De Vere Cotswold Water Park

The room looked clean at first, but there were things that had been missed: blue and green chemical residue in the toilet, stained curtains, no toiletries and no iron. The hotel also didn’t look like the online photos. The outside and entrance were poorly lit, the parking signs were unclear, the available parking was farther away than I expected, and there was no electric charging point. Reception were courteous, and checking in around 9pm was straightforward. I asked about a late checkout as a goodwill gesture and was told it would cost £15 per hour, which felt excessive in the circumstances. There seem to be several extra charges that quickly add to the bill. The stay didn’t meet my expectations or match what was advertised online.

For dinner, we were put at a tiny table with no room for our water and wine glasses, bottle and two plates. We asked to move, and the waitress watched while we made several trips between tables. After an hour and a half, another waitress said they needed the table back and handed me the bill. There were plenty of clean tables, but fine. She returned with the card reader less than a minute later, before I’d even looked at the bill. It felt rushed and awkward. Breakfast wasn’t better: every unoccupied table was dirty, so we had to clear ours and find our own cutlery. We’d booked for my birthday because we wanted to use the spa and walk around the lakes the next day. The main restaurant wasn’t available when we booked, so we reserved the boat house for 7pm. We arrived at 3 and went straight to the spa, only to be told we couldn’t use it without booking a treatment. The receptionist pointed to the nearly empty pool on the video feed and said other guests were in treatments and might use it afterwards. We stood there awkwardly holding our swimsuits, feeling embarrassed by the way she spoke to us, as if we should have known. They offered a 7pm or early morning slot, neither suited a romantic birthday. We were told we could have booked a slot, but there was nothing about this online, and the hotel receptionist hadn’t mentioned it at check-in. The spa was the main reason we came, so we were very disappointed. The hotel receptionist offered us a free drink to make up for it, but the bar had no stouts, porters or dark beers, which are my personal preference and something I’d usually expect in a bar. Disappointing.

The nicest part was breakfast and the spacious, clean, relaxing surroundings. The breakfast greeter was polite, too. There was a good range of fresh bread and a standard hot English breakfast, decent rather than amazing, plus a decent coffee machine. When it got busy around 8:30-9:00, though, staff weren’t clearing plates. The room was a real letdown. I’d booked an upgraded lake room for my partner’s birthday after seeing the lovely big room, lake view and balcony with chairs and a table online. What we got was a small, basic double with windows, nothing like the pictures and nowhere near a four-star room. There wasn’t even a bottle of water, just tea bags and a kettle, and the bathroom was tiny. They didn’t put a birthday cake in the room, even though I offered to pay. Other hotels have decorated a room with a lovely cake for us. Shame about that. We were first greeted by a receptionist on arrival and told our room wasn’t ready because we were early; we didn’t mind, and got coffee at the bar while we waited, though a small cup was overpriced. The gym was disgustingly hot and impossible to train in. It had a fan, but it didn’t help, and there wasn’t much equipment, though it was okay for a hotel gym. Lunch and dinner were very poor and far too expensive. The chicken wings were overcooked and burnt, and the small pieces were awful. The burger was the worst, very dry and made with fake meat, not real beef. The food was so bad we ordered Uber Eats. The area itself is beautiful, but the hotel needs some upgrading, especially for the price. Don’t bother eating at the hotel restaurants. There’s a nice cafe next door called getaway cafe, with bigger portions at the same price. I’d recommend it. One star for breakfast and one for a few of the staff.

We spent three nights here for my husband’s birthday and had a stunning double deluxe room, clean, spacious and with an amazing balcony. The staff were all friendly and helpful, and breakfast was fresh, plentiful and perfect. There’s plenty of free parking. We went to Boathouse, but the food was overpriced and there was no atmosphere. We preferred the hotel bar food, which was good and a lot cheaper. It’s a great base for exploring the Cotswolds and local area.