatments for my wife for our wedding anniversary. I was contacted on the Friday morning we were due to check in and was told that one of the massage therapists had called in sick so they were cancelling all of their appointments. No solutions were offered apart from ?re booking at some point? obviously on a two night stay with other things planned that wasn?t going to happen, we had booked what we had for a reason, they were fully booked for the weekend anyway. On check in nothing was said so I mentioned the situation to the staff member checking us in, he couldn?t of cared less and made no suggestions. Nothing offered by way of good will. We decided to use the spa in the late afternoon. It was filthy. Dirty water on the floor around the pool, showers in the changing room and by the pool were dirty and run down, the steam room was out of order. The sauna had to be turned on as it hadn?t been on so wasn?t hot enough. The pool water was unnervingly murky. We had decided to book elsewhere for our evening meal but went to the hotel bar for drinks. My wife wanted an Espresso Martini, we were told the cocktails, on the menu at £11.50, were out of a packet and not made. She had a G&T instead and I had a pint. A service charge was then added to the bill despite me standing at the bar. Very sneaky. The room was clean and well appointed, but tiny. Obviously had been recently refurbed so at least this was at the standard we expected for £170 a night B&B. This is the reason for the 2 star not 1 rating. However overall I would say this was a disappointing stay for an anniversary and we would certainly not recommend anyone booking for a similar occasion. Not value for money at all when the facilities are this poor and the service as bad. Far cheaper options locally if you want somewhere nice overnight without the ?spa?. Such a shame.
July 2023 by debbieclarke651
Have just come back from a lovely weekend from this beautiful hotel and spa and can't fault it.the massage we had was lovely staff were fantastic very helpful room was lovely and clean with very comfortable beds. Dinner was beautiful and very well presented and breakfast was lovely. Service was a bit slow but overall a great relaxing experience would highly recommend.
July 2023 by clairea273
Arrived for a friends wedding. Venue on the outside and location impressive. Unfortunately as a wedding venue not up to standard. Staff not sure of where wedding was taking place. Had no idea of where to direct us. No signage whatsoever! Staff very young and obviously not trained at all in hospitality. Wedding venue staff need to be a lot more on the ball but they worked hard throughout the day and night. Staff uniform rather than jeans being worn would give a better impression. Food not that good. Hotel room was tired. Needing painting and walls repaired. The 2 steps into the room was very dangerous! Bed very comfortable. Bathroom modern and clean. Tv could not got working. Breakfast staff in restaurant very timid and not helpful. Young lad at entrance was very good. Food was ok. Small portions. Upon departure reception staff did not even ask us how was our stay. Says it all! Hotel for price and chain need a massive improvement.
July 2023 by 218natasham
A really disappointing stay for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Tiny room with no sound proofing, booking not what was promised (ex. Complimentary robe and slippers at spa or dinner in pizza restaurant first night). Not much choice for vegetarians. Dirty "spa" with both the sauna and steam room not working. Dirty facilities in general with changing rooms closed and showers blocked. Lack of staff and expensive for no feeling of luxury. Complained whilst there, then after and had to chase. Finally heard back from reluctant manager and offered some money back, but that was over 10 days ago and, despite chasing, again, not seen any money back yet. Do not stay here.
May 2023 by JonnyW990
Booked 2 nights away over the Bank Holiday weekend. Never stayed before but really enjoyed the experience, would recommend and would come back. The Tudor style old fashioned main building (as per pics) is gorgeous and a real delight. On site there is a bar, restaurant, pizza restaurant, spa facilities and lovely grounds. The room in the newer area, was vast with king bed, sofa, desk, TV and more socket & USB ports than you could imagine. Huge bathroom and great aircon too. Lovely pool, sauna and spa facilities. Any negatives? Honestly no. The staff are extremely friendly and try to help. My room was originally a twin but they zipped the beds together and re-dressed it as a king, and that worked well. They even paid for my steak dinner onsite to make up for the inconvenience. If you want somewhere off the beaten track with lovely grounds and the chance to relax and unwind, then come here. The town is an old fashioned small high street with Costa, Pizza Express, Waitrose, 3 cafes, couple of restaurants and a pub. More than sufficient. Only 5 minutes drive is the other half of town with a steak restaurant, Tesco, Indian and more. Book for sure! I did get a good deal at sub £100 per night. Very lucky indeed.
