Handpickedhotels Reviews 

Spa day booked well in advance. Was not cheap…called 7 days in advance to confirm treatment timings (as this had not been communicated at all) and that all was available in terms of facilities. On the day, no mention that the hot tub was closed. Asked reception after I discovered this, only to be told it’s been out of use for over a week? Considering this forms part of a spa day I was less than pleased. Not to mention the facilities are shared with gym members so it was far from serene. Pool very shallow, and little else to use aside from it. Constant splashing of members mucking about. Very disappointed. Treatment was average. Food was good, however menu incredibly unclear. Told to pick a combo of 2 meals, no where did it state must be a main and dessert. Menu choices given in the AM, only to arrive for lunch at our given time and be told need to change menu options to include a desert and remove one of the other choices we had selected. This in turn meant we had to wait 20 minutes, and essentially force the food down so not to be late for treatment. General upkeep of “spa Lounge” left a lot to be desired. Old dirty cups everywhere. Bit of a shambles considering it was almost £200 per person and when you consider what you can get elsewhere for this I feel thoroughly disappointed and wish I had booked somewhere else.

Returned to St Pierre Park hotel having worked there over 30 years ago. Staff were exceptional, service outstanding and food delicious.

Our daughter bought us a dining experience at Crathorne Hotel for our anniversary, it included 3 courses from the A La Carte menu, half a bottle of wine each and coffee.
From the start it was a well run experience, quickly shown to table and seated, our waiter Daniel was attentive and polite from beginning to end, the menu choices were good and we both enjoyed our chosen dishes and wine. The only reason I didn't award 5* was service was a bit slow, Daniel explained the kitchen was busier than expected although restaurant only had 6 tables to serve. This did not spoil our overall experience though, we usually have Sunday Lunch on our visits, always good.

Stanbrook abbey Malvern
Wedding of the year,staff were so helpful,the abbey is amazing,food was first class,would definitely recommend and a big thank you to Gordon and josh

We recently visited the 'not so' 5 star Grand Hotel in Jersy. Bedrooms clean, comfortable excellent. Public areas were very tired, somewhat grubby, control panel in the lift not cleaned in the 5 days we were there. Bar service slow and inaccurate, on 3 occasions the bills were incorrect, of course, not in our favour. The tables were dirty looking, we were told by staff member they use the wrong cleaning product. Morning papers, which they charge for, are collected from the garage round the corner around 11am then delievered, they managed 1 day out of 4 but far to late for a morning read. To cap it all an outside function (corporate party) was hosted by the hotel on one evening, the toilets at the rear of reception, those used by guests in bar and restuarant were disgusting and not cleaned until the following day. This is not what I expect from Handpicked hotels, a disgrace and no way should be rated 5 star.

28/03/2022 my daughter and her fiancé married at Ettington Park Hotel. The hotel, staff and grounds wowed us and everyone in attendance. No small detail was left to chance. The easy way in which all the preparations were handled culminated into a beautiful relaxed environment for everyone to enjoy. Georgie you were outstanding, Dan a huge thank you for your easy charm, Carl (general manager) your guidence was gentle unobtrusive and much appreciated. Thank you to the chef, guests were impressed by the food, the presentation, quality was outstanding. The waiting staff went above and beyond to ensure all guests were happy. Thank you to the night porter for looking after the stragglers, you ensured there safety for which us oldies appreciated. A superb hotel with outstanding staff and there are people I have not named who also deserve recognition.
My sincere thanks for a wonderful memory.

Leaving a review after repeatedly receiving a substandard level of customer service. Currently trying to re-arrange a date for a Spa Treatment that was gifted to us after our first bad experience, only to find that the voucher is due to expire, rather than just extending and giving us a new date I'm having to ring around the houses while no one from Handpicked is willing to make a decision.

Buxted Park Hotel
Attended wedding here. Everything about the day was excellent. Food, service excellent. Slight issue with draughty doors onto terrace but only class that as slight impact. One other issue with room supplement being charged twice but staff sorted this before we departed with refund.

Due to Covid, the acid test of any company in the hospitality industry is how they deal with refunds. Like many others I was kept waiting for months for refunds last year.
We made a reservation through Hand Picked Hotels but unfortunately had to cancel. I telephoned on a Sunday and the call was answered immediately by a very friendly & helpful young lady. The booking was cancelled and the refund received within 2 days.
I will not hesitate to use Hand Picked Hotels again

Another fabulous time at Stanbrook Abbey in Malvern We have been ever since the hotel opened and during that time we have always experienced amazing customer service from every member of staff we have encountered. A special mention to Bob at breakfast and Joshie in George’s bar. Looking forward to our next break at Bailbrook House another hand picked gem

Had an exclusive wedding at Chilston park and everything was perfect, no faults at all.

Always stay at the heron suite at Rhinefield house and George V room at Buxton Park which are perfect for the children, always a joy.

Staff always take the time to say hello and fuss over the children. Dinner is always faultless. We had a problem once at nutfield priory but it was resolved above expectation.

Only ever had 2 issues with stays and both times offered a free stay with dinner no questions asked.

Reinfeild house hotel -
Yesterday we had a lunch booked for alfresco dinning.
It was part of a wedding shower and took us over an hour to get there, for us to then get turned away as they had nothing in place incase of rain. We called the hotel multiple times right up until we left on the travel up there with no answer.
We were not contacted once to let know it would be canceled even though they had our contact number and email address.
They even lied and said they had tried to contact us when they didn't at all.
Completely ruined our day and celebration if we had been contacted in advance we would have had time to sort something else out but no Communication was made at all.
All left disappointed and the bride to be extremely upset.

