Ashdown Park Hotel And Country Club, John Haywood

We went here for afternoon tea as a birthday treat for my wife. The grounds are beautiful and the decor is impressive, but the afternoon tea was extremely disappointing. It was ~£100 for two people and definitely not worth the price. The staff were friendly, but not attentive. It was ~45 minutes before we got the afternoon tea. The menu was old, tatty, and had spelling and grammatical errors (not really presenting that luxury vibe). But the unforgivable thing was that all of the scones were RAW in the middle; stringy, uncooked dough. We mentioned this and they said sorry, and offered replacements, but the mood was killed, as these are usually our favourite, so we saved these for the end. This was also a birthday treat (as mentioned above), and halfway through, we could see the table next to us receiving a 'birthday plate'. They looked perplexed, but accepted it. Clearly this was meant for us, showing additional lack of attention. Sloppy

My girlfriend and I stayed here for a short getaway, but unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired. When we arrived, we were placed in a room that was uncomfortably hot. We later discovered it was Room 97 — apparently where all the building’s pipework runs through — which explained the extreme heat. The provided fan was ineffective, and the room lacked proper ventilation. The extractor in the bathroom didn’t work, and the shower was stained. We had an absolutely terrible night’s sleep, which set the tone for the trip. That evening, we dined at the on-site Forest Brasserie. Reception assured us that arriving at 7 PM — their closing time — would not result in us being rushed. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Despite the restaurant being empty, we were hurried through our meal from start to finish. The waitress kept checking if we were finished while we were still eating, and our main courses — bland and very disappointing — were brought out the moment our starters were cleared. The meal was so poorly prepared that it made my girlfriend ill. After explaining the situation to reception the next morning, we were moved to a new room with air conditioning for our final night. While this was a step in the right direction, it did little to make up for the initial discomfort and poor hospitality — Room 97 should not be used for guests at all. On a more positive note, the hotel is set in beautiful grounds, and a few staff members really stood out: Paul, who kindly helped with our bags and gave us an insightful overview of the hotel’s history, and Jamie, the concierge, who recommended a wonderful local restaurant that made up for the prior night’s dinner disaster. While there were some redeeming qualities, the overall experience was disappointing, and we would not return.