I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights back in October and had a wonderful time. The hotel is a…read morelovely old home and our room was large, spacious, and located on one of annex wings. The room was clean and traditionally decorated. We really enjoyed the dinners in bar area (the staff was friendly and funny) and the buffet breakfasts in the morning. When you check in you have an option to purchase the breakfast and we opted out. We ended up changing our minds and the staff accommodated us immediately and even honored the discounted price we were initially offered at check in. The hotel is in an excellent location and close by to many great places to visit. I found my entire visit pleasant and relaxing. I certainly will be coming back to stay the next time I'm visiting the area.

On the outside the Dunkenhalgh looks amazing and to be fair the first impression of the rooms and…read morethe rest of the grounds seemed alright. However, upon closer inspection this was all a façade. The reception staff was overwhelmed and somewhat rude. We were told that we could check in as early as noon which was a welcomed relief since a spa appointment was booked for 1:00. Not only was the room not ready but we were informed that the room would not be ready until 3:00 which seemed a bit strange since check out is 11:00 and they specifically told us to come at 12:00. After the spa appointment we each had a small but very expensive cocktail at the bar. Still having time to kill we decided to tour the local area. We returned at 4:00 and were told the room still wasn't available. Noticing the look on my face the receptionist immediately put us in a room that was available. Next we were told that breakfast would be served until 10:00 in the restaurant. At 9:35 we went down to have breakfast with a few friends that were already eating. The very rude host told us that the restaurant stops serving at 9:30 and we could not join our friends. He told us that a buffet was set up in a meeting room where we could get something to eat. After sitting down we were told that toast and coffee would be brought out shortly. The coffee came just as we were finishing and the toast never appeared. The rest of our trip was great since we resourced the pub guide for all of our next bookings.

Lovely impromptu night at Northcote. Ribble valley is such a nice county in Lancashire with…read morewonderful restaurants and retreats, and Northcote is a great addition to that. We didn't stay the night but we did have dinner here. The service was pretty good from start to finish. They were knowledgeable about wine and pairings and kept plate progression at a consistent pace. The service team seemed to be distracted towards the end of the meal and placed a lot of emphasis on cleaning (way before we were finished with dinner). I think that shouldn't be obvious to those dining so that took a hit on the quality of the meal. The food was overall very tasty. The maran egg and scarlet prawn were my favourite dishes, especially the egg/potato chip combination, which was one of the most creative ideas I've seen in a while. The bartender needed a bit more knowledge on spirits I think, and ran out of the spirit we selected. I would say I don't love the location of the hotel, as it's right off the main road and it takes away from the ambiance. Also there are two very large dumpsters right in front of the hotel. Seems like very poor placement. All in all however, this is a great night out in Ribble Valley, and likely a nice stay as well!

This is not a Michelin Star restaurant nor a Relais and Chateaux level property…read more Not even close. Michelin Star? You must be kidding me. Hiramatsu in Paris is a Michelin Star restaurant. This is a joke. I have never left 3 of my tasting dishes uneaten before in any restaurant, let alone one with a Michelin star. This time I barely touched my meal. For a location surrounded by great local goosnargh poultry, game, produce and supplies that England and Scotland can provide - for some reason the entire menu was Japanese infused, and not in a good way. At all. Everything that came after the 'Wagyu beef tartar with Sticky rice' was disgusting. Neither my wife nor I ate it. Not a thing. Scallops in Japanese miso broth with seaweed? No. Boney fish wing on fermented mushroom paste? No. Cold Venison that came with a piece of Liver so old and overcooked you needed your wine to get it down? No. Then came dessert. We ate the dessert, but at this point we had saved ourselves for this meal, hadn't eaten since noon and would have likely paid you 20 quid for a Big Mac. Now, when you send 3 uneaten plates in succession back to the kitchen barely touched - normally the waiter/ess or chef make note and comment. Especially at the better restaurants. Its a matter of pride to the chef. Not here. They didn't ask and certainly didn't care. I would have washed my sorrows down with the wine pairing, but at mostly 2014/5 vintages - it would have taken a few bottles since its barely been more than grape juice for more than 3 or 4 months. This was 320 pounds for two, and a complete waste of a weekend, a dinner and the money. Seriously, it was a total loss. Breakfast? Meh. Substandard and prepared by someone who likely worked at the Services off the M6 before he came here. Again, even with Bury black pudding available - these folks went with Irish. In a tube you squeeze onto your plate. Michelin star? Again - go eat at Hiramatsu, another Michelin '1 Star' restaurant, then come back to Ribble Valley Ginza Ward and tell me the Northcote deserve theirs. They don't. The Hotel? 350 pounds a night for two single beds pushed together, a tiny TV, a view of an overfilled dumpster in their parking lot and bed sheets more akin to a Premier or Holiday Inn, and you get my drift. They dont even have down pillows, ffs. The bathroom is lovely, so is the shower - but the fact that this place somehow got accepted to the Relais and Chateaux brand speaks volumes for the desperate position the french must be in, for this is no Relais and Chateaux. Not by a wide margin. The Ellerman House in Capetown is a Relais and Chateaux. The 'Le Manoir' in Oxfordshire is Relais and Chateaux. I have no idea where this belongs but this is a substandard brand imposter yet priced similar. Go stay at the Ellerman or Le Manoir, just for a night. Then tell me Northcote is Relais and Chateaux. It's not. The fact that we picked both this hotel and the Ribble Valley as a destination, then travelled all the way to rural England to experience this only made it worse. The fact that we paid 320 pounds for a disgusting dinner, followed by 350 pounds for a mediocre room with a badly prepared breakfast only added insult to injury. We had a two night reservation for the Christmas break, but cancelled it the very day we got back to the US. Never. Again.

Let me start with an obvious drawback to this hotel - it is a little tired in terms of the rooms…read more So why the four star review? My wife and I return to Blackburn once a year or so and typically stay in one of the areas hotels. Our needs differ from the average traveler as we are often hosting family and friends as they come and go to visit us. On this particular occasion we arranged a birthday party for various members of the family. This is where the Foxfields shines. Trying to coordinate these things from our home in the US is never easy but the hotel staff were incredibly easy to work with. Nothing was too much trouble. The buffet they put on for us on the night of the party was first class, but here comes the kicker. We had booked a local magician to help entertain the various attendees and in particular our 8 year old daughter. She couldn't have been more excited but unfortunately the guy failed to show up. The lady in charge of looking after us kept checking in through the evening and wanted to know if there was anything else they could do. My wife jokingly asked if she could find a magician in the next 30 mins? Five minutes later she was there with the number of a local guy she had seen someone use at the hotel previously and 30 mins later he was there performing. Just incredible service! The hotel is under new ownership and I am absolutely certain the aforementioned problems with the accommodation section of the hotel will be resolved in double quick time. In the meantime, the room standards are absolutely fine and the service as mentioned already, is fantastic. The quality of food in the hotel in general is also excellent. We ate breakfast each day and several other meals throughout the week. These people really deserve to succeed and I'm sure they will.

Myself and my partner spent New Year's Eve at the Foxfield hotel. We were made aware that it's…read moreunder new ownership, so weren't sure what to expect but both the accommodation and the food were good. The service, particularly from the manager, the owners and the hotel reception team was great. Nothing too much trouble. The food, despite it being New Year's Eve was good and we both enjoyed the entertainment. The rooms are huge and comfy though the TV is a bit small! Breakfast was a full hot and cold selection and service was excellent, especially considering we were late down and they were trying to prepare the room for lunch! Looking forward to seeing how the hotel changes further as the new owners settle in.