OK. So it's not cheap, but it is worth every penny! Totally amazing, from super luxurious linen, most comfortable bed,ever, and pillows to die for. Every beauty/bath product x 6. The grounds are immaculate and the pool is fab. Staff superb, always to hand but unobtrusive and the food, most of it, was fabulous. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.
A lovely place to escape to for some r & r…. The service was a little patchy - it took ages to get tea and a number of staff repeatedly came by to ask again if we had any allergies….Poor service more likely to be a result of Covid and if you want to be left alone, it’s actually perfect!
I stayed recently with a number of colleagues hosting a business off site meeting. Babington is more a leisure destination but the meeting facilities (Log Room) were perfectly fine and we were well looked after by the extremely polite staff. Having not stayed there for a few years it was nice to rediscover the hotel - the bar was buzzy and the food in the Orangery very good. My experience of the level of service was excellent - enthusiastic, friendly and effective.
I used to be proud of this place. Something really bad has happened. Everything has changed. The food is disappointing. The place is dirty. Staff were neglectful. My guest’s Vegan food was served with a milk based cheese dressing. Staff stood around in little huddles ignoring customers. Staff had their heads up and no eye contact. Either they are really busy or badly trained. To me it looked as if the problems are insurmountable and so the staff are just ignoring reality and trying to survive.
Babington, as with all of Soho House, is a service lottery... Wherever the service was a little frayed, the staff could not have bene more friendly or pleasant. None of the tiresome attitude that is so often the case in cities. As ever, the interior design across the board is excellent. The food, honestly, was average. The menu just doesn't really work (what if I want chicken for one, not two. Same with the steak), and in a few cases, simple side dishes were over complicated for no reason. Broccoli doesn't need smothering in tomato sauce with an avalanche of raisons, for example. Ditto a bland green salad swimming in excess dressing. The eggs Benedict missed the mark. Not enough vinegar, overcooked eggs, and insufficient sauce. It all felt rushed. You also have to contend with digital children everywhere, gawping into iPads -- sometimes without headphones and therefore with invasive tinny sound, while their parents 'relax' i.e. ignore the kids and you. The walled garden room was lovely to look at - lovely baths inside and out... except for one glaring fault. You cannot open a window... which you expect on the 30th floor in a city. So the log burner warms up the downstairs area in winter, great. Upstairs on the split-level bedroom, the heat has risen and it's far too hot. The a/c is useless and there's no way to open a window, above or below. Your only option is to leave the door open, which isn't great from a safety perspective. It's a major fault, and I wouldn't stay there again.…
I was a member of Babington House for 8 years up until 2020 and saw a steady decline in service standards for a number of years. As an under 30's member at the time, I also recognised that I was treated somewhat differently to older members (like the second class citizens), but I have returned with friends a couple of times in the last few months and I'm so shocked at how bad the service has become. This weekend we visited as a celebration in the restaurant with a small number of friends, and we genuinely had to ask for the attention of staff in every scenario; asking for drinks, asking for water (which wasn't left on table but also wasn't then proactively topped up), we had to ask for our food order to be taken and then had to ask for bill. I don't remember seeing a single staff member smile, it was genuinely quite shocking that such a premium environment could even excuse this. Not to mention that the restaurant was half full, and there seemed to be plenty of staff? Soho House lazily relies on the pretentiousness of its pretence and unarguably gorgeous buildings and surroundings, but this just doesn't cut it. With fabulous hotel chains around the counties, such as The Pig (which offers far superior service and warmness), Thyme and The Newt, I'm genuinely astonished how they get away with it. I can only assume that the best service (seen in some of the reviews below) is reserved for those 'whose face fits'. Such a shame, because the house, décor and grounds is all truly so beautiful, it's quite gutting. Have always rooted for Babington, but some serious work is needed to make this place worth the monies.…
We arrived in the middle of a storm and were welcomed warmly by reception staff who got us to our cottage straight away. About twenty minutes later two guys arrived with afternoon tea and cakes having literally battle the storm to get to our room which was so nice of them to do that, they need promoting!! Pre dinner drinks in the bar were made by a great barman with a cool ponytail, who provided great service throughout our stay. Dinner on both nights was delicious, cooked to perfection and served by an excellent guy from Turkey. Nice election of wines. Lunch and breakfasts also great and whatever you asked for was cooked to your liking, we will def be back. Outdoor pool was great fun and Spa treatments well priced. Stayed for two nights in Room 25.
I’m a member but haven’t visited for 18 months due to obvious reasons. We arranged a table of 5 for supper on a Tuesday evening to celebrate my daughters 22nd. Nicely busy in the bar and restaurant for midweek. We were completely looked after by brilliant staff, the food was superb in taste, presentation and quality. We had fun and everything worked due to the hard work of the managers, bar and restaurant staff. We were having problems arranging a taxi and once again the manager swung into action to get us home. Brilliant! Thank you for a great evening, will see you again soon.
As a member here I am used to the less than mediocre service but as of recently it has been rather shocking. Groups of staff are around talking, tables are always forgotten. As someone who used to work in the industry, the fact that tables are waiting 30 minutes plus to be greeted and then another 30 minutes to actually have a drink arrive to the table is just ridiculous. Four friends and I were there recently and our starters and most mains came out at the same time with a final pizza coming out late and cold. There was no apology or explanation and the staff often have an attitude when you raise a concern or inevitably flag them over because you have been ignored for a considerable amount of time. I understand that there is a staff shortage in the UK but the service was like this before the pandemic- and they seem to have an abundance of staff members. Considering we all pay to be members, it would be nice if they focused on offering an exceptional guest experience for all. I love the grounds, the bartenders are amazing, the food is usually pretty good but the service needs a massive overhaul.…
Babington House in Frome Somerset is a magical place to say. The surroundings are amazing, the staff are exceptional and the bedrooms are so well thought out and stocked with everything you will need. They are equipped with Dyson hair dryers, GHD hair straighteners and as much Cowshed as you could ever need. My only complaint was the behaviour going on in the outdoor hot tubs. Now I am now a prude but I could hear a couple in the act and the ladies “bobbing breats” were smacking the water and making a very loud noise. I’m all for love making but please be mindful of other staying guests.
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