We booked for one night and afternoon tea. Service was terrible the afternoon tea arrived without the tea and no cream for the scones and when I eventually attracted the attention of a waiter he said "you have to order tea separately" absolute joke!! When the tea arrived there was no milk or sugar We sat outside and wanted drinks but had to get up and ask the waitress who was chatting with another guest and was oblivious to us sitting without a drink. It's not cheap to stay at hotel and I expect a first class service which I didn't get!! They need to employ a matrie'd to keep an eye on the staff.
We have stayed here on a few occasions, and have always enjoyed the overall experience. The buildings and surrounding grounds are outstanding and, as mentioned in other reviews, some of the rooms would benefit from a little freshening up, but when you look at the overall package, we still think that it is worth a visit. The food in the Anderida restaurant was good, although perhaps not as good as on previous visits, and we found all members of staff to be very helpful and friendly.
This was a 70th Birthday treat for my brother. First of all, the staff where really attentive and polite. However, female staff wearing trousers looked far smarter than female staff wearing mini tube skirts! Then we move on to the cream tea itself. This was for three of us, with one requiring gluten-free. We were offered a drink to start and you can have as many tea or coffees as you would like with the cream tea. We all ordered a coffee, which was ok, but was lukewarm, and we had to ask for sugar which came in little packets, not many brown sugars which you normally have in coffee. We had to ask for some more, and we thought that sugar crystals or cubes would have been more appropriate for such a hotel. Then came the cream tea on two stands, one normal and gluten free, with 2 scones and 4 cakes and sandwiches on each. We all agreed the sandwiches were particularly nice, but no butter for the scones, which I think should have been there. A table close to us also had to ask for sugar and also asked for butter. These are issues I didn’t expect from a high end cream tea. I had to use the gents and upon washing my hands there were no paper towels to dry my hands. My wife also used the facilities and the bin was overflowing with used paper towels and generally looked unkept. The garden and grounds are amazing. If the sun is shining it’s lovely to sit outside. However, I feel this was overshadowed by these issues - lukewarm coffee, no sugar offered at first, no butter for scones, and toilets not looked after. Covid restrictions have now lifted and we expected much better than this. We rarely complain about anything to anyone, and usually always leave positive reviews as we have a family member in the industry so appreciate its challenges. We had 5 different staff deliver our cream tea and I noticed lots of other staff around. I really don’t think this should be the norm for a four star hotel. Overall our experience was disappointing and very overpriced. We were very much looking forward to it and dressed up accordingly, but our attire didn’t warrant the venue. This was a big treat for the 3 of us and I really don’t think we were given a four star cream tea. Service charge was paid as staff were friendly, but the overall experience was lack lustre and not what we anticipated.…
Stayed at this hotel as a mini break with a spa package included. Driving up to entrance very pretty, however, first impressions once in reception not great. Touted as a 5* hotel I would definitely disagree. Have stayed in many around the world and I would say this one did disappoint. Went to check in - no warm welcome did not feel special room not ready told to go and wait in lounge - no drink offered or any warm welcome. Went back later to collect key asked where room was just, got a point to the stairs, rude and unhelpful!, found room, booked a suite £500 a night so not cheap. Room OK smelt very musty and stale like it hadn’t been used for ages had to open all windows rest of day to try and air it. Weirdly lights all work off one switch by door if you want to get up during the night you will trip over as you can’t turn on beside light! Crazy especially if elderly and worried about falling. No mini bar again at this price point kind of assume this is basic thing. Room service - call they don’t pick up. Dinner in restaurant was lovely waiter went extra length to make me feel welcome and tailored meal to dietary requirements so 10/10 for that. Then hospitality failed again went to bar asked for a cocktail barman not busy said he would bring it over. Waited at least 15 mins went back to bar guy got annoyed wandered off ignoring me, I gave up and went to my room 1/10. Spa treatments excellent had hot stone massages, felt very safe from covid. 10/10. Brasserie lunch delicious except no one brought menu so I had to search for one, food tasty 6/10. Generally I would say hospitality needs to be retrained on politeness and also being attentive to guests. Would I come back? Based on cost state of room and hospitality no I would rather go back to a proper 5* hotel like Ashford Castle in Ireland which feels like a home from home with the care they offer.…
Fairly rundown buildings. Little lights in the room. Very easy to hear the next door neighbors. Breakfast below B&B standard. However, service both attentive and friendly and the food at the Forest Brasserie was really good both for lunch and dinner.
