Ashorne Hill Leamington Spa

The main building and grounds look grand, and the online photos suggest a much better standard than we actually found. My room in the quad felt like an old school boarding room or university dorm, and it was uncomfortably hot. There were also a few dead flies in the light fitting. The restaurant was closed, apparently for conference attendees during the day, but that wasn't made clear when I booked. The food choices were okay, though the pizza I ordered turned out to be a basic frozen Chicago Town one. A disappointing stay.

Ashorne Hill worked really well for a company gathering, especially an annual getaway. They can host meetings, conferences and events, with rooms for overnight stays or longer. The venue is beautiful, the food was exquisite, and the service was 5-star.

This place was brilliant for a work gathering. There are lovely walks, spectacular sunsets and lots of little spots to tuck yourself away. Staff were helpful without hovering, and the food was beautiful. There's space for all sorts of needs. I saw the disabled room and the vet suit, which seemed very thoughtfully set up, with a wheelchair-sized walk-in shower, a bath with a lift and a Japanese toilet with bidet. The gym and sauna are there too. It takes about 20 mins for the sauna to warm up, and although you book it for an hour, the sauna card only stays active for 30 mins. Keep that in mind so you don't lock yourself out and have to run back to reception to get it activated again, cutting your visit short. My main gripes were the extremely narrow shower and the pillows. I travel a lot and sometimes bring my own pillow, but hadn't this time, and I didn't sleep as well. Otherwise, I really enjoyed my stay. I'm mostly a herbal tea drinker, so I was pleased to find a wide selection. Also ask the barmen about happy hour if you fancy a sneaky cocktail. I took photos of the surroundings since there are already plenty of pictures of the buildings. I also came away with a couple of ideas to borrow for my garden and house.

I gave it two stars: one for the location and the appeal of the original building, and one for a nice room. But there was no information in the room about local attractions or restaurants, and no bar or restaurant menu either. We booked through Expedia for one night, breakfast and a double room for 2guests. At check-in we were asked for another £30.00 for the second guest. When I queried it as we left, I was told we'd booked for one person. Expedia automatically enters 2 guests and 1 room, so I hadn't expected to pay again. We decided to eat at the restaurant, and since I'm pescatarian I asked for a menu. There was nobody around to ask, and we waited ages. When someone finally appeared, they told me the restaurant was closed that night for a private function. It would've been nice to know at check-in. The one good thing was breakfast at 7am, still hot when we were the first ones there.