The Ashdown Park Hotel exceeded my expectations in terms of customer service. I traveled with a…read moredisabled friend, and the concierges went out of their way to ensure she was able to travel the grounds as needed. We were given a beautiful ground floor suite that included a large jacuzzi bathtub. The dinner restaurant was a bit fancy so we opted for room service, ordering the hamburger option. Our meals were wonderful, and they included perfectly crisp French fries. The price was reasonable. For relaxation, we made our way over to the calming spa area and swam in the indoor pool. We met lovely guests and had a fantastic day. The jacuzzi was small though, only holding four to six comfortably. Early morning I strolled through the stunning property and located the secret garden. Making my way through the black and golden gate, I was greeted with a rainbow arching over the mossy fountain. I sat for a few minutes of solitude. Vibrant, interesting stained glass windows and arches can be found all over the property. We were told the property was a converted convent. Downside, the rooms are old and the one we stayed in did not have air conditioning. Perhaps some rooms do have it. They did provide a fan and with our open windows, we were comfortable. I would definitely recommend this hotel and would stay here again. Special thanks to Paul and Paul, our concierges.

A well presented hotel in a stunning location. We were…read morestaying for 2 nights due my sister getting married there. On the first night I was dissapointed when the head waiter had a hissy fit when we turned up for dinner without a dinner jacket. Considering the price we were paying I felt this was slightly unreasonable.

This was my first time staying at one of these old estates that has been turned into a hotel. I…read moresuppose, I had a different idea of what would be offered as far as accommodation and food goes. This review is for both the hotel and the restaurant. There's no doubt, this is definitely old school. Burberry during the day, suit coat at night. The grounds and gardens are quite beautiful - we absolutely LOVED the secret garden and spent a good hour in there, by our selves, with our baby girl. The location was exactly what we wanted: relaxing, close proximity to the Six Sisters, country pubs and Gatwick, blah blah blah. But it was expensive. For $350 a night, I expected first class and UPDATED accommodation. No. Not at all. We not in the main historic part of the hotel, which is kind of the point of staying here, isn't it? But we were "upgraded" to a suite (read weird evergreen carpet, outdated furniture and bedding, large bathroom with outdated everything). I will say that they were very clean, turn down service was great with warm cookies and juice, and they even provided a pack & play for our baby which we hadn't requested. The complimentary breakfast was fantastic, with hot and cold offerings. But the service people are completely inexperienced. Dinner, which was darn expensive, was a total mess. We had the Chateaubriand for two, and it had clearly been precooked and heated up in the microwave - served with accompaniments that were cold. The only saving grace was the drinks we had before dinner - the barman was fantastic and the cocktail inventions were all fantastic. OH, and I can't leave out the best part of this stay...we had arranged a babysitter through the hotel...JULIA, you are amazing. She was like Mary Poppins, but better. The only other comment I'll make is that the spa was lacking. They had sent me a confirmation of my booking, but then put the reservation in their system for the wrong time. So I obviously missed my appointment. Then the offered me a free 30 minute service, and told me the wrong time for that as well!! Luckily, they have a very nice indoor pool that we were able to take the baby into, which was very nice on a cold summer day. (They did eventually get me a free 30 minute massage, which was marginal, but fine for the price). Overall, the hotel is nice, but don't bother eating here.

I have had the opportunity to stay at the Ashdown Park Hotel 3 times over the last few years. The…read moreservice rendered by the staff here is superb. Every staff I encountered were more than willing to assist me with anything I needed. They also have excellent manners and are very accommodating with some of the uncommon requests that I had for my party. The complimentary breakfast is awesome, their tea and scones are some of the best I have ever had, the grounds are amazing to take walks in, daily you see a number of deer on the grounds, the lounges off the lobby are great to sit in with friends and have tea, especially near the big fireplaces. The Ashdown is an old and historic building and that's the feel of it when you go there. And though your hotel room may not be modern looking, it is a more old style feeling, but all of the bathrooms are new and very nice. There is also Wi-fi all over the building. It you are staying in the English countryside, this is a great place to stay.

