Not the romantic break we'd planned!

Impressed by the photos and description on its website, we chose Charingworth for a romantic 40th wedding anniversary.We arrived on a freezing afternoon, to be told by a chilly receptionist that our rooms would not be ready for 90 minutes - but no suggestion of coffee and a snack in the lounge, so back out into the cold. In our room, when we got to it, we found an un-ordered bottle of champagne; the member of staff clearly did not believe my story, and we were taken down like naughty children to reception to have my e-mails checked. Wrong room! Sherry in room, but no tea or coffee - had to pay for that. Room and sitting area atmospheric, but toilet roll holder hanging off wall, toilet loose, etc.

Dining room described as "elegant" - rather sweaters and skirts. Menus and wine lists brought to bar, but then forgotten - orders not taken until we wandered into dining room in desperation. Realised with the main course that wine waiter wasn't coming - too late to order by then anyway - so anniversary meal was tee-total. Food was barely one star standard.

At £325 for B,B,&dinner, I expected something exceptional, with elegance and luxury. A real anti-climax after months of looking forward to something memorable. We were very disappointed. Wish I'd seen your website first!

Excellent Staff

Ater reading some reviews earlier in the year regarding standards at the hotel it was with some trepidation to say the least that we went to this hotel as we had not read Trip Advisor reviews prior to booking.

However we had an excellent weekend a few weeks ago and the staff could not not do enough for us. The food was excellent better on Friday night than Saturday but standards were still very high.

Previous comments about management being rude were completely unfounded in our experience. We think that there had been a change since some of the reviews had been written. Indeed the General Manager went out of her way to introduce herself to us and made us very welcome.

Leisure facilities were very good and the only item lacking is a Jacuzzi. The pool temperature and the standard of cleanliness was also very good.

Cotswold Delight

Just returned from a splendid four night stay at this delightful Cotswold hotel. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Food and room excellent, everyone very friendly. We will return

Excellent stay

We arrived early and were met by very pleasant staff and showed to our room. Newish outbuildings, but nice character room with very clean en-suite facilities. Very comfortable bed, and two good nights sleep. The restaurant was first class, and the staff very friendly and efficient. Very high standards all round. We thought it was the kind of hotel you could feel out of place in, but that was not the case. Nice leisure facilities available, but not used by us. The only thing on the down side, was some ink marks on the armchairs. Other than that absolutley no hesitation in recommending to anyone.

Would have been lovely in its day

first worry, sign outside was on floor. Greeted by lovely staff in old but nice reception area. Taken to see 2 rooms, decided on one which first impression seems very nice. Later found very dusty bedside lamps, plug sink in bathroom was blocked with gunge. obviously not a very good cleaning regime. no tea and coffee in room but there was sherry and water my concern how long had they been there. After lovely walk and dinner in town (could not eat in dinning room as dress code for men) settled down for good nights sleep. unfortunatley bed had seen much better days and sank in middle and was very lumpy. we had terrible nights sleep and considering the hotel price we were very disapointed. outside the rooms patio doors a very unkept seating area (with a lovely view) which with a little care and attention would have been lovely instead we got weeds.the breakfast was first class plenty and varied menu and staff were efficient.

needs money invested to provide the first class accomodation it could give. the saving factor was the pool area and lovely staff.

very disapointing stay and such a shame for such a well positioned and good hotel to suffer for a little care and attention.

So bad it makes Fawlty Towers look good

We booked two twin rooms for two nights to celebrate a special occasion. On arrival we found that the beds had been made up as doubles despite our booking stating otherwise. One room was nice and spacious whereas the other was rather cramped. One of the sofas was threadbare and looked like it had come from a car boot sale. There were no tea or coffee making facilities in the rooms so one couldn't have any refreshments on arrival. You could order tea but the prices were exorbitant at £3.50 for a small pot per person.

We asked whether one of the rooms could be changed but were told that this was not possible.

The waiters and waitresses were of foreign descent, had poor English, were rather miserable, and not up to scratch. It was not their fault that they worked in an uninspiring setting with little motivation where the real problem lay with the management. Paying foreign employees the minimum wage with little reward and poor management has obviously contributed to poor staff morale.

It was not what we expected from a 4* hotel and it was an inauspicious start to the weekend. But we decided to make the best of it.

The evening meal was ordinary and nothing to write home about. We were shoved to a table in the far corner of the restaurant, which was very dark with poor lighting. The menu is deceptive as most items had a supplement. This is unnecessary since a 3 course meal costs £37.95 per head.

