Pine Trees

Do not book the dog package! We booked and paid around £1,200 for three nights, so our expectations were understandably high. The whole experience fell well short of what we'd expect from a four-star hotel, particularly at this price point. At check-in, both the lady who checked us in, and the lady who showed us to our room told us there would be fresh pastries and fruit available in the Coach House (where the dog-friendly suites are) between 10am and 3pm. During our stay, there was never anything there when we went to look. We later were told these were available only in the main house…but that is certainly not what we were told. How difficult is it to put out a plate of pastries and make the guests who aren’t staying in the main house feel less like an afterthought? It also said online that as part of the dog package, our dog would receive a toy and local dog walk maps, but these never materialised. In reality, the dog package consisted of a roll of poo bags and two treats. Compared with other genuinely dog-friendly hotels we've stayed in, it was incredibly underwhelming. Neither of these are huge things in isolation, but added to the general sense of profit over experience. On our second day, we left the room at 11am with the housekeeping sign on the door asking for the room to be serviced. We returned just after 4pm to find it hadn't been touched. All of the housekeeping trolleys that were there when we left in the morning had been removed from the Coach House, so it wasn't as though housekeeping hadn’t been nearby or hadn’t seen our request for our room to be refreshed. How can this be acceptable at a £400 per night price point? There also wasn't a fridge in our suite, which feels like a very basic feature in accommodation marketed as luxury. You have to leave your room to get milk for your in-room tea or coffee…again, even Travelodge have fridges in their rooms! By this point, we felt the experience wasn't reflecting the huge amount we'd paid. We ended up calling reception from our mobile because the room phone wasn't working (you couldn’t write it at this point) and explained that we were disappointed enough to check out early and we requested a refund for the final night. The refund request was agreed to straight away (which I think tells you a lot). Overall, this was a really disappointing end to what had otherwise been a wonderful holiday. We actually did end up leaving a day early because we felt so let down, and it left a bitter taste in our mouths. We don't mind paying premium prices when the experience matches, but sadly that wasn't the case here. In our opinion, this simply isn't a four-star standard hotel and doesn't offer the level of luxury suggested by the price. If you're travelling with a dog and want a relaxing staycation in the UK, we'd highly recommend the Lord Crewe Arms in Northumberland instead. They genuinely cater for dogs and make both owners and dogs feel genuinely welcome. We're disappointed to be writing this review because we'd been really looking forward to our stay and thought it would be the highlight of our trip, but it was definitely the lowlight. We hope the hotel takes this feedback on board, but based on our experience, we wouldn't return.

Awful experience. Room was not ready even half an hour past check in time, the lady at check in (Robin?) was completely oblivious and brainless and unable to even fathom to offer an explanation. Stored luggage with her while waiting for the delayed check in only for her to completely forget about my luggage. “Historical” building lacking modern amenities like elevator or ac but no offer from staff to help with luggage. Rooms were hot with no ventilation and windows tainted with spider webs that were too old to stay open. Horrible service and experience definitely does not command its high price point.

Wonderful place to stay for our 30th wedding anniversary. Location and room were fantastic and the staff made sure our stay was super special.