Jolly Good Time It's…read morebeen a while since our memorable visit, but I'm writing this review of GRAVETYE MANOR in the memory of my mother who passed away just three months ago. Having her own colorful English-style gardens in suburban America for most of her life---on a much MUCH smaller scale, of course---and being an exceptional cook--- Gravetye was one of the particularly wonderful highlights of our road trip. That, and seeing the Queen. (Later, below.) It was while looking through my photos of England and Scotland, that I came across those that I'd taken of our visit to Gravetye. Wondering if there might be reviews of this country estate from anyone on Yelp, I found not even one. The "press" link on their site showed several accolades from a number of publications, so I decided to write one, too. I'm sure that this magnificent manor is well-known throughout the U.K., but by probably only a handful of visitors from across the pond. Gravetye deserved a least a single Yelp mention from a smitten Yankee. Our schedule that day was to arrive before nightfall at a destination further south, but heading down the M23 I spotted a highway sign reading that the East Grinstead exit was just ahead. That name rang a bell. Quickly scanning my notes, sure enough, it was where Gravetye Manor was located. "Anyone ready to eat?" My husband and my parents were all enthusiastically in favor. "Well, be prepared for one heck of a meal. Turn off here." (I wasn't driving. Yikes, no !) Traveling plans included 4 to 8 points of interest to visit each day on a leisurely, un-rushed day-time road tour. I also noted little side-trips, and only if it might fit into our schedule, would we detour. Gravetye Manor was one of those. (Per Gourmet magazine it was one of the finest country inns/restaurants in Great Britain and Europe. This would be one unforgettable experience. It was.) Taking country roads, we arrived at the entry. Like driving through a park, with lawns, trees and shrubs lining the winding drive, after half of a mile the circa 1598 manor comes into full view. This is one old house. Already decently attired---but for comfortable road touring---we hoped we'd pass inspection. Greeted with approving smiles--whew---we were graciously welcomed and led into a spacious wood-paneled, vaulted-ceiling dining room. Every course was perfectly prepared and perfectly delectable---starters, salads, and entrees of two beef, one chicken, and one rabbit. (Not me. I'll never eat bunnies.) And desserts? Almost too beautiful to eat. But, of course, we did. And the wines were excellent recommendations. Something that we'd never experienced before, however, but one that left a delightfully lasting impression, was the line of probably eight white-shirted and black-slacked or skirted servers standing along the wall near our table. Quiet as church mice, facing straight ahead and about a foot apart with hands behind their backs, at-the-ready and providing anything needed for luncheon guests at the seven or eight white linen-covered tables. I couldn't help but imagine that this is what it must feel like to be an aristocrat or a royal, famished---and ready to dig in---after a morning of polo matches (ah, yes), or a hunt (uh, never). The manor, the food, the gardens, the lush inviting grounds---all spectacular and highly recommended. To stay here is a bit pricey, however, so having had previously arranged and paid for accomodations elsewhere, we saved ourselves a quid or two. (tee-hee) Now, on to the Queen. (And Queen Mum, too.) There we were---like typical tourists doing what typical tourists are obliged to do---waiting to observe the "changing of the guard" at Buckingham Palace. ...wait... Is this part of it? Two 1940-ish shiny tone-on-tone gray luxury motorcars---each one nearly as long as a schoolbus---pulled into the courtyard and drove slowly along the wrought iron fencing, past the crowd of us commoners. Crikey! HRH waving from the window. Mum, too, from the car just behind. Unprepared, I quickly snapped a few pictures. But because this ceremony "bonus" was a total surprise---and I hadn't set my camera for closer shots---I could only hope they'd turn out. Not. All out-of-focus. WE know who these obscured images are, but to anyone else looking at these photos, they could be just two blurry-faced British ladies in big fancy hats. Oh, well . . .

Had a great lunch here in the restaurant today. The gardens are looking beautiful as the spring…read moreweather has finally turned up. I think the quality of the food is getting better and the new owner continues to put his heart into the business.

Stayed here some 50 years ago and wondered if it had changed. Reception was swift and friendly…read more While booking in I looked around, it hadn't changed other than, I noticed, a long bar had gone. However there was the original bar in the lounge area. The room too, hadn't changed. Everything you would need including hair dryer, ironing board and iron (my partner loved that LOL), flat screen TV, telephone, tea/coffee making. Comfy bed with plenty of pillows. Bathroom a decent size with shower over the bath. Breakfast was brilliant. Again, everything you could want. From cold continental breakfast to a full range of cooked repast. Most of the staff are Eastern European and extremely hard working and very friendly. For its price this hotel was a good deal. OK, downside. It needs a makeover. Very old and tired. As I said, I remember it from half a century ago and it hadn't changed. Light in the room not working so quite dark. Toilet difficult to flush. But, repeat, a good deal.

