TILLINGHAM

We started at Tillingham with a vineyard tour and tasting. Our guide was friendly and knew a lot. Then we stayed overnight with dinner included, followed by a wonderful breakfast. We had a fantastic time and are already making plans to come back!

We stayed overnight with dinner and breakfast, and added a wine tour. Seb was very involved in the production process, which made it the most informative wine tour I’ve been on. The wines were interesting and refreshing, and dinner was very good, made with fresh, local ingredients.

The grounds are beautiful, but the stay felt overpriced. The place is attractive in style, yet worn and dirty in places. It seemed as though the attention stopped after the initial design: management didn’t appear to have a firm handle on operations or the details. Booking was a hassle. Online room descriptions weren’t clear, and after booking two rooms, the confirmation only showed one. Reception said that was an error. I tried to reserve the upstairs restaurant for our evening, but could only request a spot in case one opened. I called and Neil told me it wouldn’t be open that day, but said the downstairs bar served pie and assured me there was hearty food, so I booked there. I also booked the wine tour, then got an email the next day saying thanks for coming and offering 10% off a future visit. Reception said that message was an error too. At check-in, Neil asked if we wanted to move our 7pm dinner reservation earlier, though we hadn’t asked to change it. When we declined, he said last orders were at 7, so we felt we had to move it. Online, later bookings had been available. The 4pm wine tour was informative and the wine tasted good, but £40 per person for four small pours didn’t feel worth it. I’ve done many vineyard tours and never paid that much elsewhere, and overnight guests get no discount. After the tour I spotted a leaflet about bar happy hour that nobody had mentioned. We had to ask staff about it to use it. Our party of three ordered food around 5:10pm, before our reservation, and was told there was only one pie left. The bar menu had only pie, salad, soup or cheese. We shared the last pie; there appeared to be two other couples staying at the vineyard and eating in the bar, with just three pies available for the night. Staff said an unexpected rush the previous evening had taken all the pies. You’d think management would have kept enough for hotel guests the next day. The pie was more like a small stew with a pastry disc on top and a tiny side of mashed potato, for £21.50. The food was overpriced in general, including what I think was £6 for half a palmful of nuts. Neil came over at 7:40pm to announce the kitchen’s last orders, so it turned out there was no need for us to move our reservation earlier. The bar games were missing pieces and instructions, so we couldn’t play them. There were colouring sheets and pencils, but every pencil was broken or too blunt to use, and there was no sharpener. Breakfast upstairs was nicely presented, but the toast was stale, and the meats weren’t cooked to order and arrived cold. The restaurant smelled like dirty mop water, and the utensils and glasses weren’t clean. We booked two rooms, including a Deluxe King Room with a bath. You can’t choose which deluxe room you’ll get, and the only booking photo showed a roll-top bath, which ours didn’t have. The bath we did get was dirty, with pubic and long hairs on it. Its wooden edges were worn and warped. It took 50 minutes to fill, and the plug didn’t seal properly, so water kept draining and we couldn’t take a proper bath. The decor was beautiful, but the room was rough around the edges: warped skirting boards and doors, marks and smears on the walls, and visible debris in the corners. It needs a deep clean and redecoration. Our room had a deck with a fire pit and kindling, but nobody told us at check-in. The mugs and spoons were visibly dirty, and there were no dental kits.

We only had a night, but managed the wine tour and tasting, dinner in the restaurant and a very peaceful stay. The room was beautiful, had everything we needed, and looked out over sheep grazing among the vines. It was quiet, probably because of the time of year, and even though there seemed to be as many staff as guests, nobody made us feel like a bother. That included when we ordered yet another drink late at the bar. Cheers, Aaron. They emailed around 10am to say our room was ready, even though check-in was at 3pm. Arriving a couple of hours early was a thoughtful touch. Seb led the tour and tasting and was a 10 out of 10. He talked us through everything we wanted to know, patiently answered dozens of questions, even the odd silly one, and spent longer with us than he had to. Absolute legend. Dinner was fantastic, with excellent service from Jess, I think, and apologies if I’ve got that wrong. The food was brilliant: the best scallops I’ve ever had, tender enough to cut with a butter knife, and both the burger and halibut were very good. Nothing to fault.