Petwood Hotel

My Daughter and Her Partner came with me for lunch today, a lovely treat. The food was delicious, and the staff stayed pleasant even though they seemed overworked because of a wedding reception. We enjoyed walking around the gardens and seeing the interesting display in the "Officers Mess". I’ll definitely come back, and this time it was my treat.

The breakfast was disappointing on the first morning, served lukewarm, though it was much better the next day. I also didn’t like being offered an upgrade by bidding. The hotel isn’t cheap, and that way of offering upgrades felt unfair. Our small double was clean and comfortable, with everything needed for a short stay, though it looked over the car park. The building itself is beautiful, full of charm and history. My salad was let down by a very strong English mustard dressing, despite the menu saying Mediterranean dressing. I mentioned that to the waiter.

We had a family meal for about 20 people, and both the service and food were excellent. The staff were friendly and helpful. Afterwards we walked around the extensive, beautifully kept grounds of this lovely, huge hotel. Woodhall Spa was the Dam Busters base, and there’s a prototype bouncing bomb on display. The large car park is free, too. We’ll definitely return.

The hotel itself is beautiful, the staff were really lovely to talk to, and breakfast was very good. But the stay at the Petwood was overshadowed by an aggressive shooting and hunting group of men. I’d told the hotel when booking that we were celebrating my mum’s 70th birthday, that we were vegetarian for breakfast, and that my aunt and uncle would also be staying. I wish they’d warned us about this group. We would have stayed elsewhere. We’re local, and chose this hotel because my mum spends a lot of time there. I feel I’ve spoiled one of her favourite places, and our memories of her birthday have been clouded. The men were rude, most didn’t speak English, and I was pushed past in the corridors. The bars and public areas were full of them showing videos and photos of their kills. Staff had to listen to their stories, finger clicking and orders to the women as if they were slaves. It got so loud, aggressive and upsetting that we took our party to our room. Later, the men shouted on their way to bed, and again from 6am. In the morning they marched around with rifles, and I saw one woman very upset by it. We were told the group comes every January and is always like this. The hotel should consider putting them in another section and adding more staff to serve them, as there are so many rooms. The poor women at the bar really suffered that night. I’m sure the hunters bring in good income, but the hotel should have taken our plans into account.