I had a bit of an unfortunate stay at the Felbridge hotel. We had booked the overnight spa trip for…read more£238. We arrived at the hotel and upon entry we were greeted by a clean, well laid out reception and a smiley receptionist. We booked in and were given brief directions to our room, but we did have the offer of help with our bags, which I think is an improvement after reading some older reviews. We got to our superior double room and couldn't see a thing, so we fumbled for the light switches, which did nothing. Then for the lamps, which also didn't switch on. My other half found the phone with the light from his mobile and phoned reception, who told us we need to put our room key in the slot near the door to switch on the electricity. It ruined our first impression of the room a tad that they forgot to tell us this when we checked in. We had a peek out the window to a terrible view of a huge hedge and some wood construction materials in an alleyway. We did our room check and when opening the wardrobe we were horrified to find a grotty pair of socks on the shelf from a previous customer. I'm still haunted by the image now. I think the housekeeper was rather distracted when they got to our room as the bin was also full of coffee and empty packets, and a glob of hair. We had massages booked for 4pm and we went down 20 mins early. We had robes and slippers with the room (My other half had one with a yellow stain on the shoulders/collar which made him uneasy) and were able to wear them down to the spa. We got there before quarter to and filled out the health forms. When we handed them in we were told to wait for the therapists. They arrived just after 4 and we were confused as to why they were introducing themselves to us individually, then we were incredibly disappointed to discover they don't have double massage rooms so we were in separate rooms. I was so miserable and really not relaxed, as we usually hold hands when we receive massages (I know, soppy fools). The therapist was a lovely lady, she was very calm and asked me if there were any specific points of tension. The actual massage was really painful (She said I was really knotted) and I wish I spoke up and said something as I felt quite a lot of pain the following day too. Afterwards we went in to the pool area and relaxed in the jacuzzi for a while. It was a lovely layout in the pool area and the jacuzzi was larger than that of of other hotels. I was rather disappointed to see that you only get 1 hour of free internet when you plug your laptop in on the room desk. I think it was £6 per hour after that. The food menu and room service was a bit too posh for us, we're a bit of a McDonalds couple. I genuinely take my hat off to the manager; Carl. He dealt with our complaints well particularly as after all of it plus back ache from the massage, I was rather upset. He offered us an alternative room should we decide to stay, and met us directly to personally apologise when we decided to go home. He refunded our money and called my Fiancé the day up to ensure we got home okay and were feeling better. Because of the service I find myself wanting to try and exaggerate the positive points of our stay, which is a change for me. The customer service we received during our short time is second to none, and is the reason for me leaving a more positive than usual review. I wouldn't discourage anyone visiting the hotel, as I know our negative experiences are rare. And we'll most likely be back for the £15 a day spa passes!

Haven't used hotel but the spa is not what I call 4 star for a 4 star hotel…read more Dirty Broken lights hanging off the wall Pool always had problems with water Changing room was meant to supply bath mats but never was any

Beautiful and unique venue with gardens, lake etc. Popular for weddings, with good reason. Good…read morefood, staff and bars. Rooms available. Only open when function taking place (it's not a pub/restaurant).

Wanted to give a detailed review of this place as it was my first-ever England trip and first hotel…read morethere. As earlier review said, beautiful grounds, real English-garden style, very old, interesting history, but for a first timer from America, you need to be aware of the following, especially the first item. The mgt acknowledged that the place was in a cellphone "blank spot" and were trying to remedy it, but no target date for that. The place had just come under new mgt (Sept 2017) and were appreciative of feedback like the below. None of this would be as bad for someone with a rental car, but I didn't rent a car as I didn't want to deal with the left-side driving my first time there, and was at the mercy of cabs. Anyway, if you LIKE remote and don't mind non-enabled cellphone while you're there, it's a great getaway. The whole area feels like it's back in time a couple hundred years...or more. - no cell phone service in this area, confirmed by worker there, cabbie couldn't ring me up till he got two miles or so back towards town. Place is remote enough from nearest town (East Grinstead) that pizza guys there won't deliver..had to go fetch one myself. - no clocks in room - no wifi network info in the info-book in rooms, you have to look and guess (I found the right one, didn't need a pw, others did), wifi speed was decent, better than Heathrow airport (which was intolerably slow, gave up) - someone maybe or maybe not available at front desk on weekends (no one answered either of the "for assistance" numbers posted at 1pm Sat) when I got there, key & sign-in sheet was laid out on counter - no way for outsiders to call a room directly, has to go through front desk and be manually transferred, so if there's no one at desk they you can't get a call in, and with no cell phone service...you get it - fire bell in room went off 10pm from cigarette/smoke detector in great hall / party next door, maybe that's good - no ice machines, or none that I was told about - restaurant is only open for scheduled things, like Sunday breakfast / brunch event - no bathtubs, corner showers only - clean, but rooms small, doors tight/close together (this was an old manor house, typical European sort of style) - beds are sort of low-height/low-budget type, not like the big/tall puffy things you get in the corporate hotels, more like a BnB