I was give a red letter day voucher for my birthday and Christmas by my parents and had no hesitation in paying extra to be able to stay at a hotel that I have wanted to stay at for a long time, mainly because of the food..... ERROR ! We used spa which was lovely and very relaxing for my heavily pregnant fiancée, she then wanted a nap so we returned to the room and relaxed for a bit, before gearing our selves up for a awesome dinner, where I had already decided what we were going to have . I came to the hotel about 15 years ago as a friend of mine who was on the same catering course as me was allocated Ash down as his work placement, ever since then I have wanted to stay and eat at the restaurant. We used the spa and had a drink afterwards up in the bar which was nice then we had a rest upstairs in the room before the much anticipated meal. We went to the bar at 19:00 for a drink before our meal and pre ordered our mains at 19:15 and took the plunge and went for the chateaubriand, priced at £38pp but it was Ashdown Park so thought it would be amazing. Seated at 19:30, served some bread, ordered a glass of wine..... That's where the whole experience ended as a good one, there was no communication with any other member of staff until 20:25 (1hr 10min after pre-ordering) when I called a waiter over to ask if our food would be ready soon after seeing a couple of them look over and then frantically do something on the computer. I asked if the waiter we had pre-ordered with had not processed the order but the waiter said "no the chateaubriand takes a bit of time to cook". Im a chef so I know full well it does not take 1hr10min to cook and then rest the steak, let alone 1hr35min which is actually how long it did take. Not one person came to top up our dink or ask if we wanted another one, we felt invisible when we could see other tables getting the service you expect coming to a place like Ash Down. Breakfast was good but in all honesty we just wanted to get home The meal ruined the whole day and night and I felt embarrassed ash you could see that the tables around us had seen what had been happening. I filled in the feed back form that you get sent a week after you have left and asked for a call back or an email and receive nothing. You come to somewhere like Ashdown park hotel to be spoilt but were made to feel anything but from start to finish.…
We visited this charming elite hotel over the bank holiday weekend. The reception staff were very welcoming and we were checked in very quickly by Kevin. We were helped to our rooms which were beautiful and thoughtfully stocked with a welcome gift of sweets. The views from our room were breathtaking and our beds were so comfortable and made very well. There was a nice selection of shampoos in the shower and the water pressure in the showers was amazing. Dinner in the restaurant was very enjoyable and there are nice options for children - I would recommend the sausage with sweet mustard dressing with fries for children. Breakfast was also enjoyable - there was a buffet as well as a la carte - the haddock with crumpet, egg and Hollandaise sauce was my favourite. I also highly recommend their sausages and hash browns. We had afternoon tea as well which we thoroughly enjoyed - the cakes were delicious and filling. The staff were very accommodating and always came to check if we had everything we wanted. We used the swimming pool which was nicely heated and also had a jacuzzi. The changing rooms were excellent, with clothes drying facilities and also carry bags for wet clothes. There was plenty to do for the children - tennis, table tennis etc. The building and grounds are so beautiful, especially the main building and East wing. The West wing is more modern but is dog friendly. What stands out the most in this hotel and sets it apart is the staff - they go out of their way to meet your needs and are very friendly, always sparing time to check if you are enjoying your stay. Katie and Gavin in the restaurant looked after us very well. Johnny at the bar can produce any cocktail and even grated fresh coconut in order to create a non-alcoholic pina colada. We will definitely return. Thank you!…
We arrived on Saturday, easy check in our suite was ready. Lovely suite, slightly dark but within character of the convent history, we loved the stained glass windows. We had reserved a table in the restaurant but we were told they couldn’t honour our reservation as they had 2 weddings so we ate in the Forest Brasserie. Excellent staff, prompt service, delicious food. Breakfast in the main restaurant was a little chaotic as there wasn’t enough staff or chefs to keep with the food requirements, but the staff apologised and worked hard to try to keep up with demand. Spa is amazing I had a massage by Jolene and it’s the best I have ever received. Swimming pool is nice I just wish it was a hot tub rather than a chilly bath pool. All the staff we polite and well trained I just think they need more staff. Overall good 4* we will return and hope to give 5*…
Nobody can doubt the beautiful building and surroundings, however for outdoor tea on the lawn.. the fountain in the lake is so large and noisy (you can hear the electric pump that powers it too) that it is obtrusive. The service for afternoon tea was friendly but inaccurate (one guest was left without a coffee) The food was expensive, yet average. At these prices everything should be top quality locally sourced organic / biodynamic and it is not. The cookies were poor, over sweet and stodgy. I even suspect cheap genetically modified soya bean oil is being used in the kitchen and I read in another review that they serve fois gras here. If you want better quality than this try Plaw Hatch farm, Tablehurst Farm, Seasons Kitchen. They are not even pretending to be posh and their food is of a higher standard. Why not source your ingredients from some of the many superb local businesses, Sussex Kitchen, Brambletye, Plaw Hatch, Tablehurst to name but a few. So much potential for this place to excel but they miss the mark by a long shot.…
We were given a red letter day gift or sparking afternoon tea for two which we booked for Good Friday. We decided to bring our son to and buy him the Winnie the Pooh afternoon tea, ashdown park is absolutely stunning it was a beautiful sunny Good Friday. Service was good, carrots on my sons plate were dry but everything else looked good and he was happy. Our afternoon tea was fine plenty of lovely cakes and everything was fresh. We handed our voucher to our waiter at the beginning but were then given our bill without the voucher taken off but this was rectified straight away. We had a lovely walk round the grounds loved all the stunning fresh flowers in the hotel
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Listing