My husband, daughter, and I stayed at The Howard for 3 nights in July - what a fabulous experience! From the butler service to the beautifully decorated suite, drawing room, and breakfast room, this hotel aims to please. We were incredibly lucky to have Fernando as our butler - he made our visit so special. We will definitely stay at The Howard again.

Part of my honeymoon and extremely disappointing, all blamed on a wedding they were hosting at the time - not a good enough excuse in my book.

Had booked champagne to be ready on arrival - not there when arrived.

Our personal butler changed every time he/she appeared, despite assurances when I was arranging the honeymoon that we would have personal attention from one person.

The DVD player in the room didn't work.

Breakfast in our room arrived with a half-eaten bowl of porridge from the day before left in the warming drawer.

One of my wife's rings went "missing" from the sink in the bathroom and we were practically accused of having mislaid it ourselves. Miraculously it arrived in the post (without any covering note or letter of explanation) a week after our stay.

I complained to reception on leaving and was offered a glass of champagne, just as I was out to drive 500 miles back to London.

After the stay we wrote to the hotel and copied the chairman of the group and never received a response - obviously our custom simply didn't matter.

Based on Trip Advisor reviews, which have been so helpful and accurate, we were looking forward to our two nights at The Howard. There was only one negative review (July '06) which I only noticed after our trip and it couldn't have been more accurate! The Howard, particularly for the price point, looks great upon immediate first impression, but quickly, the impression didn't match up with the experience. On the positive side, the room was large (not a suite, the deluxe - our daughter had the standard, which was good size as well). The bedside lamps were covered in dust (no, not a bit of dust, COVERED) and the bedding was terrible - sheets and a poly blend blanket of the sort that would be in a budget motel.
Dinner was just okay - not awful, but nothing to rave about. Breakfast was the same and the poached eggs were hard boiled, not poached. Again, at this price point - the eggs should be cooked properly! Coffee was terrible.
The waiter at dinner was great - friendly, yet non-intrusive. The staff were fine, but did nothing out of the ordinary especially given their promotion of their unique "butler" service. We didn't have any sense of what that's about - but certainly, everyone was nice enough.
We stayed at two other hotels (Parkcity in London & Arundel House Restaurant & Rooms in West Sussex - both well reviewed on Trip Advisor) during our UK vacation and both were far, far better in all ways than The Howard.
Maybe the suites are cleaner and have better bedding??
Down at the heels and frayed - and not in a charming way.

Stayed at the howard for one night with my boyfriend for an anniversary treat, Hotel was lovely we stayed in a suite which was luxurious and spacious. We dined in our room was was nice and the butler service was not intrusive or overbearing just perfect. The meal that we had was delicious and very satisfying. We also opted to have breakfast in our room which was also a nice treat. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff at the howard, from point of booking until departure, great service, just a shame we couldnt have stayed longer.