Our second stay at the Peacock.
The Peacock is a lovely hotel, a mix of old and new, all tastefully done. Those who think IKEA just don't get it, the match of traditional with modern, the lighting make the place.
Good weekend packages with dinner make good value, will always look forward to going back.
Go to Haddon Hall nearby, see where some of the ideas came from!

We stayed at The Peacock for one night on Saturday 3rd April 2008. I think we were a little apprehensive after seeing some of the more negative reviews on Tripadvisor, but weren't disappointed, just felt overall we expected a little more for the money.

We were greeted by a very friendly receptionist, and checked us in very quickly, also showed us to our room. Tea and coffee and this was delivered to the room within 10 minutes. We didn't know until check-out that there was a £7.00 charge for this however - hotels need to say if there's a charge for something! I guess we assumed this was complimentary and other luxury hotels do offer a free hot drink delivered on arrival.

The room was comfortable and clean, (no dubious stains on the carpet as one reviewer had spotted) however for a hotel of this price (we paid £175) we would expect a better standard of mattress, a quilt rather than blankets. Also in our opinion the bathroom was overdue an upgrade, although was very clean and there was nothing to actually complain about.

The Peacock is in a wonderful setting in rural Derbyshire, a few miles north of Darley Dale, and is a great base for a weekend exploring some fantastic scenery. There's plenty of parking also.

We did not eat here, preferring to eat at a local pub which had been recommended to us by the receptionist - it was in a small village called Ashford in the Water and the food was fantastic.

We did have a drink at the hotel on return from dinner out, and we weren't invited into the bar as the waitress assumed we weren't guests! However once we said we were everything was OK, and we had a lovely drink (great wine choice!) in the small and relaxing bar.

If this hotel had cost closer to £100-125 our rating would have been higher, but for £175 as a special Birthday/Anniversary treat I would recommend to try and get a better deal if possible.

Couldn't get a mobile signal inside, but this was not an issue to us, also couldn't get a wi-fi signal but again we weren't there to work, so this didn't matter too much.

Nice touches included a DVD player in the room, and a great library to choose from, also some compilation CD's of 'chillout' type music were in the room. IPod docks are available with a refundable deposit.

Overall a good hotel, but could be a great hotel with some careful planning by the management.

Paying almost £200 for a double room, we expected some level of luxury, but we couldn't find it anywhere. The room was listed as a large double, but was very small. Bathroom tiny and not at all luxurious or stylish, clean but basic. We arrived very late, the lights were not working and the room was freezing. The large radiator was off, but there was a small electric fan heater in the room which we had to leave on all night but it didn't help. There was hardly any bedding on the bed (one sheet and one blanket) and no extra bedding in the wardrobe. The included breakfast was basic, cold buffet style, anything from the menu was charged as an extra. The common areas of the hotel were quite stylish, but the rooms were cheaply furnished, lots of Ikea accessories which didn't really look the part. I wrote a letter to the manager about our stay and had a standard 'thank you for your feedback' letter in return. I can't imagine how this hotel managed to get listed in the Mr & Mrs Smith guide.

Quaint hotel which has very nice rooms with a modern twist - was taken as a surprise for my b'day and felt I had been pampered. Wine list was v good and food tasty but portions far too small for the price. Nice touches like ipod docking station, dvd with good selection of films at reception to borrow.