Littlecote House

The entertainment was professional and exactly what we came for, so it didn't disappoint. We also ate really well, with excellent food and plenty of choice. The setting is beautiful, and the historic stately house is open to explore for free. The bedroom felt a bit tired and wasn't as clean as it should have been. It was a pricey weekend break, and I found the bar charges high.

There was plenty to choose from at both breakfast and dinner, and the staff were friendly and very helpful. You can fill your days with a packed schedule or just take it easy. I loved Littlecote. The grounds are stunning, and the rooms were clean with tea and coffee facilities. It's a wonderful place to visit.

The main frustration was the gin tasting. It was cancelled because not enough people had booked, which I can understand, but nobody told us and the staff seemed unaware of it. After several trips back and forth, the manager confirmed the cancellation and said the prepaid amount would be taken off our bill. It wasn't removed when we checked out, and reception again knew nothing about it. We left after being promised it would be deducted, but it still hadn't been when we got home and checked. Now we'll have to claim it back through a long, drawn-out process. Reception doesn't seem to be kept in the loop, and the common areas are looking tired and could do with an uplift. That's why I gave three stars. There are good things here too. The audio tour of the historically interesting house is worth doing, concise and to the point. It mentions that it's England's third most haunted house, among other things. The entertainment was excellent, with great sound and integrated visuals. The food was very good, especially breakfast, and the bar staff were good as well. The Roman mosaic was being reroofed during our visit, but it looked worth seeing.

The swimming pool was lovely, and the staff worked hard. The setting feels like a little bit of heaven, with beautiful surroundings and loud birdsong. The walled garden was well stocked with perennials but needed weeding, and I imagine the place needs quite a lot of maintenance. We stayed four nights in the William of Orange room. It had a very comfortable four-poster bed and a roomy en suite. It was clean apart from a few carpet marks that looked like spilled drink. Our view was over the front drive, with woods beyond. The entertainment was good, though I would have liked more variety than female singers every night. The Warner company were excellent all-round entertainers.