De Vere Tortworth Court

The restaurant service was excellent. The head waiter kept the tea and drinks coming, and we were never rushed to leave. We met the rest of the family on the terrace after a lovely afternoon tea in the Atrium bar. It was a beautiful setting for celebrating Mum’s 80th with 20 of us, and I was able to decorate the table before everyone arrived. A couple of small things could have been better: my emails the week before went unanswered, so I had to call reception to finalise things. One afternoon tea was missing its macaroons, and the ham sandwich could have used more mustard. Still, we had a wonderful afternoon.

The rooms were a real letdown. They looked much smaller and more dated than the online photos, and they weren’t clean. There was a musty smell throughout, especially in the lift. We stayed from 27-29 May 2026 for my birthday, but checked out a day early and don’t expect to return anytime soon. The worst part was the heatwave. There’s no air conditioning, and the fan they gave us was covered in dust. It had no remote, so we couldn’t adjust the settings, and it barely cooled the room. The windows only opened about two inches, so the room became unbearable. Then there was a power cut lasting hours during the evening. The fan stopped, and when we wanted cold water there was no water at all. For several hours, around 2am-5am, we had no power, fan or water. It was at least 3 degrees in the room. With no lights, going to reception didn’t feel safe. My husband and I got about two hours of sleep, hardly the relaxing break we wanted. Staff never acknowledged the outage. There wasn’t even an email or a note when the room was cleaned. When we left a day early, a staff member in the reception queue asked for our key and said they would check us out. Nobody asked whether we’d had a nice stay. The grounds and building are gorgeous, and the atrium bar is nice. But my Greek salad order, without chicken, falafel or another extra, was refused unless I chose a topping. What arrived was basically a whole cucumber and some falafel for over £20. Staff were also hoovering around us while we ate, which spoiled the meal. Save your money and book somewhere else, especially in summer. I can’t imagine there’s much to do in winter either, since the grounds and terrace bar were the nicest parts.

We had a lovely afternoon tea for my Mum’s 70th, and our suite was comfortable and lovely too. Sam at reception was incredibly helpful, and service in the atrium bar was great, with a fantastic gin menu. Breakfast was varied and delicious. A fabulous experience, and we’ll definitely return. Highly recommended.

The shared spaces were kept in good order, and the staff were helpful and friendly. We enjoyed breakfast, the bistro and cocktails in the library room. There were lots of free parking spaces, and the Penhalingon's products in the bathrooms were a nice touch. The mansion is beautiful and distinctive, surrounded by nature, and over 170 years old. We used it as a base for visiting the Cotswolds, with the main villages around a 40 minute to one hour drive away. We stayed three nights in a standard room. It was comfortable and a decent size, but felt quite old, so I’d suggest upgrading to a more premium room. The bathroom needs maintenance: its separate hot and cold taps made the sink very impractical. We could hear every footstep and conversation from other guests because the old rooms aren’t soundproof. There was no fridge, bathrobe or spa slippers in the room. The spa was disappointing too. The main pool was cold, and the only jacuzzi was too small and always crowded. Even so, I’m happy with the experience and would come back for such a unique, beautiful location.