I was gifted a voucher in dec 2019 just before the pandemic hit and we went into lockdown. Between then and now I lost my voucher. Couldn’t find an email receipt or anything-only had the credit card receipt.
Contacted handpicked hotels and has a reply the next day also saying they couldn’t find an email. I gave them my postal address and a couple of hours later I had a copy of the voucher extended to Oct 2021.

Huge shout out to Catherine who went above and beyond and I very much look forward to using the voucher once restrictions are lifted!

I booked and paid for a Saturday night stay at this hotel in July to attend a wedding locally, I live over 200 miles away.
The wedding was cancelled and the hotel closed due to the pandemic.
There was general confusion following the reopening and I was given an option or rebooking within a specified period. I have tried to rebook but have been told I have to pay an additional £100, on top of the £203.15 I have already paid, if I want to stay for one night.
They tell me I am not allowed my money back and they can just change the nightly rate at a whim in order to recoup some of their costs.
This is an outrageous amount of money for a one night stay in the middle of Northamptonshire.
Disgusting!

New Hall Hotel & Spa,




We celebrated our wedding at New Hall hotel on 30/08/20. Fortunately, everything went as planned and Steph and Hermione were great hosts on the day.




The main issue we had was the build-up and preparation prior to the day. There was no designated Wedding co-ordinator. We were passed from pillar to post, with correspondence via email. We had requested to test the music in advance and were told there were not enough staff in to enable us to do this. We understand the situation with Covid19, however responses to our queries via email were extremely slow and we found ourselves constantly ringing the hotel for an update.





We decided to take matters in our own hands and even reserved an evening meal prior to the wedding to see what service and the facilities were like. Only then did we have an opportunity to test our wedding music. When we had dinner at the hotel the service was very slow and the staff seemed overwhelmed. We could see other diners' experiencing issues as well. We had enough and did not stay for dessert and paid the bill at the earliest opportunity. We ended up ordering desert from UberEats in the car park.

Considering the stature of hotel, we though the food would have been amazing, especially for the price as well. However, it was below par and we found it very bland. We were glad we didn't decide to have our reception dinner at Newhall.




On the actual wedding day, Steph and Hermione co-ordinated everything as planned. They ensured that we did not see each other prior to the ceremony. They guided us as to where we could take photos on the day. The main issue our guests had was with the drinks service on the terrace. The service again was extremely slow. One of our guests had to wait for over thirty minutes to get a glass of water. Given that a wedding was booked on that day, one would expect the venue to be prepared for our guests to want to order drinks and be appropriately staffed to manage this.




We wanted to share our comments as we think there is opportunity to improve. It is an amazing venue and aesthetically pleasing with scenic areas but there are just a few aspects that could be improved upon.

Amil and Sureena

Booked a stay at Rookery Hall Hotel and Spa, booked back in January for a 3 day winter break... deal was no changes or cancellations and it was expensive... In the interim in rolls our named storms. I asked if it was possible to move the break by one day as the travel day was an amber warning for our area... No was the answer use it or lose it. We travelled down and asked if we could have our evening meal at 7:30, they asked if we could make it 7:45 we agreed. We did not get seated till an hour later and did not get served until 9:15. They then had no clue as to what meal plan we were on and did not serve the full range of dishes we had booked. Breakfast was the same, delays getting seated and slow service. The General Manager phoned our room to apologize and said that the next dinner would be sorted and he would see to it personally. It wasn't... similar problems. It's a shame cause the room we booked was a suite and was really special. The staff are lovely, housekeeping were amazing and really friendly. The location is wonderful and Hotel building is really special. Parking is poor and there is only one disabled parking slot at the front of the hotel. Drinks prices are expensive but the barmaid was excellent and very hard working covering both bar and drink delivery to the tables. Hard to see where the problem lies but the restaurant is not functioning as it should. The General Manager did discount our bill in response to our concerns.

Spa day wasted!
The day before our spa day I can down with the Nora Virus and was sick all night. The following morning I called and asked if we could move the reservation along but was told I come either come to the spa ill or cancel and lost the voucher. This level of customer service is terrible and I will NEVER being using them again. I believe there are circumstances were life gets in the way and they should be dealt with by have a little compassion not greed! I understand they have policies. However, kindest and good customer service goes a long way. In this case, they have lost a customer who would have returned and spent more money. Now, I will avoid there service completely. Well done handpicked hotel, you lost another customer due to absolutely disgusting customer service!

We had our wedding here in May, the hotel venue is very nice but i would say if you are thinking about booking a wedding be mindful of the persons who organise it, they made us feel uncomfortable when visiting to the point of being awkward, they hide lots of costs, and dont be fooled into agreeing to book out 11 rooms as part of the deal, ensure water is included and not an extra, ensure you have external as aprt of the package and not an extra, i would say for the amount of money we paid out we could have gone elsewhere for half that and still had an amazing day, our wedding was great but its the method in which they adopt during the process of booking and leading up to, the staff on the ground are amazing but the organisers not so much.

Stayed in LHorizon Hotel, St Brelades, Jersey for the 3rd time and still as happy as the first visit. Accommodation was excellent, very clean, excellent food and really friendly staff. Jersey is a firm favourite of mines and the hotel really does support that and is an asset to the island.

I have stayed in 2 of these hotels and both have been great experiences (Woodlands Park nr Cobham and Rhinefield House in the New Forest). We had a family room at Woodlands Park which was really spacious - plenty of room for 4 of us unlike so many family rooms we've stayed in.
Lovely breakfast too...