May 2023 by 450sarahh450
The major impressions we have after a weekend stay are i) every single member of staff we had contact with were really lovely and some exceptionally nice in trying to sort out problems, ii) the setting is stunning, the hotel is literally a work in progress. But, there were glitches throughout, right from finding it very hard to book- answering the phone/ email would really help, both at reception and in the spa. Likewise, it's understandable to have short, photocopied lunch menus, but then not serving items on the menu is just annoying. They need to sort out the labelling and provision of veggie and vegan food, tho the special vegan meal the chef made as he knew we were staying was great. The treatment areas of the spa are great, as were treatments. There is a basic relaxation room, some drinks in there would be good but thank you to the spa receptionist who made me tea while sorting out the booking issues. The pool area is like a municipal swimming pool and the sauna was broken. Changing rooms are being refurbished. Be aware no slippers are provided and the floor especially in the toilet was not nice to walk on in bare feet. Breakfast was fine, except the heating boxes for the hot food are not great, tepid beans are not nice. The refurbished room we had was very comfortable, I would expect a safe in a hotel of the quality this establishment aspires to. The rooms are in blocks around the site. There is no phone to ring reception and mobile reception is poor, but staff did come pretty quickly when there was a power cut. It was an experience and ultimately the efforts of the staff made it a good stay, but there is much to do to make this a smooth running operation.
May 2023 by Mattyt07
I was hoping to treat my wife for her birthday. Here?s what was poor - 1. Loads of building work happening all over the site. 2. Jacuzzi was cold 3. Sauna was closed 4. Bed room right by the wedding reception area. There was a wedding we weren?t part of taking place. 5. Ordered champagne to the room. After waiting 10 mins called to find out where it was, to be told at that point they?d run out. 6. Called back to order other drinks. No one picked up. 7. Main restaurant was closed. Weren?t told until we arrived although I called twice to confirm. 8. Offered a bottle of Prosecco on the house to apologise for the above concerns. We were told it would be waiting in our room when we returned from dinner. 9. Got back from dinner - No Prosecco. Called reception to ask about it. Was told by the night receptionist he knew nothing about it and that we?d have to call back at 7am to get our bottle of Prosecco. When we were checking out we didn?t think the spa treatment would be up to scratch. We told by the manager on duty that the spa treatment would be refunded because she understood our concerns. We stayed in March. It?s now May. I?ve tried calling and emailing the hotel countless times. Still no refund. Do yourself a favour. Don?t go anywhere near this place.
May 2023 by B2574NYsylviep
Not very helpful for coeliacs. The main house is a beautiful old listed building, but we were put into the back of an old coaching house. Very dark and cold room. Only view was over a tiny dirty yard to a huge container unit. Shower room had no heating or heated towel rail, very cold floor, no hairdryer. The serving staff at Dinner had no idea of gluten free availability, and at breakfast we had to ask for cereal bowls and plates while 3 staff members stood around doing nothing. We were very disappointed with our stay and did not eat there on our second evening.
May 2023 by Anisha1234
Just returned from 2 nights spa break booked through spabreaks.com. Overall it was a pleasant stay but definitely could have been better. The surroundings are beautiful. We arrived a little early and happy to find that our room was ready. The room itself was lovely and functional for our stay. We had a dinner pre-booked at the main Tudor Restaurant on our first night. We enquired about booking dinner for our second night at the pizza restaurant but disappointingly, was told that it was not open (we was not informed of this before booking). Dinner at the main restaurant was shocking! The food was ok but the service was terrible. We were in the restaurant for over 3 hours for a 3 course dinner. It took them over 45 minutes just to take our dessert order! Other guests were also complaining about the slow service. After much complaining about the whole evening, we was given our drinks complimentary. They were clearly understaffed and in over their heads. A little communication to let guests know that services might be a little slow could have made their life a lot easier, and the diners would not have been so annoyed. The restaurant offers a basic lunch menu, many of the items that are on the dinner menu are the same for lunch. Would be nice to have a more varied menu. The 25 minute massage we had included as part of our package was amazing. Unfortunately, the sauna room is out of order, so we only had use of the steam room and the swimming pool for the stay. The water in the whirlpool and swimming pool is quite cold which us a shame. One of the showers in the changing room is out of order. Overall the hotel has potential to be so much better with a little TLC.
April 2023 by kerryngoodwin
Evening didn?t start well with no one behind the bar to have a pre dinner drink. Eventually served and took drinks into restaurant. No one to greet or show to table. Decided to find our own table to sit. Waited and finally someone came round with two menus ( 4 of us so we had to share). Finally a server took our order but was very unsure of sauces? apparently no sauces for steaks. Steaks arrived half an hour later with no option for side sauce - very dry and not cooked to our request. Two had fish which was ok but bland. Waited another half an hour for desert menu. Deserts were good but forgot one so waited another 15 minutes for that. Very understaffed with long delays sadly. Lovely setting though.