The personal touch was sorely lacking and customer satisfaction seems to be low on their list of priorities. One of the chairs fell apart at breakfast. A platter of white toast was brought to the table but it was not what we had requested.

Worse was to follow at our next evening meal. We waited for half an hour before our orders were taken - the service was extremely slow and quite appalling. In the meantime one of the waitresses filled our white wine glasses with tepid water (no ice) even though we had just ordered a bottle of white wine. On placing our order it was discovered that not all the meals listed were available. We should have been informed beforehand and no alternative dishes were provided.

It was at this point that we raised our concerns at the poor service. The general manager came to the table in a defensive mode, was extremely rude and insulted us. We were flabbergasted and this left us with no option but to leave the restaurant and the hotel there and then. A couple of the party had disabilities and she was very derogatory towards them.

Having stayed at various hotels all over the world over the years we were angry at our treatment, which was by far the worst we have ever received. Under no circumstances would we recommend this hotel and no tears will be shed if it does go to the wall.

Scruffy rip off in the Cotswolds

We found this hotel to be overpriced. We were in a so called 'superior room' which smelt of stale smoke,was scruffy and old, with worn out carpet covering up a dangerous step. The furnishings were worn out and staff surly. The food was just above school dinners (we were in a group celebrating a party) although the breakfast was more or less acceptable. Actually couldn't wait to get out of the place.Basically the original building and out buildings had potential, but the place was poorly run and you can no longer get away with this sort of scruffy mediocrity in this day and age. Got the feeling it was having a hard time and about to go out of business. What a shame!

First class experience

Our party of seven had made bookings independently from various

international locations, including Ireland, London and the United

States. The management collated everything perfectly and the right

people were allocated the right rooms.

The hotel exudes the perfect atmosphere for an English Manor House. Staff were most welcoming and attentive throughout. The small bar is an excellent location for a pre-dinner drink. Drinks are expensive but of the premium variety. The lady serving the bar during our stay was a mine of local information and provided excellent service. Dinner was of a high standard and service efficient but always unobtrusive. I have to say the English Breakfast provided was by far the best I have ever been presented with on all my many hotel stays in the UK. Our rooms were very comfortable.

I would characterise the service received from all staff members as excellent, ranging from senior managers to the various catering staff.

In short our party will certainly be making Charringworth Manor our base for our annual visit to the Cotswolds area.

Pleasant Stay.

Warmly welcomed by hotel manager and reception staff. Indeed, all staff very attentive, pleasant and personable. Location good, although not outstanding. Very convenient for Chipping Campden, Blockley and Broadway. Room of good standard, spacious, although far from main hotel rooms and no view. Hotel warm throughout, despite snow outside. Hot water excellent, swimming pool a real delight. Reception rooms very comfortable, open log fires, etc. Meals to a very high standard, although drinks exceedingly expensive. Hotel organised trip to Stratford theatre performance. Arranged evening meal to embrace this trip. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

We refused to stay and left in disgust

When you pay £375 a night you expect something special. In this case we got: · The furniture was shabby and in disrepair - bare staples holding torn ribbon to the arms of the chairs (there is a difference between antique and just worn out) · The carpets were worn and frayed at the joints · There was a large patch of mould on the wall of the bathroom above the bath · There was no ventilation at all in the bathroom (no fan, no opening windows) · The toilet cistern was cracked · The bed was soft and worn · You could smell the chemicals from the swimming pool in the bedroom, given the heat, the windows had to be open · There was no fridge/mini-bar (the website says every facility)In addition to the state of the room, we found the way the hotel was managed was inflexible and orientated towards making the owners money rather than providing a service to the guests. For example, having driven up that afternoon and given that it was very hot, we enquired about having a snack in the room rather than the dinner that was part of the package. We certainly did not expect a discount on the dinner but were amazed to be told that a tray charge would be made and so a light snack would actually cost us more!The hotel was also very understaffed given that it was full. When we first arrived, the receptionist/duty manager commented to us that she was very busy and told us (guests !) that there was a couple in the lounge who were still waiting for their tea which had sat stewing in the lobby for 10 minutes.When, quite quickly, we decided to leave as we were not going to be extorted in this manner, there was nobody available to make our complaint to except the poor receptionist/duty manager. She took the details but told us that there was absolutely nothing she could do as she did not have the authority to do anything or make any decisions. She did promise to make sure that someone in authority call us that evening or the next day. We were not surprised when nobody did.Despite writing two letters to the hotel, they have totally ignored us.